Ebay PH meter - has anyone used it?

[Maritimer]

I want a ph meter, as always looking for bottom dollar.
I saw this....
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Brand-New-LCD-Mo ... 910wt_1026

Has anyone used it? looks like a P.O.S. but if it works it works.

the description is amusing...

1.100% brand new ,high quality ,excellent after-sale service
2.Pen Type Meter that can simultaneously measure & display pH
3.The electrode has been used(laid) for long time from the last calibration
4.The electrode has been used in particularly taxing conditions
5.The utmost accuracy is required

Points 1 and 4 seem to contradict each other. I'm guessing bad english.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

Yeah I'm guessing they accidentally used the wrong verb tense in 3 and 4

No opinion on device itself, I know nothing about pH meters.

[Graham.C]

We use pH meters at work. You have to calibrate them regularly and keep the probes moist. Even then you should replace them every year or so. I would advise going with the really accurate strips and cutting each one in two. The probes are just too sensitive to order from a untrustworthy source, unless you know for sure these guys are good.

[Tony L]

I have gone through 2 of that type and they really are a POS. You'll get a year out of it until the reading start to go ape.
I actually gave up on using a pH meter and just use strips.

[John G]

I've tried those probes and found that they have a short shelf life and are unreliable. I use pH meters/probes in a lab and in the field on a regular basis. As Graham said, the pH papers are more reliable for the $ and less of a fuss and are well suited for your needs as a brewer. Probes are only worth the trouble if you need to measure differences in increments of hundredths of a pH point.