Bluelab Starterpack (PENSTP) PH / EC Pen and maintenance set

The two pens you need to get started, plus the care kit that keeps them working. PH, EC and temperature in one package.

The Bluelab Starter Pack contains the Bluelab pH Pen, the Bluelab Conductivity Pen and the matching sensor care kit. That gives you the three values a crop is steered on in one go: how well your plant can reach its feed, how much feed is in the water, and how warm that solution is.

Why two pens, not one

pH and EC measure two things with nothing to do with each other, and you need both before you can act sensibly.

EC tells you how much nutrient is in the water. pH tells you whether your plant can reach it. Measure EC alone and you can mix a tidy 1.8 that the plant largely cannot take up because acidity is off, and then you see a deficiency while the reservoir is full. Measure pH alone and you know the door is open but not how much is behind it.

Hence the order experienced growers work in: mix your feed, measure and correct EC, and only then set the pH. Adding nutrient shifts pH, so doing it the other way round means doing it twice.

The care kit, and why it belongs here

This is the part people skip when buying pens separately, and it is the difference between meters lasting a season and meters lasting years.

A pH electrode is a consumable. The glass membrane only measures while hydrated and clean. Two things end that:

• Drying out. A pen left dry in a drawer is sluggish when you find it and sometimes beyond saving. Store it with KCl storage solution in the cap. Never in deionised water, which pulls ions out of the membrane instead.
• Fouling. Nutrient salts and biofilm build a film on the glass. The meter does not stop; it slows down and drifts further off: producing tidy, believable numbers.

The EC sensor is considerably more robust and needs no storage solution, but it does foul with salt build-up. Cleaning sorts that out.

A workable routine: rinse with clean water after every use, calibrate monthly, and clean both sensors periodically with the solution from the kit. Always recalibrate after cleaning.

Technical Specifications:

Bluelab pH Pen

• Range: 0.0 to 14.0 pH
• accuracy: ± 0.1 pH
• Calibration points: 3: pH 4, 7 and 10
• Temperature: accurate to 1 °C, with automatic compensation
• Battery: 1 x AAA
• warranty: 1 year

Bluelab Conductivity Pen

• Range: 0.0 to 10.0 EC
• accuracy: ± 0.1 EC
• Calibration point: 1: EC 2.77
• Temperature: accurate to 1 °C, with automatic compensation
• Battery: 1 x AAA

Both pens: fully waterproof, battery indicator and automatic shut-off. Completed by the Bluelab pH and EC sensor care kit.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a good starting point if I have never measured before?
Yes. These are exactly the two measurements you steer on, and the care kit keeps them trustworthy. What you still need is buffer solution at pH 4.01 and 7.01, and pH down to correct with.

Do these pens read soil or coco?
No, both are for liquid. To measure in the medium, the Bluelab Soil pH Pen or the Pulse is built for that.

How often should I calibrate?
The pH pen monthly; it flags this itself after thirty days. On the conductivity pen calibration is optional, because a conductivity sensor barely drifts.

Can I replace the electrode in these pens?
Not on these; the probe is fixed. Good care is therefore what determines their life, which is exactly why the care kit is included.

Which do I measure first, pH or EC?
EC first, pH second. Adding nutrient shifts acidity, so you set that last.