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+1 on the Apera, consistent readings, cheap sensor replacement (you WILL have to replace the sensor on any pH meter eventually) and easy to calibrate. I had a cheap o milwaukee and an Omega before now & the Apera is clearly superior, IMHO.

I too, have moved to the "Shaken Not Stirred" method & honestly, fermentation has taken off much better than the stir plate/crash method.

I shoot for 100-150b cells to bank for future batches in the same manner as you describe above.

Firmly in the acidify sparge water camp. I made a chart of alkalinity vs pH at various titrations and plug the corresponding alkalinity value into Bru'n Water. IOW if I'm making a lager, I'll target pH 5.4 because I know that'll get me around 15-20 ppm. I use 85% phosphoric acid & prefer to rely...

I buy online quite a bit & always add the ice pack/order on Monday. Plus, I overbuild my starters in order to bank an extra 100b or so cells.

If it's a Spike like pictured, the sample port is not the place you want to transfer from. I've had my sample port clog many times and I just wiggle the valve till I get a drizzle & go from there. Like Mongoose said tho, the place to transfer from is the racking valve on the slope of the...

Don't know what type of fermenter you're using, but could you hook up a c02 line & gently blow it clear?

There's a huge Spike Conical thread in the equipment sub.

The ones I got were 4.0 7.0 & 10.xx, looks like they're not available atm.

I've taken to making a fresh buffer from powder for each brew day.

I wrap mine in an old sleeping bag, My experience is that it helps somewhat for step mashing. I use the same sleeping bag for my conical-this is in an unheated garage in NE Ohio, all seasons. Edited to add: 120v RIMS Rocket, 10 gal Spike mash tun

Been putting my copper IC in at flameout for years. Rinse at clean up & star san before dropping it in.

I had a chugger clog once or twice, but I've switched to sprinkling the hops, rather than dumping all at once. Often 6+oz of pellets in the whirlpool.

Get you one of...

Do you dump the first charge prior to the second?

I put back together as soon as it’s cleaned , spray down w StarSan & seal, much like a keg.

If you mean that hop dropper get up I made, the jury is still out. I've used it a few times, but I'm still conflicted about the hops spending so much time "exposed" to the ferm temps. Just did a IIPA with the more traditional dry hop through the 1 1/2" TC port with c02 trickling up through the...

One batch extract, then moved to a cooler mash tun, currently mashing w/ a RIMS set up & fermenting in a Spike CF-10. Just under 10 years. If you'd have asked me when I first started "how soon till you get a conical fermenter?" I would have told you "never!"

I do a lot of 6.5 & 7.5 gallon batches in my CF10, I did have to supplement the keg farm with a few of the smaller 1.5 & 2.5 gal kegs, but I really like being able to grab a small keg to go, or if I tap the 5 gallon keg first,use it as a "time to brew indicator".

Like mongoose33, I have the Spike w the temp control package. I also live in the NE (Ohio) and ferment in my garage that regularly drops into the40’s. I wrap the entire fermenter in an old sleeping bag-the same one I wrap my mash tun in-and can get temps into the 80’s. Also helps w cold crashing.