i got one of these about 2 months back now because the shite PH pen i had took literally 5 minutes to settle itself down!

and even then i didn't know it was finally done or accurate

this little beauty is the same size as an EC truncheon & factory calibrated

it flashes its lights when measuring, then holds the lights solid after about 10secs when its happy with the measurement, so you KNOW its done

it has two sets of flashing lights, one set for the whole units and one set for the 1/10's

it is brilliant!

for £30.00 i can't recommend it enough

anyone else use one? and what do you think of it?

Click to view attachment

(ps - mods - if i've put this in the wrong place please move, thank you )

personally i think they shit
you can not calibrate em gone through half a dozen of em over the years never again

IME and plenty of other fellow growers they are utter shite

Owd

i have only had it two months i suppose...

i still luv it at the moment and will make the most of it while it works then!!!!!

this can be a product review instead! i'll be back

So what do you use?

I'm researching what to buy - and now am confuddled!

It's not a Bluelab, it's a Chin-Wa knockoff, and you can usually get them cheaper than £30 as well.

If thats a bluelab trunchon ...my one cost me £69.99

picture was of different one to the one i have

changed it now - this one is £30-00, didn't know the bluelab was £70.00

soz

It's *not* a BlueLab - it's a Chin-Wah Chinese knock-off of one - they've been all over FleaBay for a couple of years now, and you can get them for less than £30 if you look around. Personally, from what I've gathered from other people who've used them, I'd not get one and put the money towards getting a decent one that'll last and give reliable results - something like a BlueLab preferably.

well, its doin the do for me at the moment is all i can say

better than any pen i've ever had

Do you still check it with buffer solution? My grow shop was wingeing about the fact you cant callibrate them, and had to return all theres.

even bluelab are they all lose calibration in time
meters i like are Eutech instruments i think they are the business

i'll check it on a monthly basis with buffer like i would any ph pen

but to be honest, soon as it goes wrong i'll go get another at that price

all ph measurement devices are supposed to have the glass probe changed after a certain amount of time, i think its about a year, and an expensive ph measurer's probe will cost more than this whole truncheon, so i still think its cost effective

seems like it could be a piece of crap looking at peoples reactions to this thread, but i've had no problems with it as i've said to date, 2 months use - we will have to wait and see

They're shit. I've owned two and both were amazing for about a day, then broke. Typical chinese shite ime.

In principle yes, I agree, they rule - but even Bluelab themselves can't get a v2 of their pH truncheon right just yet (i.e. reliable). There's a reason why they're not on the market from reputable manufacturers, because the technology isn't quite sorted as yet (afaics). Nearly there - in fact I think v2 is due out soon because I mailed them a while ago and they were working on it.

I'm using a Trident Multi right now, and it's v. sexy...but ime nothing beats the Horticare pH and EC pens for reliability and sustained accuracy.

GN

edited to fix typo

yup agreed they not bad meters much better than truncheon's
but if ya tried eutech i doubt you would use out else

With passive hydro and ro water, you only need to get the pH correct once. From then on, mix the res the same way and the ec/pH will always be the same.

I have one of those and not tested it on a buffer solution, pretty sure you can calibrate it as well. It comes supplied with a magnet which you place on calibration point, not read the instructions though.

yeah, you can calibrate it

havn't needed to yet tho

Dometick - is it still working??! I'm impressed! Make sure you've got a spare old one to hand because it's only a matter of time before it lets you down.

I agree with the other poster...once you've got your mix down you don't need to keep checking the EC (in a handwater to waste mix), but you should do once in a while just to double check (e.g. my tap water tends to fluctuate 0.2EC every few months).

GN

I have had various truncheons and pens dont waste your money I use a blulab combi meter great piece of kit you can get them £120 now with a five year guarantee 916

, after all this i am ready and prepared to replace it pronto!

but in answer to your question

Click to view attachment

5.9

i will notify on this thread when it fails!

my tap water tends to fluctuate 0.2EC every few months

That's why I have an ro unit, not enough variation to make a difference. For growing purposes it can be considered pure water.

Does it get easier than this? For drain to waste using perlite, perlite/vermiculite mix or Fytocell (but not coco) 21 to 22 litres of ro water, 40ml GH micro, 80ml of GH bloom and 15ml of Liquid Silicon as pH up. Feed it to seed plants from the day they sprout until the day before harvest and for young clones, the same volume of ro water but 25ml micro, 50ml bloom and 8ml Liquid Silicon. No meters needed.

well, quick update, the shite ph truncheon is still working absolutely fine

916, wouldn't you have to change the ph probe before that though?

i thought they need changing once a year

Hi all,
Cant really compare it with anything, but I have been using a HI 98129 combo tester w/steel temp probe and so far its been wery wery good (only joking its not from China). It has kept its calibration well for the last 7 weeks and is still blob on. I still however check it regularly and have done a cal just to remember how to. Would defo recommend them.

Regards cain1.

Can get them in this country for 100 quid plus postage or I got mine from the USA on fleebay (New) for 80 Quid or so inc postage.

another month gone and its still going well

paid for itself as well now compared to the other more expensive options, 4 months of trouble free use

i still really like the way the lights lock on when its happy with the level

All products should be judged on performance, not their origin of manufacture. Almost all goods purchased in the Western World are either manufactured in Asia or those that say they are manufactured by themselves have parts that are manufactured in Asia. All major (Western) companies now have manufacturing plants in China, Vietnam, Korea etc as their quality levels are / almost at the same level.
I will be looking at the 'Eurotech' instruments as they are recommended on this thread, even though it is a Singapore based company.

(there are poor products out there produced in various countries).

Is there a thread on the forum advising members on tried & trusted instruments?

Regards
stu

i have one of those too and i think its ok but after having it for about 3 months it wouldnt turn itself off so i have resulted to unscrewing the batteries after every time i use it!

You need to rinse it in the clean/purest water you have after each use, that brings the EC down to 0 and both shuts it off, and, keeps your device clean and accurate.

I have a bluelabs but I didnt get it off ebay, ex grower equip, I does work well, never figured out how to calibrate it though, apparently it its self calibrated.

5 year warranty

Had one of these aswel poor shit got loads of ph probs using it ,then got a hanna put the 2 of them in ph buffer and the hanna was perfect the cheap truncheon was way off.

this truncheons still working fine, but its drifted off and i can't work out how to calibrate it!

its reading 6.7 in a 7.0 calibration solution

not really a problem, i'm still using it, just adjusting accordingly

ss

4 month aint bad i guess,...Healthystealthy's usin a neat tri-meter right now,...80 brick.
iv seen the eurotech's version of the tri-meter n its fuckin wank...very cheaply made by the looks n feel of it...very plasticy n fragile.

good luck wi it scoobyS.

You can't just adjust your calculations by adding 0.3. The Ph scale is logarhythmic and therefore increases or decrease are exponential.

Brae

i didn't know that brae, its close enough for me mate approximate is fine far as i'm concerned

its not harley street round here

i'm getting one of the fleabay trimeters too bizz, i like the idea of a constant display, and its that snazzy purple display

think they're about 65quid

I've had my Eutech for 2 years. Still going strong. I'd definitely recommend them.