Description
The Bluelab Pulse Meter will enable you to accurately measure EC, substrate moisture and temperature with a single click. The Bluelab Pulse Meter can be used in a variety of growing media, including soil, potting mixes and coco coir blends, as well as nutrient solutions.
Once your meter is calibrated you will be able to water just before your plant's wilt and adjust your nutrients according to the current nutrient content in the media. For organic growers you are able to see what layer of your soil needs more moisture - especially useful in raised beds and no till substrates. This enables the grower to maintain the perfect moisture level enough for the breakdown of organic mater.
Features
Three instant measurements with a single click
- Measure EC, moisture and temperature directly in the root zone
- Consistently measure moisture, nutrient (measured in conductivity) and temperature directly in the root zone without the need for pour-throughs, slurries or extractions.
- Lightning-fast: get three measurements with a single click
- View, store and compare all your measurements in the Pulse app
- Robust 8”/200 mm long-format stainless steel probes provide deeper insight
- Built-in depth gauge will also ensure that you get consistent measurements with every reading.
- Works in a variety of growing substrates (coco & soil) and nutrient solutions
- Move faster with Blink – get quick in- or out-of-range (just before your plant wilts or yellows out) measurement indicators on the Pulse Meter
- Pulse App available in English, Spanish, Dutch and German (Available on Google Play store or App Store iOS store)
- 1 x AAA alkaline battery included
- 1 Year Warranty from purchase at Green Houston
- Made in New Zealand
Benefits
Optimise your root zone
No more pour-throughs, slurries or extractions
The Bluelab Pulse Meter will enable you to accurately measure EC, moisture and temperature with a single click. When you optimise your root zone, you’ll be able to unlock your plants’ full potential.
All plants need the right amount of food (nutrients) in order to thrive; measuring conductivity will ensure that your plants have access to the right amount of nutrients at every growth stage.
You also need to measure moisture so that you can optimise your irrigation cycles and water consumption while controlling the risk of root infections. Lastly, by regularly measuring temperature, you’ll be able to spot temperature fluctuations and optimise root function.
A versatile and robust root-zone meter
Lightning-fast measurements
The robust Bluelab Pulse Meter will enable you to measure faster than ever before, giving you three different measurements in under 10 seconds.
What’s more, you can use the Bluelab Pulse Meter in a variety of growing media, including soil, potting mixes and coco coir blends, as well as nutrient solutions. This meter’s built-in depth gauge will also ensure that you get consistent measurements with every reading.
Made in New Zealand with growers in mind
All our products are created with growers, for growers - so you can relax knowing that your meter will be able to withstand the knocks and drops that come with everyday growing.
Unlock what makes your best plants tick
Compare on the go with Blink and Pulse App
With the Bluelab Pulse Meter, you’ll be able to measure faster and you can also use this meter’s Blink technology to set your best-performing plants as the benchmark and get instantaneous visual indicators showing you how your crop compares.
What’s more, the Pulse App will unlock new insights by allowing you to take notes about your plants and measurements on the go. Use these powerful resources to discover the secrets behind your top plants’ success while storing, exporting and analysing your plant data.
There’s no need for manual data collection; get access to game-changing insights with Blink and the Pulse App today.
Understanding nutrient measurements
Your PulseMeter uses radio frequencies to determine the pore conductivity in substrates. Electrical conductivity is a common measure of the nutrient ions present in a solution or substrate and is widely used as an indicator of available nutrients. Electrical conductivity (measured in EC) is a measure of total ions present and cannot tell if nutrient levels are out of balance (e.g. too much nitrogen but not enough potassium).
The electrical conductivity in any substrate will generally be lower than the EC of the nutrient solution being added due to how substrates can buffer ions. Accurate EC measurements require at least 20% volumetric moisture content in the substrate.
Comparing your Pulse™ Meter measurements to other test methods
There are several standard laboratory and in-field methods for measuring the electrical conductivity of a substrate, such as; SME, pour-through, leachate measure, 1:1.5, 1:2 or 1:5. All are slightly different in the technique but all aim to extract a water sample from a growing substrate. This water sample is then measured for electrical conductivity using a standard solution EC meter which will give a reference measurement to judge the medium sample. Each method uses varying amounts of RO/distilled/deionised water to make the extraction, which dilutes the sample lowering the EC. Most also have a mechanical action (stirring or agitating the sample) which affects the number of ions released from the medium, whether these would have been available to the plant or not. This means each sampling methods will give a different EC measurement for the same medium sample. This is not an issue as they are reference measurements of the EC in the medium. If the measurement method is consistent, this is a useful relative measurement for the nutrient levels in the substrate.
Understanding moisture content measurements
The Pulse Meter radio frequencies are also absorbed by the water content in media, which is used to measure volumetric water content expressed as % of moisture content. Pulse can measure the moisture content of growing media in two ways.
These can be selected in the Configure screen in the app:
Base media measure Volumetric Moisture Content: The % of water by volume, in the area where Pulse is measuring.
Calibrated media measure % of Maximum Water Holding Capacity of the root zone. This relates the measurement to the maximum amount of water the medium can hold, which can change over time, and is a better guide for irrigation cycles. Pulse™ calibration sets 100% at maximum water holding capacity to the maximum water holding capacity of a substrate.
A 20% volumetric moisture content is required for an accurate EC measurement.
Pulse is a fast, consistent, direct measurement tool providing an electrical conductivity measurement of the pore water in the volume of medium around the active tips on the probes. Through experimentation and correlation to plant performance, and irrigation cycles, the measurements can be used to improve plant performance.
The wilting point and acceptable moisture ranges
The point at which the root zone medium is too dry for the plant to take-up water is called the wilting point. The wilting point will vary between root zones.
To find the ideal moisture range for a calibrated medium, measure the root zone of a plant close to the wilting point - take several measurements around the root zone to understand the lower point of the acceptable moisture range.
Between maximum water holding capacity and the wilting point is a useful range to set within Pulse for quick in or out-of-range feedback via Blink.
Green Houston is a certified Bluelab dealership - Please contact office@greenhouston.co.za for all Bluelab Instruments and variants. You can also visit our store for inhouse Bluelab machine diagnostic and maintenance.