I feel the same way! Is it so fucking difficult to make a reliable ph meter for less than $59? FFS! 
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I just got another one yesterday. It was so frustrating trying to calibrate this piece of goddamn! 5 tries to get it close. So frustrating!
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After serious thought 
I ended up purchasing the bluelab ph pen from amazon. It was 77 bucks and hoping it lasts a while. Thanks for the help an recommendations everyone
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Blue lab hands down my fave so far , real batteries ,still cals after a couple of years. just keep the tip wet a good rule in life as well 
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I had a Milwaukee 802 for years. Still worked and looked like new when I sold it.
This time around I went with the Bluelab pH pen. So far so good. It came in the Bluelab Growerâs Toolkit which also includes the EC/PPM pen and various cleaners storage and calibration solutions. I think it was around $125-130 shipped.
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I want one that does not require a bunch of recalibrating.
Thanks in advance. 
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Regular calibration is the nature of the beast, unfortunately.
The better (and usually more costly) PH pens will likely hold calibration for a longer period of time and would suggest looking into one of those.
Apera
Milwaukee
Bluelab
are some of the more common and generally well regarded PH pens being used (for our purposes). Some folk use the super cheap imports and simply dispose of them when they fail (since they are so inexpensive). Personally, it seems they also cause the most amount of confusion and wild results, so I wouldnât suggest the cheap ones.
How you maintain them will also affect how often it needs to be recalibrated.
FWIW, calibration isnât difficult or time consuming once you understand the process.
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Bluelab. Should have bought one years ago.
Donât ever trust those cheap yellow bastard things with something so vital. Had them go out by 0.2 per day 
your better off not bothering at all. I found out the hard way.
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iâm going to be grabbing the apera PH60 in the near future - holds calibration really well and i like the ability to replace only the probe. thereâs also 4 different style probes for different applications including ORP
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Hi everyoneâŚ
As the title states i need recommendations for a new PH meter and EC/PPM meter. Not looking to spend an arm and leg. But, also not wanting something that is not gonna last or be accurate. Are there any options out there that are more affordable then the bluelab offerings that work great and last? Or should i just bite the bullet and purchase the blue lab pens? Thanks in advance!
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If you are able and willing to maintain them (storage solution / calibration), bite the bullet. Buy from an authorized retailer. Theyâll last for awhile before needing to be replaced. I think Iâm on year three with the Blulabs and everything is fine with the PH probe.
EC probes donât really have the same maintenance issues of a PH probe.
I think some others like the Apera, too.
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Thanks for moving this to the appropriate topic. I could not find what i was looking for!
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I never liked the storage solution when I first used it , left a wierd crystal substance on tide line on ph meter
all I do is keep ph meter in a pint glass filled one third high with plain tap water ( 6.5 - 7.0 ph ) and never let probe dry out ( always in glass if not in use )
No need to buy calibration fluid for this grow , I think a sample of both 4 and 7 come with it , to get you started
And I think a sample of the storage solution is in there too , so you can first hydrate the ph probe ( think itâs a 24 hour soak , then you can never let probe dry out again , always remember that )
: )
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The fluid in the ph pens bulb is the same stuff as the storage solution for a good reason. Water will of course prevent it drying out but if you want the pen to keep working AND stay accurateâŚ
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Growth-Technology-pH-Probe-Refill-Storage-300ml-KCL-Solution/153823511951?epid=1537780893&hash=item23d098858f:g:6~MAAOSw5K5ePC6N.
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The storage solution is probably just there if you have no easy access to nice clean soft water at 6.5-7 ph
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Maybe do a job for cleaning it but not long term storage. The bulb is porous which is why you should store it in KCL fluid. Plain water will seep into it over time and dilute itâs fluid.
Unless itâs one of those cheap yellow pens from China in which case your better off guessing. I found they can drift up to 0.2 each day
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This is a response from Bluelab , I copied and paste to here from a different forum
n regards to the solutions, we definitely recommend our Conductivity testing solution as this can vary wildly between manufacturers. The calibration solutions donât have to be ours, however, it is what we factory calibrate them to, so makes sense to use our products. Storage (KCl) can also vary, as we do not know what other brands add into their solution, making it hard to know how the probe is going to react. If our KCl solution is unavailable to you, you can use tap water to store your pH pen or probe.
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Most important is keeping the bulb wet. Second most important is keeping the bulb at the proper ionic concentration. And clean. What this means is that the bulb is not only wet but it retains a sufficient salt concentration to do itâs job.
The way PH probes work, ions from the salt solution are exchanged through the bulb. The probe measures that change as it occurs. If the ions become depleted, even though it is still âwetâ, youâll eventually stop getting accurate results. The storage solution contains the chemistry used in the bulb and it ârefreshesâ and comes to an ionic equilibrium with the solution in the bulb. Tap water ⌠unknown. And with tap water, it may change over time.
Itâs fine for a short term solution although with tap water, you really never know what you have. It could be leaching ions, it could contaminate the probe with chemistry that âpoisonsâ the electrodes, or there could be biological contamination. You may also have to calibrate more often.
The storage solution is fairly inexpensive relative to the price of the probe. To get the maximal life expectancy, accuracy, and stability from the probe, it is suggested to use the storage solution.
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I picked a new one up couple weeks ago made by Reed it is much better then the cheap hanna ones I was using and changing the probe every 6 months was a pain in the ass.
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