I just calibrated my new etekcity ph meter. Tested my tap(well water) and it came in at 6.28…however my ph tester drops showed it’s color to be in what I see as a 4 to 5 range based on chart. Any thoughts appreciated as always
Is it possible, your equipment is faulty/DOA, or your drops are off or out of date? I know from experience that once the dates are expired, the drops start reading wrong. Could this be the problem?
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The ph meter is brand new, just calibrated it last night… The drops I purchased a couple weeks ago, they could be old? Not sure… Gonna try my tds meter later tonight to test my well water… I bought a combo ph /tds meter to run tests
I agree with @Aquaponic_Dumme , and if you have used a granulted powder pouch and dissolve it in a water that wasn’t distill water or some kind of 0 ppm water, your calibration is probably off . @Zombo
~Al 
I calibrated using distilled water last night as per the instructions… It has powder pouches… Seemed to calibrate ok… Maybe my drops are old… May need to test again? Thx for the feedback folks… I guess I should test the ph of the distilled water and it’s tds… Should that be 7 and 11 ppm?
You can re-test your meter by testing in the calibration solution it came with, or purchase new from a hydroponic store. It would make it easy to tell, by dropping it in 7.0 or 4.0 solution and seeing what it reads. If it reads those, the problem is the drops.
Hope this helps 
what about the 5.0 ph vinegar or is that not an absolute?
A fresh distilled water should be pH 7 and 0 ppm.
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When you say purchase new, do you mean new calibration solution?.. I just took it out of package and tested in distilled water using supplied powder packages
I think that’s already pre mix solution he is talking about
Vinegar is not a relialble source for stable pH calibration @bob31
I like to use premixed solution from reputable companies, as the powder doesn’t account for the pH of what you mix it with. Distilled water’s pH isn’t necessarily static from store to store, in fact, it varies heavily.
I hope this helps
reason I ask is that I needed some apple cider vinegar (hog knows why) and I saw on the label something like certified 5.0 acidic
Thx for all the help folks. Always get solid info on this site, posters are awesome
Gonna do some more tests and am gonna need new solution, they only give 4 powder packets to test with
white vinegar usually measures around pH 2.4, with a strength of 5%. So it’s most probably 5% of acidic level that your apple cidre vinaiger is . Vinegar can vary from pH 2.2 to 3.0 and still be 5% of acidic level depend on the sources. Plus, over time, the concentration is gone a fluctuate a little by water evaporation or in the case of organic undistilled vinegar with “mother vinegar” in them (the slimy stuff you gone a found in the bottom of the bottle)
So, even a certified 5% acidic level vinegar do not guarantee a stable pH .
Hoping that’s helping my friend, @bob31…
~Al
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it did thanks Al! @Niala
Still tastes real good on my baby back ribs!
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I’m out of “like”,
, … baby back ribs… aaarrrrggghhh 
(mouth watering 
)
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Some tests I just did, my straight tap, well water is 6.32, tds came in at 019, also tested distilled water from Walmart great value, that was 000 tds, ph was 5.94 range, I think meters are ok, not sure if distilled water should be 5-6 range? Thought I read 7?
Yeah it can be, do not forget that is not fresh distilled and the container that they are in may affect overtime the pH level and like said Dumme , it can vary from one compagny to another and it most probably due by the sources to make their distilled water, the processus utililized , container and how old they are .
So in a general sense, my tap ph and tds should be fine when I get going… Will add nutrients first then retest , still a ways off from starting but trying to learn as much as I can…thx again
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