If you’re in the market for a pH meter, then it’s important that you buy the right one. Of course, finding the right pH meter can be a challenge, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for or if you don’t know how to use a pH tester.
Thankfully, we’re here to help! Here’s our ultimate guide on how to buy the best digital pH meter that will give you flawless accuracy every time!
Type of PH Meter
There are two main types of pH meters: benchtop and handheld. Benchtop pH meters are typically used in labs or research facilities. They have larger displays that allow more information to be displayed at once. Handheld pH meters are smaller and portable.
Different types of PH meters are used for different purposes. For instance, some will be used for testing liquids, some for half solid objects and some for flat surfaces.
The primary difference between the pH meters is the kind of probe that is used. The main one that you will usually see used is spear tip probes, which are generally used for things like measuring samples in a lab. If you want to measure a solid surface such as your skin, on the other hand, you would use a flat pH sensor instead. Glass bulb probes are then used for measuring liquids.
Accuracy of the PH Meter
A good pH meter should give accurate results. This means that it must be able to read the exact value of the sample being tested. It also needs to do this quickly so that you can get an accurate reading without having to wait too long.
Ideally, your PH meter needs to have an accuracy rate of ± 0.01 pH units. That means that every time you test something, you need to be within 0.01 pH units of the actual value. You can check the accuracy by comparing the readings from multiple tests.
Likewise, you also need to check the resolution of the pH meter. What is this? Resolution is how many times per second (Hz) the meter can detect changes in the pH level of the sample. It’s essentially the smallest change that you can measure in the quantity that you are measuring. You should be looking for a pH meter that has a resolution of around 0.01 pH.
The Temperature Sensor
You may not think so, but temperature sensors play an important role when using a pH meter. When you are testing a liquid, there’s no problem because you can just add water to a container and test it in the right conditions, and you’ll be fine. However, when you are testing a solid object, you need to make sure that the temperature remains constant. Otherwise, the pH level reading of the object could change over time.
This is why most pH meters have built-in temperature sensors.
When buying a pH meter, you will need to check the quality of both the temperature sensor and of the Automatic Temperature Compensation. With Automatic Temperature Compensation, the pH meter automatically adjusts its measurements according to the ambient temperature. This is vital if you are comparing the measurements of multiple samples that may differ in terms of temperature.
Auto Hold
Another thing to consider when buying a pH meter is the Auto Hold feature. Many pH meters will require you to hold down a button in order to get an accurate reading of the pH. This is not the case with a pH meter with auto hold. With this feature, way, you don’t have to keep pressing the button again and again to ensure that the pH reading is accurate. It certainly saves your fingers a little bit of effort, which is useful if you’re taking measurements outside in the cold!
If you use auto hold then your pH measurements are much more likely to be accurate, so it’s certainly a feature that you should be looking for.
Display
Lastly, you should look at the display of the pH meter. The display should show you the current pH level of the sample that you are testing.
Look for a pH meter that has a backlit display. That way, whether it’s dark or light in your environment, you can see what you are looking at much more easily.
It’s a good idea to look for a device that can give you both the pH readings and the temperature at the same time if you manage to get a meter that has a temperature sensor built in. Some pH meters will also give you extra data in the form of a bar graph that shows you the pH trends. Pretty neat, huh?
Conclusion
Buying a pH meter doesn’t need to be difficult. Hopefully with this guide, you too can buy the most accurate product!
