Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was looking for a pH testing method other than strips or chemicals because I needed accurate testing results. I selected the pH2 by Oakton after reading a number of reviews of it and other products. When I got the meter I discovered it came without batteries and there are four specialized dime size batteries required which cost me $15 over the counter from a battery specialty store and obtaining them delayed using the meter for a few days until I could travel to the store. When I started using the meter I noticed that the pH of my koi pond was measured as much higher than the chemical solution I was using. I began an aggressive effort to bring the pH down for it was close to being dangerous for koi. After several days of treatment the pH was not dropping as it should. I tested with the chemical solution and found the pH to be lower than the meter display. I once more conditioned the meter and tested distilled water which tested at a pH of 8.1 and then tested tap water (from a well) and it also tested above a pH of 8. I have a bottle buffer solution at a pH of 7.0 so I did a calibration of the meter using the test solution and the result was nearly 9.0. Along with that the meter now works only intermittently as there is difficulty powering it on. The batteries are very difficult to replace as the battery compartment lid is hard to remove. I contacted Amazon and they are replacing the meter and sending it one day shipping. I hope the replacement works as it should. The ease of use of the meter is excellent and its design allows testing different areas of the pond frequently with no hassle of strips and chemicals. I trust that I just got a lemon, for there are many excellent reviews of this product. I will post an update to this review when I test the new meter. ADDED 4/29/2011: I wish to add to my earlier review. I did receive a replacement meter from Amazon that did come with batteries so apparently the first meter did not undergo a thorough quality check. Unfortunately, the second meter did not work properly either, for after being conditioned per the instructions, it measured the pH of tap water and distilled water as being 12+ which would be unhealthy to drink which they obviously were not. The power off and on was also intermittent. I did some further research on pH meters and found that all of the ones that I looked up were very sensitive, needed frequent replacement of the sensor, or had complex calibrating and operating requirements. I returned the second meter for a refund and went back to chemical solutions and strips to measure pH. Note to GhettoGrower: I did not lie about the first meter having no batteries. They were simply missing and since the packaging did not state "Batteries Included" I assumed that they were not supplied. As stated above, faulty meter number 2 did come with batteries.