APERA INSTRUMENTS AI209 Value Series PH20 Waterproof pH Tester Kit, ±0.1 pH Accuracy

I love this meter. It’s easy to calibrate. The readings are fast and accurate. It reaches a conclusion quickly and will hold the reading after being removed from the solution. The small refillable jars for calibration solutions make this a great little kit. Perfect for the lab or home enthusiast.

I use this for mead making where pH is an important factor for recipe development at different stages of the process. It’s easy to use, easy to calibrate, easy to read, and easy to clean. Great value for what seems to be a reliable, lab quality product.

Es excelente para medir el Ph de agua. Para aquello que quieran medir mas de 9 ph. Ellos son claros que el líquido para su medicion de 14 ph o 12 ph se compra por aparte. En mi caso no pienso medir nada mas allá de 9. También, el equipo trae códigos escaneables que lo llevan a ver videos de Youtube, útiles para la calibración y su uso. It is excellent to do ph measurements. By the way, for those who wants to do measurements above 9 ph levels. They have set in multiple times that the liquid with the 14 ph or 12 ph is sold apart, it is not include. In my case, I am not going to measure more than 9 ph. In addition, the equipment include codes that you can scan to go to their Youtube channel to visualize the calibration steps and a quick review of it (In case you do not want to read all the instructions).

I bought this tester mainly to verify two cheaper ones I had already. I was just not confident the ones I was using were giving me accurate readings. When I tested them with calibration solution they both read slightly off one being higher and one lower. So I decided to spend the money on a higher end model. The Apera model seems to work very well and when tested in calibration solution is usually spot on. It has a nice LCD display which is easy to read during normal operation and is much quicker at determining the PH level versus the cheaper ones where you need to wait a while for them to stabilize and typically have much smaller and darker displays. That is the good news, however, the calibration procedure is a bit clunky compared to even the other cheaper ones I have. Partly due to the instructions which are very poorly written, hard to follow and provide contradictory information when it comes to things like storing the device. I understand it was made in China but for gosh sake, hire someone who knows how to speak and write in English to design the manual so it makes sense. In my application PH is very important so having more than one tester is not a bad thing. But it I had to pick just one and price was not an issue....then yes, I would chose the Apera model, but by a very small margin. Mainly because it appears to be a higher quality, well made device - even though the included instructions and funky calibration procedure hold it back from a five star rating. But in the end it is only slightly more accurate then the $10-$15 ones I already have. If the accuracy of the PH reading is that important to you and you want the best and do not care about spending $50, then the Apera is a fine choice. But if you are on a budget and are using a tester to check the PH of say swimming pool water, a cheaper model will work just fine. I would recommend getting two cheaper units from different manufacturers so you can check them against one another. You will spend about half of what it cost for the Apera. And as long as you occasionally test and re-calibrate them, you are better off with two cheaper models than the one more expensive one that does the same thing.

I bought the Apera AI209 Value Series pH Tester for use in our professional kitchen, mainly to test the pH levels of barbecue sauces and hot sauces to ensure they stay below the required threshold for shelf stability. It’s been a fantastic upgrade from our old Dr. Meter testers, which were cheaper upfront but rarely lasted more than three months and were frustrating to keep properly calibrated. The calibration process with the Apera is a breeze. Unlike other brands that give you powder packets you have to mix with “clean” water (and good luck deciding what counts as clean), this kit comes with bottles of perfectly balanced calibration solutions; no guessing, no inconsistencies, and no cursing over cloudy mixes. You start with a solid, reliable baseline right out of the box. Readings are quick (usually within 5 to 10 seconds), and the included carrying case is surprisingly sturdy and well-organized. It's been dropped a few times already. I know this pH tester is marketed toward a wide range of uses, but for food safety applications in a commercial kitchen, it’s been excellent. It gives us accurate, repeatable results, and peace of mind knowing our sauces are safe and shelf-stable.

It's a bit cheaper. They shipped the package the same day and the fluids are fresh. This is a very nice instrument; waterproof, easy to use and seems very accurate. Highly recommended for the price.

This thing is advertised to work for general liquid solutions. Unfortunately, be aware it does not read water. Yeah, you read that correctly. You need enough stuff IN the water, or it will not read the water. I use reverse osmosis water for my plants, and it is "empty." I add nutrients to it, but it takes a LOT of stuff in the water before you get an accurate reading. To make matters worse, it will not tell you when it is doing this. You will have no idea. I suddenly thought there was something wrong with my R/O water causing it to be extremely high pH. No, it was not the water; the water was still the same old 5.5 pH it always was, but the pen COULD NOT read it properly and was telling me 8 pH. THERE IS NO MENTION OF THIS anywhere before you purchase it. It is not mentioned in the instructions either. Therefore, I trusted the meter (which works phenomenally otherwise) and completely ruined months of work. Additionally, I often want to water my plants with water that is at the right pH of about 6.5, but does not have ANY nutrients. This is common, called a "flush," because you don't want to keep feeding nutrients to plants that don't need it. Well, you can't measure water with this, so I can't do that. For the high price, it works great, but it does NOT work in all situations, and they make little effort to warn you of this. Now I have to buy one that costs twice as much??? This is stupid. So now I am left to bumble around confused using both this and the pH strips I was trying to get away from. Now I need yet another unit that will measure empty water. I had a $5 one that did it, which I threw away once I got this, thinking I would no longer need it. This seems absurd to me. I guess I am one of the few people using reverse osmosis water or something? I think I deserve a refund or upgrade to a version that will WORK, but I doubt I'll even get a response, and if I do, the responses will just blame me instead. My ignorance isn't my fault if you don't make an effort to alert me before purchase. And don't tell me to do more research. I DID research.

For pool and hot tub. The probe is finally not calibrating after 5 1/2 years so getting another one. No complaints.