Digital PH Meter
 

Does anyone have any experience using handheld digital PH meters?

I'm gardening on 100% bona fide beech sand. Hence, all my beds and boxes are a combination of various composts, peats and other organic matter - and every one is different. I'd really like a simple solution to test each individual area and a hand held meter seems ideal. But, do they work? I'd be interested in any comments and/or recommendations.

Did you try a search? Seems I recall this subject came up a while back.

41N,

A few years ago I saw some online ratings of a few digital meters. Everyone thought they were all lousy. One gardener tested the various types of soil he had (sounds like your situation). Every reading came out at 7.0 :?: .

That's what I was afraid of. I've used the combo moisture/PH meters before - the ones that cost about $15-$20 - and gotten similar results. I was interested in the Hanna product line - they start at $40 or so and go up into the several hundred dollar range. I wondered whether a $100 meter would be worth the cost.

Amazon.com sells various makes/models. They all have user reviews available on-site.

I have one of these:
[url]http://www.amazon.com/LUSTERLEAF-Rapitest-Soil-pH-Meter/dp/B002NP0HJE[/url]

I tested it with a neutral test solution for calibrating pH meters
(two actually; one bottle is down in the pH 4 range, the other
near neutral). It read .1 low at both ranges.

I used these General Hydroponics solutions to test:
[url]http://www.planetnatural.com/site/ph-7-calibration-solution.html[/url]
(The pH 4 solution is down at the bottom of that page.)

There's also this possible option...

[URL="http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/soiltest.html"]www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/soiltest.html[/URL]

So, I was at the garden center today and saw a few PH meters - I thought, what the heck...

Got home with the "Digital Soil Ph Meter" from Luster Leaf; took a few samples - and it stopped working. :twisted: Maybe that's why there's a lack of positive comments.

i have tried many different meters (grocheck,hana,rapitest,and the only
one i can put any trust is blulab you can buy them either one test units or they come in combo p.h. and
t.d.s. units either way they will give you a dead on
reading.regards.

les