OK,, I purchased the Hanna PH/PPM/Temp meter and I just calibrated it with both the 7.01 and 4.01 solutions, and the process went fine. It asked for the 7.01 so I gave it, then it asked for the 4.01 so I rinsed and put it in the solution, and then it said OK and went back into normal mode.. Now when I test the 7.01 solution, it says its 6.95 - 6.94 -> WTF! I have completed the calibration method a few times now, and I cant seem to get an accurate reading out of this thing. For over $100, I would think I should certainly get a better reading. Before you ask,, NO, the end has not dried out,, I have been keeping it in its storage solution in the cap with the little blue sponge. I just got this meter about a week ago, and have just started calibrating and testing. Batteries are at 100% according to the unit. Does anyone have any experience with these meters that can possible help me out ??? Thanks in advance
Let it soak in the 7.01 solution for a few hours, should be first thing you do when you get it, then calibrate it. I've had one of those for >1 yr, no problems, handle it properly and it won't let you down, don't ever let the node dry out.
Soak it in the 7.01 Solution Huh?? It does not say that anywhere in the instructions, and I talked to a Tech where I purchased it, and he didn't mention anything like that either, but HEY, what the Hell,, I already wasted the money, might as well give it a try. I will start the soak right now, and see if it helps.. It does not have to be in the Mail until Monday for its return for a full refund.
This is a great meter, the black pen right? If so I have one and swear by it. Got mine for like $130... Check google shopping
Yep, its the Black Pen... I picked this up for $113.00,, Why would I check Google Shopping? Its not like I didnt already buy one I soaked it all night in the 7.01 solution and this morning calibrated it again. As it sits in the 4.01 solution waiting to finish its calibration, THEN completes calibration, it immediately goes to 3.99 and starts to fall from there, while its still in the solution.. So I rinse and Dip it in the 7.01 Solution and it starts at 7.08 and slowly drops to 6.95. I can only imagine I got a bunk probe, so its going back, and now I have to find something local cause I cant wait for an exchange.
I had mine dry out for 8yrs and let it soak in 7 overnight and works great now...they are finicky sometimes especially with the ec/ppm...my ec doesnt stay calibrated long but ph seems to be fine was 6.98 3 weeks later...i hear milwakees arent so finicky
I have a different Hanna meter, the one just for pH and I was having the same problems myself... I found that the sponge method works best with distilled water. I keep a gallon around at all times now, just for that purpose.
I was told not to use distilled water with any probe because its needs some type of buffering elements in contact with the probe
Oakton meters are the shit. I've used their waterproof ph pens in some of the nastiest conditions (aquaculture) without fail. Store in 7 or storage solutions w/sponge trick. In hate my Hanna pens. The Hanna grow check was good until it got led burn in. I also had a Oakton ph probe dry out for 10 years. 24 hours in storage solution the thing was working again.
It works for me. Have you tried it? I was told to leave it in the buffering solution and when I did that, I would get readings +/- 1.0.
If you want a meter that can read that accurate you have to spend a lot more than 130 bucks. .07 off is not a problem when it comes to hydro. The meter should not even have the hundreds decimal in reality. It amazes me that you would think 100$ meter it would read exactly 7.01 every time. The way these things calibrate means it can't read the full range of PH's perfect.. It can read a small range excellent but out of that range it will begin to drift. The sensor does not react linearly with a linear change in PH, that's why there are two calibration points, to average out the non linear change. Many people use this meter and would not say it sucks. Ive had mine for 5 years, and changed the probe once and battery's once. This meter will grow on you when it never breaks. .07 is nothing to worry about. A lot of meters say they are accurate to withing + - .10 anyway. If you want a real accurate meter, buy this one. http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Pinnacle_M545_Benchtop_pH_Meter_115_VAC/WU-58907-20
Actually, I just got back from the Hydro Store here in town, and they Calibrated it there.. It also was off a heck of a lot more than it should be, and KEPT ON DRIFTING.. We decided that the meter is bad or has a bad probe, so now I can stop pulling my hair out with this one and send it back.. He did pull out his Hanna meter (the exact same one) and we did the calibration on that one.. Then he set it in the 7.0 Solution,, and it Started at 7.01 and dropped to 7.0 where it stayed. Right now I am using my Old Cheap Milwaukee ph meter until I decide if I want to stick to the Hanna's or explore other options.
My story can be very long, becuase the number of glitches it provides is way beyond "hand made in china" brand. If it's true that it was made in Germany I would not bet on EUR currency, becuase their end is really near then! I will go short. Here is the short list of shit I experienced during only last 10 days: +) After inserting new eclectrode it didn't calibrate, then in 3 days of endless attempts it finally did after re-insertion +) 2 point calibration was good enough for one measurement, after that it was 0.3 off +) Then it stopped turning ON, re-inserting batteris helped after which +) Electrode went totaly mad: on 7.01 buffer it says 10.01 OK. It won't calibrate for EC at all. It's dead now. No way it's Europe-made. It's china-shit. ONLY for the price of electrode and buffers (I spent already hald 500ml bottles) I could buy 4 china-made pH meters and 4 EC meters, which would last each 6 months, making it 24 months in total. This one lasted 10 days. So If you think that "europe made" will make it up to the price you are wrong. It's the kind of equipment that you buy only if you drive Bentley, in which case I recomend buying 2. I've been using pH meters for 10 years and it's worst shit ever. Don't buy it.
Andrey, what you and the original poster experienced is called a "defective unit". The reliability of any mass-produced items tend to follow what is called a bell curve, or Gaussian distribution of quality. Most of the items produced work as intended, with an increasingly smaller fraction functioning exceptionally well, or poorly. Moreso than locale of manufacture, consumer attitude and the demand for unreasonably cheap goods - driving obsessive cost cutting - yields a higher percentage of defective items, i.e. a "flatter" bell curve. Locale of manufacture is simply an effect of these driving forces. If you desire a purchase experience with an extremely small chance of encountering a defective unit, you're not looking at the right product category. You would instead look toward highly robust, reliable pH meters for industrial applications, where the cost of failure is very high due to process downtime. And in fact I am not betting on EUR currency because I do believe the end of it is indeed near.
Measuring pH is no easy task; doing so accurately and reliably does not come cheaply. It takes many levels of clever development - really "cost-cutting-hacks" to offer an even remotely reliable device at the price point people bizarrely demand. Consumers do not realize the compromises that must be made to get products to that point, and set an expectation for reliability and performance that could only feasibly be met with higher manufacturing standards. It's a vicious cycle enabled by non-transparent advertising. A bit like we say in the car hobby - "fast, cheap, reliable: pick two" To reinforce what CrackLemonade said, the peformance you report - readings drifting away from target less than 0.1 - this is pretty typical. Sure, some individual units will work better, so send it back and you may get a better one. Or a worse one. Again, complex devices such as this are not simply "defective" or "working right". There is a continuum of performance. The guy at the shop pulled out "his" meter, and showed you how perfect it worked. Did he grab a random one off the shelf? I would imagine it was instead a specifically chosen example. Do you think he ever demos to potential customers? Do you think he probably uses the same one? The extreme example illustrating this concept is LEDs. On a production line the relevant variables to final performance are so numerous and unpredictable that one unit to the next perform drastically different. LEDs that produce hundreds of lumens come off the line right next to ones producing dozens of lumens. The manufacturers are forced to simply test them and group them based on performance, with only the very best ones commanding a huge percentage of the profits. We call this "binning" in the industry. We also tell you about it. Well, the same thing happens with your meters in a less drastic fashion, the other difference is they don't tell you this. The worse quality meter they can get you to accept, on average-- will allow them to drive the price down even more, on average. Multiple companies competing in the same way, without revealing the measures being taken-- you see what gets hurt - final quality. Capitalism and technology don't always mix well when you're allowed to omit the details. The consumer reinforces the bad behaviour by craving the cheapest damn thing, all the time, eg the "$100 ph meter" /rant where my weed at? peace it
It was not my first day using it. It did last a few years. During which I did no more than 100 measurements in total. I guess it's just programmed to go nuts: otherwise I would have to say it went old. But it's electronics. Why my old samsung TV set lasts for more than 20 years and this one that's supposed to last forever as long as I keep electrodes going lasts only hours of service. I'm best off any meters. I have a RO water so why bother, just change water every 7 days and I will be OK. I will go with that and see where it gets me.
Using RO water is when you need a reliable pH meter most. RO water has much less of a buffering capacity than tap, and is much more sensitive to pH fluctuations. Your choice of nutrients will help with pH stability of course (some more than others), but regardless, not having a good, solid pH meter is a problem just waiting to happen. Is your system recirculating? I have the exact meter, and couldn't be happier with it. It will run a bit after the initial calibration, but I found shutting the meter off right after calibration prevents this. As has been mentioned already, having an error range of +/-.05 really is not that big of a deal. Also, if you are using those little calibration packets, make sure to thoroughly wipe it off between the 7.01 and 4.01 calibration. There is such a small amount of fluid in there to begin with; even a drop or two of the 7.01 fluid will be enough to throw off your 4.01.
I'm using CANNA AQUA - the one for recerculating systems. Also I'm using just a little bit of pH minus. My RO water is about 5.8-6.2 At the moment I was advsed to buy a new unit.