Took 3 tries to believe a cheap pH meter over my expensive one

My $15 meter from Amazon kept saying my soil was way more acidic than my $120 lab-grade probe, so I ignored it for weeks until a local greenhouse test in Portland confirmed the cheap one was right, has anyone else had a budget gadget outdo their fancy gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.xena10d ago

Same thing happened with my kitchen scale. Spent $80 on a fancy one that drifted all over, the $12 one from Target has been spot on for two years. pH meters especially are touchy, the cheap ones use simpler circuits that are more stable sometimes. I always test my meters with calibration fluid now before trusting either one. That saved me from ruining a whole batch of blueberry bushes last spring.

river_wright9d ago

Isn't it funny how we get brainwashed into thinking price equals quality? Same thing went down with me and a moisture meter, paid like $70 for one with all these fancy probes and features, it kept telling me my ferns were bone dry when they were clearly soggy. My buddy loaned me his $18 one from a hardware store and it was pin accurate every single time. I swear some of these "pro" gadgets are just marketed to people who don't trust their own eyes. Calibration fluid is the real hero here though, I've learned that lesson the hard way too.