The Most Important Tool In Your Garden!

[Rellikbuzz]

With all of the fancy gizmos, gadgets, light systems and nutrient regimes to blow your money on in an attempt to get bigger and more potent buddage, the best money you'll ever spend is the money you'll spend on a good pH meter. For without proper monitoring of your pH, none of the other gear or nutes you buy will do you or your plants any good at all.

While I have had a cheap Hanna pH meter for sometime now, I recently broke down and took my own advice and bought what is arguably the best, most accurate pH meter on the market! Milwaukee Meter's SM-802 not only tests for pH but it also tests EC and PPM as well!

The retail price for the SM-802 is quite high at well over $200.00 for just the meter. Now, the pictures you see below are Milwaukee Meters AG-900 Precision Agricultural Test Kit. Included in the kit is the SM-802 meter, a handy dandy padded carrying case and the various calbration solutions for pH, EC and PPM/TDS.




Pretty slick, huh?




The AG-900 kit retails for almost $300.00! However, thanks to our good ol' pals over at Ebay, there are a couple of sellers there (by the name of Ocean Notions and Aqua Cave) that offer the SM-802 for $135.00 or the AG-900 kit for $165.00 plus shipping. That's a HUGE savings over what the hydro shops are charging for similar meters.




The SM-802 features an easy to read LED display and the controls are as simple as you can ask for. You can see the two dials on the right that adjust pH, EC and PPM/TDS by simply turning the dial. No more microscopic screwdrivers needed to adjust the calibration. Couldn't be easier!




The probe features an easily replacable, double-junction electrode that reads all three functions of pH, EC and PPM/TDS. These meters are highly accurate and DO NOT require constant recalibration like lesser expensive meters do.

The SM-802 can be used situationally. Meaning that you can use them periodically or, for you hydro guys out there, it can be used full-time by leaving the probe in your res for constant feedback. It is powered by a 9volt battery so you might want to check that every couple of weeks or so if you use it to constantly monitor your res.

Tech Mike at Advanced Nutrients told me that they have tried them all but the Milwaukee Meters have been the workhorses of their operations and they only have to recalibrate them once or twice a year! In Mike's opinion, the Hanna's and the Oaktons aren't as reliable and require more frequent calibration to be accurate.

You have read thread after thread here in the Plant Hospital that details nutrient deficiency after nutrient deficiency. However, after further analysis, almost invaribly the problem has been pH related or too strong/too weak of a nutrient mix. With one purchase of a good tri-function meter like the SM-802, you can bring these problems to an end. Whether you're a "newbie" grower or a seasoned, salty veteran, everyone should have a meter like this at the top of their list of things to get for their grow. Why risk losing plants that you've spent good money on the beans for? Why waste the investment you've made in your grow by losing your plants to pH related problems? Suffice it to say that the money you spend buying a good pH meter will be the best dollars ever spent on your garden.


RB