TDS Meter Digital Water Quality Tester, TDS, Temperature & Conductivity Meter 3 in 1, 0-4999 ppm, EC Meter, Digital Water Hardness Testers for Drinking Water, PPM Meter for Hydroponics Aquarium

This should last longer than water test strips, it's more accurate, and has other uses.I bought this to get a more accurate measurement of how hard our water is. I have an expensive home espresso machine, and these machines often die from internal scale buildup from the minerals in our water. If the water is too soft, the espresso is bad; too hard and the machine needs descaling and won't last long. There's quite a lively discussion on what a good hardness range is, but I've settled on the 90-150 range that is often recommended.I have some pool test strips that read my water at perhaps 150ppm, since the color is somewhere between the 100ppm color and the 250ppm color. It's quite a guess. I have a supposedly more accurate set of strips that reads in 50ppm increments, but those strips read 0ppm? It takes 30 seconds to get a read from these strips, but the Hofun meter was instant and read 120ppm.I read that you can tell if your water filter needs changing if the tap water and filtered water have similar ppm readout. I was overdue to replace my expensive Multipure filter, and hate to waste money changing it too often. Straight tap water reads 121ppm. After changing my filter, the filtered water reads 111ppm. I retested the filtered water a few times over the past few days, and it ranged from 110-112ppm.The meter comes with a snazzy little case, instructions, and is quick and easy to use. It also came with two spare batteries. I'm quite happy with this purchase.

I don't have any way to know if this thing is reading accurately. That being said, it seems right everywhere I've tested it. When you run it on tap water, you get some high reading. Run it on filtered tap water, you get a lower reading. I ran it on bottled water, had nearly no dissolved solids in it. I ran it on an under-sink filter, it had near bottled-water levels of TDS.The reading is fast, easy to read, cheap... Feels a little chinese/plasticky. But based on my measurements, I believe it's decently accurate. It's worth getting for those curious minds out there who want to see if their water filter is doing its job, or if the bottled water is any better than tap water. (Surprise, it is!)

This TDS meter is easy to use and practical to stay on top of how well the RO system is working and assess the quality of the water we are drinking. I gave 3 stars because the readings are rather inconsistent. The literature accompanying this product does state that there is a 20 point variance to be expected in the readings. If you just want a ballpark figure...then it does the job OK.

I have had mine for about 1 year. It works reliably, fast, and is easy to use. It comes with a small instruction sheet/booklet that fits in the little case. It is in English. I have referenced it a couple times. For example the screen turns red sometimes when measuring TDS. I figured out why because it has a section about that in the booklet that says when ppm is > 40 it turns red. Its still kicking with the original battery that came with it.

The meter reads instantaneously. My tap water was 244ppm, bottled spring water was 154 ppm (which is average for spring water), and my filtered water from reverse osmosis filter was 54ppm! According to the pamphlet provided, pure drinking water is 40ppm or under. My filtered water has added mineral for taste, which is probably why it reads a bit higher. Based on the numbers, the reading seems very accurate. The meter is super easy to use; just remove the cap, turn it on, and stick the prod in the water. The back light is also a nice feature so you can see the number very clearly. It came with a carrier and the meter already has a battery in it, and it also came with not 1, but 2 extra batteries!! For the price, it’s a total deal. Very happy with the purchase and I’ll be using if often for sure and even take it with me when traveling.

I'm very careful with tools/equipment in general, but somehow a little moisture crept into the electronics (e.g., where the battery is) during my measurements. Although it worked for a bit even when the electronics were apparently wet, it provided too much to overcome: even when I let it air-out overnight (at room temperature) the moisture proved to be too much (I guess) and ultimately 'shorted' this meter. I will buy again, however, as the meter did work quite well. At a cost ~ $15 it's not surprising it's not very 'robust', but cheap enough to purchase again if/as needed.

I used this meter to measure the quality of my tap water, water from a 3 month old filter and water in my brand new filter. This device was easy to use and helpful in letting me know our tap water is really good quality at 175 here in Sacramento and the filtered water is even better. My brand new filter showed improved purity at 155 (sorry no pic) and the old filter (different Brand) was still going strong at 146.Sometimes I question the accuracy of Devices that give a measurement when I buy them on Amazon because the item will give a different reading when testing the exact same item in quick succession where the conditions are the same. This meter does not have that issue. It read the same across multiple tests.

i used something like this in the military and so i got it on the chance it would workit did indeed work and it worked well. i tested this against Hach and it was well within tolerancei can recommend it