For under $50 probably not. For under $100 you’ve got a good choice of pH. It would be a no for FC, Cl or total Cl. But be aware that for a $100 pH meter you’ll need close to $100 worth’s of storage solution, cleaning solution and at least 2 calibration solutions to maintain a valid result.
Yes. Apera sells an ORP probe that works with the PH60 meter, but ORP isn't usable in a pool with CYA and other things besides FC affect the ORP reading. My understanding is ORP has some usefulness in a commercial pool with a high bather load and little to no CYA, but is checked daily or more often and re-calibrated using a FC test kit. It's not not a practical way to try and measure FC in a residential situation.
Everything is more expensive outside the USA, isn't it? And I wouldn't figure you'd need cleaning solution when testing pool or spa water. But yes, even in the USA with reasonably priced Apera stuff that's probably at least $30/year in storage and calibration solutions. So even the $50 Apera PH20 meter I mentioned would run $80/year assuming a 1 year meter life, $55/year assuming a 2 year life (assuming yearly buffer/cal solution replacement).
Best practice is to store the probe submerged in storage solution, which will prevent drying out and can even partially reverse the effects of drying out depending on probe type. For $15 meters like I saw your thread on reviewing this may be more hassle then it's worth, but for my $80 meter with $50 replacement probes I always rinse off then put it back in the cap filled with storage solution, where it sits until the next usage. The cap is sealed so the probe can soak with the meter in any orientation.
I thought cleaning when testing pool water wouldn’t be necessary either but the folks at Hanna disagreed and said the results would not be valid if the meter is not properly cleaned every 2 months.
