Digital ph testers

[Jim Morcombe]

I am toying with the idea of buying a portable, battery powered ph tester.

Has anyone had any experience with these?

How often do they need to be calibrated? How easy is this?

How reliable are they?

Can you get one that measures temperature or other things as well?

Any recomendations?

Jim

[SRC]

"Jim Morcombe" > wrote in message
...
> I am toying with the idea of buying a portable, battery powered ph tester.
>
> Has anyone had any experience with these?
> How often do they need to be calibrated? How easy is this?
> How reliable are they?
> Can you get one that measures temperature or other things as well?
> Any recomendations?
I use a Hanna pHep 5. It is easy to calibrate, and hold calibration a long
time (it has been months since I calibrated) It rads temperature too. The
pHep 5 is accurate to 0.01 --good enough for cheese making.

[blank]

I use a Hanna portable at work on a daily basis. It works fine and is very
reliable. Just be careful not to drop it. I think that only the cheapest
meters don't include temperature readings, because the ph and temp are
related, so the meter has to sense the temp to know how to factor this in
when measuring the pH.

Calibrating is very simple and reliable, so long as you follow the
instructions carefully So long as you keep the sensor moist in pH7 solution
when not in use (which just involves putting a couple drops on the sponge
which is part of the case), it's not necessary to re-calibrate very often
(maybe once a month), but I check the calibration (by just dipping the
sensor into calibration solution) on a weekly basis, or more often if I'm
sticking it into mucky potting mix solution multiple times daily.

I sometimes bring it home at weekends just to check that my pH kits are
still telling the truth, and find that they ((Hanna and Aquarium
Pharmaceuticals) are just as reliable as the meter. But I like the meter
better. (It also reads TDS/EC, which is useful to know.)

If I didn't have access to a meter, I would buy one, but not a cheapy--you
get what you pay for, as usual.

"Jim Morcombe" > wrote in message
...
> I am toying with the idea of buying a portable, battery powered ph tester.
>
> Has anyone had any experience with these?
>
> How often do they need to be calibrated? How easy is this?
>
> How reliable are they?
>
> Can you get one that measures temperature or other things as well?
>
> Any recomendations?
>
> Jim
>
>
>

[Dick]

I bought the Hanna and had fun at first. Started checking tanks
everyday or several times a day. I came to see that my tanks Ph did
not vary. For awhile I left the Hanna dangling its sensor in my 75
gallon tank. After awhile I put it away.

The accuracy is only as good as the calibration. Might as well use
the calibration test if no need to monitor frequently.

Anyone see it differently?


On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 19:56:31 +1100, "blank" > wrote:

>I use a Hanna portable at work on a daily basis. It works fine and is very
>reliable. Just be careful not to drop it. I think that only the cheapest
>meters don't include temperature readings, because the ph and temp are
>related, so the meter has to sense the temp to know how to factor this in
>when measuring the pH.
>
>Calibrating is very simple and reliable, so long as you follow the
>instructions carefully So long as you keep the sensor moist in pH7 solution
>when not in use (which just involves putting a couple drops on the sponge
>which is part of the case), it's not necessary to re-calibrate very often
>(maybe once a month), but I check the calibration (by just dipping the
>sensor into calibration solution) on a weekly basis, or more often if I'm
>sticking it into mucky potting mix solution multiple times daily.
>
>I sometimes bring it home at weekends just to check that my pH kits are
>still telling the truth, and find that they ((Hanna and Aquarium
>Pharmaceuticals) are just as reliable as the meter. But I like the meter
>better. (It also reads TDS/EC, which is useful to know.)
>
>If I didn't have access to a meter, I would buy one, but not a cheapy--you
>get what you pay for, as usual.
>
>"Jim Morcombe" > wrote in message
...
>> I am toying with the idea of buying a portable, battery powered ph tester.
>>
>> Has anyone had any experience with these?
>>
>> How often do they need to be calibrated? How easy is this?
>>
>> How reliable are they?
>>
>> Can you get one that measures temperature or other things as well?
>>
>> Any recomendations?
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>>
>

[Michi Henning]

"Dick" > wrote in message
...

> I bought the Hanna and had fun at first. Started checking tanks
> everyday or several times a day. I came to see that my tanks Ph did
> not vary. For awhile I left the Hanna dangling its sensor in my 75
> gallon tank. After awhile I put it away.
>
> The accuracy is only as good as the calibration. Might as well use
> the calibration test if no need to monitor frequently.
>
> Anyone see it differently?

I have one in my tank permanently, to control the valve
on a CO2 system. It's handy for that. At least I don't run
the risk of accidentally poisoning my fish with a CO2
overdose. Other than that, it's nice to be able to read
the pH at a glance, without having to muck around
with a test kit, but its a luxury, rather than a necessity.

If you don't use CO2 injection, I probably wouldn't
bother with a meter -- the fish won't mind the minor
fluctuations in pH that occur naturally, and a test kit
will be quite sufficient to keep the pH in range.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[Dick]

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 13:10:13 GMT, "Michi Henning" >
wrote:

>"Dick" > wrote in message
...
>
>> I bought the Hanna and had fun at first. Started checking tanks
>> everyday or several times a day. I came to see that my tanks Ph did
>> not vary. For awhile I left the Hanna dangling its sensor in my 75
>> gallon tank. After awhile I put it away.
>>
>> The accuracy is only as good as the calibration. Might as well use
>> the calibration test if no need to monitor frequently.
>>
>> Anyone see it differently?
>
>I have one in my tank permanently, to control the valve
>on a CO2 system. It's handy for that. At least I don't run
>the risk of accidentally poisoning my fish with a CO2
>overdose. Other than that, it's nice to be able to read
>the pH at a glance, without having to muck around
>with a test kit, but its a luxury, rather than a necessity.
>
>If you don't use CO2 injection, I probably wouldn't
>bother with a meter -- the fish won't mind the minor
>fluctuations in pH that occur naturally, and a test kit
>will be quite sufficient to keep the pH in range.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Michi.


That was my reasoning also Michi. I have a cabinet of ideas tried.
Automatic feeders come to mind and a saline meter.

[Michi Henning]

"Dick" > wrote in message
...

> That was my reasoning also Michi. I have a cabinet of ideas tried.
> Automatic feeders come to mind and a saline meter.

Thanks for letting me know! I've been toying with the idea
of an automatic feeder but now, I think I'll give it a miss.
One gadget too many. (Unfortunately, I'm a sucker for
gadgets... :-)

Cheers,

Michi.
--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com