affordable TDS PPM meter?

[onequickmove]

well, DWC bucket bubbler hydro looks more and more attractive; and it seems to me that without a PPM meter it's a bit like shooting in the dark i'm curious if someone could reccommmend one; i've never looked for them before; i want something quality, but i need a good price; any thoughts?

[xcrispi]

You'll need a ppm. pen and ph pen to keep you from going crazy .
I've found them both on ebay for 25.00 each or less . My ppm pen is a Sunleaves brand , my ph pen is a Milwakee brand . Both have been very very good to me . I love hydro. esp. my dwc / drip hybrids.
Peace
Crispi :jointsmile:

[rhizome]

Tried and true- Oakton pH meter.

Truncheon EC/TDS/PPM meter.

Not the cheapest, but you'll only have to buy them once.

My pH pen's probabley 10 years old and only on second electrode- Truncheon's about 8, only on third set of batteries.

And I tool on 'em.

[oldsanclem]

after a few grows I use a omega meter not cheap , but it replaced about 9 cheep meters 10 years ago.
Of all the things I would buy for growing is a real expensive meter.
It must be stable ,repeatable,and last.
Note after lots of cheap meters I have bough the $300 buck meter was the cheepst and most accurate.:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
your splinting frog hairs to get the most production.
when you play with mother nature, you want her always comming. :D

[alwayssleepdeprived]

Decide first what features you want...a cord is nice so you don't have to bend over all the time (not such a big deal if you only have one res) figure out what's best suited and look around for the price you can usually haggle with a hydro store owner too if you add like 10 to 20 percent from the cheapest online price so if ya see it online for 100 offer 120ish it's worth a shot

rhizome brought up a good point about having a replaceable electrode

I went with a 4 in 1 hanna pen tester that auto adjusts for temp difference I think mine was 150ish at the store but I've seen it online for just over 100...

I calibrated it once and haven't had to do anything else since

As far as accuracy it's noted to .05 ph and 2% variance on ppm I'm pretty sure it's right on point too cause even if I test several different res's it still lands on the exact same number it chose before for each res...oldsanclem has a point that you want repeatable I'd say that's about the most important of all cause if you dip it in the same solution and it changes it's answer well that's not so good haha...as long as it's within .1ph and 5% on ppm I'm sure you'll be fine regardless of brand

gl let us know what ya go with :thumbsup: