Milwaukee Instruments pH 600 pH Tester With 1 Point Manual Calibration

I have never owned a pH meter before, having been put off by the price and their reputation for being fragile and temperamental. At only $18, the Milwaukee PH600 seemed like a good way to test the water (so to speak). So far I haven't had a need to invest in anything more expensive. I have been using this meter to create hydroxide precipitates and found it to be very stable and reliable. I recalibrate it every day, but it is only ever off by 0.1 or 0.2. The calibration is single-point, but I find that if it shows 10.0 in a 10.0 reference solution, then it will read 6.9 or 7.0 in the 7.0 reference solution. Just don't put the meter in very hot (e.g. boiling) water, the probe will crack like mine did. It still gives correct readings but I'm ordering another of the same model just in case I do something stupid again. It's true, as per some of the other reviews, that calibrating this device by sticking the supplied screwdriver in a small hole in the back while watching the front is a bit inconvenient, but to be honest one gets the hang of it pretty quickly, and I can't really think of a better design. If the hole was in the front or on the side, then it would be more exposed to water drops, at least in my process which involves taking measurements while stirring. And the simple, manual, analogue interface of turning a potentiometer is hard to improve upon. The meter arrived dry, but I put some pH 7.0 reference solution in the cap as soon as I opened the package, and as I said it works fine now. Update: I dropped my second one in salt water and it died. Even after removing the batteries, washing it in distilled water, and drying it, it still wouldn't go back to work for me. So I bought an $80 waterproof Hanna meter (HI98127). The Hanna one is temperature-calibrated, which I found out is important for what I am doing. It also has 2-point calibration. This requires standard buffers (7.0, and either 10 or 4) and is not as flexible as the screwdriver method, but actually works pretty well. And the probe can be separately replaced. I guess Milwaukee still gets five stars for the price, but think about whether robustness to splashes and temperature variations is important to your application.

Dear Sirs, I bought this item to use with my salt aquarium. I live in Costa Rica and took a while to get the product with me as it was sent to my friend's house in US and I had to wait for him to come to Costa Rica and handle it to me here a couple of weeks later after I bought it. I finally got this PH tester and used it the very first time then kept it as recommended in the instructions printed on the packing. I tried to use it again this weekend but it is not working. When I switch it on, it starts showing different readings that go from the low to the high ranges back and forth in a continous loop which even exceeds the exceed the normal maximum readings it is supposed to read (0 to 14). It does not stop and does not give any final ph level reading. I checked the bateries level and the are ok. Then I removed the bateries trying to reset it and get it working well again but nothing has resolved this and now it is totally our of service. It is not easy for me to return it as I am in Costa Rica and will take some time to get someone or myself travelling to US. I'd like to get it replaced or the money back if this is not possible. What would be the next stepfrom my side? How can you help me please. Thank you,

Works as described. I bought this pen to test the PH of plant nutrient solutions. I removed it from the packaging and noticed white mineral build up at the base of the pen. I can only guess, but I'd say this build up is from the pen being tested before packaging. The pen was placed in plain tap water and left to sit for a few minutes. (I was told to let it sit for several hours in the tap water, which was unnecessary.) Tests within .1 PH which I verified with liquid PH test solution. From what I've been able to gather the pen tip must always remain moist and never be left to dry. This is almost impossible to achieve with the pen CAP on. I've decided to leave the instrument in plain tap water during storage. The pen feels cheaply made but works well thus far, worth the price and is a great alternative to a 75-100 dollar PH gauge.

have not used as of yet because it did not come with calibration solution will be ordering i now ordered solution and pen woks just fine

First of all I bought the meter to measure my dogs urine instead of water. The dog has a bladder condition that requires he maintain as close as possible a PH of 7 or else he develops bladder stones. When I first got my meter I had the same problem with calibration as reported here. I replaced the batteries and tightened the piece of metal (not a spring these are cheaply made) pushing up on the batteries and that helped. Soon I was cranking the adjustment screw extremely. Fortunately I took the dog to the vet for a check up and drug the meter along thinking the vet might suggest a better one. We went back in the lab and had a conversation with the technician and they almost simultaneously said the magic word "contamination". I had been pouring a little calibration fluid in the cap to calibrate. The cap holds about a teaspoon of fluid. What was happening is the liquid left behind was contaminating the test fluid. This was embarrassing because I am a scientist -- PHD yada yada and apparently not a good wet one :-) Now I pour a little fluid in the cap and swirl it around. I have not re-calibrated the meter in three weeks. When I test the calibration with the liquid left in the cap overnight (they recommend keeping the bulb wet) the meter reads 6.9 instead of 7. Rinse the cap and meter with fresh calibration fluid and it reads 7.0. I am very happy with the meter and the dog no longer has oxalate crystals in his urine. So if you get this meter or any meter remember the word "contamination". I purchased this last Feb without problems being careful to calibrate correctly. It is now October and the unit has stopped working. I use it every day and sometimes twice a day. I might have gotten some moisture in it but I don't see any now and this is a little disappointing. I will buy another one and see how long it lasts (this is much cheaper and more accurate than test strips).

I've had an aquarium for over 8 years and irregularly tried to test the Ph with the little strips. I just never felt I was getting an accurate enough reading to do anything about it. A few months ago I started having significant drop off in snail life. They died. I got a couple more, they died shortly, and so did the next batch. Being a rocket scientist, I deduced something was wrong... I tried partial water changes to no avail. I purchased this little buddie and found my Ph was dropping as low as 4. I did have to re-calibrate it in tap water, and am not sure I am getting a 100% accurate / consistent reading, but a few decimals won't impact my use. I finally did a complete water change and scrubbed the tank while the fish used a temporary tank for a day. Things are back to normal, but I use this Ph600 almost daily to keep things on track again. I suspect I had some voodoo bacteria or growth, but with this guy and a some high school scientific education I can at least keep the new snails alive. FYI - I tried, against the advice of pros, to add chemicals to balance the Ph - but as suggested, there is usually a reason for Ph increases or drops and chemicals rarely solve it. Nothing like good monitoring and a proper cleaning every now and again.

As other reviewers noted: My unit came with some crust on the end, it isn't consistent and on occasion it just gives crazy results for a while. Not sure why or what 'resets' it. Needs calibration frequently and it still doesn't read consistently. There is no hold feature and the on/off switch is so cheap and poorly designed that I haven't seen anything like it since the 1970's - in fact this whole unit looks like a 70's design. The battery case also look really cheap and easy to break or lose pieces. The screen is tiny and difficult to read, there is no hold feature so you have to try to read it in real time while you are holding it in the liquid to be measured. I would NOT recommend this meter even as an entry level model. Spend more money, read the reviews and don't make the mistake of buying this junk because you'll likely end up buying a more expensive model once you see how junky and unreliable this model is. I'm very disappointed with this item.

Purchased this meter after hearing good reviews here and elsewhere. The meter was easy to use and accurate when compared to the test strips I was using. This meter was used 4 times in 1 day and then stored in a proper storage solution and then not used for 2 months. When I attempted to calibrate the meter it's display was jumping very quickly between 10 and 4.2 and would not hold steady or calibrate. One month later I again attempted to calibrate this meter and this time it had no display. It is cheap and did work as advertised initially but is a bit over priced for a disposable meter. Not happy!