Customer Reviews

Hanna Instruments HI 98129 pH/Conductivity/TDS and Temperature Tester

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have used this meter for about 4 years for hydroponic gardening (hobby level). I have recently been using the meter to test the water and adjust pH and fertilizer in my kitchen Aerogarden. It's easy to use and accurate for this use, and has made a big difference in the quality and quantity of my gardening results.

This is a great meter! If you are looking for PH and PPM this is it. My only suggestion is to buy all the solutions with it. You will spend close to $200 but you will have everything you will need for this. You will need to buy these 5 solutions:

Calibrating the PH sensor:

Hanna Instruments HI 7007M 7.01 pH Buffer Solution

Hanna Instruments HI 7004M 4.01 pH Buffer Solution

Calibrating PPM:

Hanna Instruments HI 7031M Conductivity Solution, 1413 uS/cm, 0.23L

Storage & Cleaning:

Hanna Instruments HI 70300M Storage Solution for pH/ORP Electrodes, 0.23L

Hanna Instruments HI 7061M Electrode Cleaning Solution

I got the tds meter in package and it works great. Turns on real quick measures good. Takes a lil bit as far as the tds counting and ph counting. but it is very accurate within .01 accuracy...Very good quality. I was pricing a tds meter and a ph meter waterproof and temp meters. And its to much hassle to fanagle with different meters....At the end of it all, i only save 10 20 bucks...Meaning..THIS thing has it all in 1 shot, Worth the extra few bucks. Waterproof, tds, ph and temperature all in 1...Can't beat it... Good quality, u can just let it float in the water. The manual says to clean the tip of it after using to make the meter last longer. So thats what i do

The first one did not hold calibration between on / off cycle. After being calibrated using 4.01 and 7.01 buffer solutions and turned off and back on, PH readings were off by .40 to .50. In other words the previously calibrated 7.01 buffer solution would read 7.40 to 7.50. This is way more than the advertised accuracy of + or - .05. Sent it back and requested a replacement. The second one was just as bad as the first. I would not recommend this item.

I have the exact same problem as one of the other reviewers so I'm just going to repost:

"[...] did not hold calibration between on / off cycle. After being calibrated using 4.01 and 7.01 buffer solutions and turned off and back on, PH readings were off by .40 to .50. In other words the previously calibrated 7.01 buffer solution would read 7.40 to 7.50. This is way more than the advertised accuracy of + or - .05."

I also made a test where I inserted the meter in the 4.01 pH buffer and I did NOT remove the meter from the solution when the small clock disappeared (which signals that the reading is stable). The reading went slowly from 3.97 to 4.39, without me changing anything.

The electrode takes a very very long time to stabilize its reading.

I'm sorry that I have nothing to compare it to, but this device takes the guesswork out of getting your Ph or PPM right. It's waterproof and works with 2 buttons. The only bad thing was the directions are not easy to understand (how to calibrate it,) but good news, youtube has videos showing you how to use it. Make sure you buy the cleaning and storing solutions, as well as some Ph 7 and 4. I would buy this item again if mine broke.

This is a nice pH/TDS meter, it can be a bit slow stabilizing on pH readings sometimes but it is easy to calibrate and good accuracy when properly calibrated.

As other reviewers have mentioned, make sure you know what you are getting into before you buy a pH mater. There is a fair amount of maintenance involved and you will need to either purchase or make your own storage solution, cleaning solution and buffers for calibration. I would recommend reading on the net to understand how a pH meter works and how to care for the glass electrode, you can also find info about how to make your own solutions with chemicals that can be had cheaply at most hardware stores.

PROS - everything I need to monitor is on one 'pen'

Very quick readings

CONS - the cap is very tight - making it difficult to remove smoothly

I dislike the fact that you don't change reading modes using the MODE but - you use the SET/LOCK button instead(??)

I bought this meter to replace an Oakton PH-2 unit that failed after little more than a month. The Hanna meter calculated right away (be aware that you have to buy buffer solutions to calibrate) AFTER I followed the instructions. I am using the meter daily now - mostly for PH testing - I own a Bluelab truncheon that I still prefer for ECC/PPM readings. I like the fact that the Hanna and the Bluelab give me the same readings in wine or beer musts.

One caveat - I did a quick PH test of some honeybee feed (syrup) - it took quite a bit of effort to rinse the ph sensor free of the sugars.

So far - I give the Hanna combo meter high marks overall.

Durable, accurate, dependable, and convenient. I have seen other products of this type break or go way off in accuracy, but this model here is reliable. I have used mine for about 4 years. Always rinse in distilled water after use. Store the probe moist.

Good multiparameter tester. I used this unit for agricultural water quality testing. The pH and temperature units are quite accurate, although it sometimes seemed to take 1-2 minutes to find a final water temperature when the air and water temperature differed by a large amount.

As other users have noted, you must calibrate the unit to ensure accuracy over time and it is recommended to store the pH bulb with a storage solution (essentially a low pH liquid on sponge to keep it moist). In addition, it should be noted that conductivity and TDS are not the same thing. This unit measure conductivity and estimates the TDS based on this measurement. TDS is a measure of the amount of ions in solution. Conductivity is a measure of the ionic activity (ability to transmit an electrical current). For dilute solutions the two measure are comparable. However, this unit would not be appropriate for accurately reporting TDS in highly concentrated solution (certainly not for laboratory type accuracy in any case). One final note, this unit does not measure turbidity ("cloudiness" of the water, in the most simplistic sense). Although this too is often related to conductivity, they are not the same thing.

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