Right? I think Apera wants to sell me another $43 probe because they tell me to slap some tap in there.
Give me your bet @blowdout2269 how many months/years until mine dies or otherwise needs replacement?
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Thatās what I do, rinse and cap each time. Been 15 months since purchase and it still works great. I use 2 to 3 times a week and each time I can see a few drops inside cap when I take out the pen.
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I told the guy at the hydro store that I used to store my last PH meter end cap in 7.0 solution and he said that with the bluelab pen it must use KCL solution because that is how it senses to turn off. I realize now the guy was either lying to get me to buy the solution or just misinformed. It turns off fine. Though i tried 7.0 and it just solidified in the little cap because it is not a solid bottom and it evaporates. Now i just take a drop or two whenever i see it going down. Keep it inside of a small cup so it stays upright at all times.
I do the same.
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@LD50 - It can last much longer if you store it correctly. No bet.
@CocoaCoir - Doest your pen have that little wrist sling? I put KCI in the cap, and then hang on the wall from its little rope, so that it remains vertical at all times.
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Iāve never Phād anything. Grow never has Ph problems. My plants grow well. My tap is neutral though. I wont buy a PH pen. I know that if I do, I will obsess and go down that rabbit hole. If itās not broke, well you know. 
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I feel like we can refresh it to some great extent, with periodic soakings. Just playing ping pong.
Just use the drops. Far easier, no calibration. Dirt cheap. Less accurate but never imprecise. Soil youāre looking for a yellowish green color. It doesnāt really matter if itās 0.05 off, more of a range. Everyone who uses meters frequently has a horror story of an off meter or an uncalibrated one.
Drops and reactive paper does not always work.
I had some organic nutrients that leave the water almost black. Difficult to see color changes.
Happy growings.
I donāt believe that at all.
been cultivating for many, many years and never used āPHā meters and have had many sucessfull grows Take it back : used a meter way back then - was just extra work mixing, ect - Basicly GENETICS is/are the answer for sucessfull grows everything else is āfrostingā on the cake !!! go with a simple meter, they are cheap and do work or else get some āPHā Perfect Nutrients (Advanced Nutrients) no mixing ,etc (have used them with good results considering my early growing methods)
I gave up on the instruments. I use drops. Those never ever lie and iv had 2 grows fuck up because calibration and I didn know the pen was drifting. Until I saw lockout occurring. Since I switched to the liquid test. Iv had no problems. I also use microbs like no other. So the 5.5-6.0 is the perfect color for me to chase. Microbes do the rest and Iām in pure coco coir. Never had a lock out since. Only deficiency or toxicity show if it happens. And I use absolutely no cal mag with pure reverse osmosis water.
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Focused on the wrong details. Typical forum mindset. Itās not the liquid thatās important itās the salt. And rinsing doesnāt cut it in organics.
Iād suggest buying one that you can replace the probe on, that is how most of them fail (usually unable to calibrate them at 2 points).
Iām sure the mfg storage solution is the best thing you can use but all my Hanna probes lasted a long time just by leaving some nutrient solution (salt based) in the cap and making sure they never went dry.
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I see a few soil growers say they donāt PH. I can see that. I would suggest not trying that if growing in Coco. Itās much easier to say PH is not important when your medium buffers for you. But hey, if it works for you and you can save a step then the more power to you.
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Iām needing to get a new PH meter and was wondering what you guys recommend? Are there any sub $100 that have a good reputation for quality and longevity? I assume a replaceable sensor would be worth while. Additionally, while I do have a bluelab ec/ppm meter I was wondering if any of the all in one meters are any good or is it generally acknowledged to stick to meters with one purpose? Just one meter to carry would be ideal but not necessary, I prefer a good meter over convenience. I generally grow in hempy buckets and dwc.
A fellow user here suggested this one and I appreciate it. What else are you guys using with success?
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That is a fav of many members.
Also blue labs.
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The apera ph60 kit is less then 100 dollars on amazon. Its a great ph meter with replaceable probes. I actually like ot much better then my bluelab pen i had. After a year or so the bluelabs probe had went bad and was not replaceable.
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Caring for them really isnāt bad. I bought a Bluelab soil probe a few years ago and I just keep the reservoir filled with KCl (Potassium Chloride) solution. Iāve never even calibrated it or done anything else. So far so good. Iāve tested the soil a handful of times and it was always right around 6.4 or so. But a few months ago I used some soil that I added extra peat too and was noticing strange symptoms. Couldnāt figure it out until I thought to check the pH and it was low. Thought it mightāve been a waste of money until it actually helped solve an issue.
Even though I havenāt had any issues with my Bluelab, if I bought one again Iād get the Apera since it has the replaceable probes like Buck said.
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Iāve got a pH 20 value kit got it off eBay for about 30 bucks. It seems to work well Iāve been using it for a few months now.
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