Measuring Mash PH

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Steven9026

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I just bought a bottle of PH test strips and want to test my mash PH. How long do you wait after you add your grains to the tun before you test the PH?

Thanks,

Steve
 
I usually wait ~15 minutes. I've also read (Kaiser) that they read .3 lower than the actual PH.. I don't have any way to verify that statement but trust Kai. Quote "the strips read about 0.3 pH units lower than the pH that was determined with a pH meter. " Here's a link:

An_Overview_of_pH
 
I usually wait ~15 minutes. I've also read (Kaiser) that they read .3 lower than the actual PH.. I don't have any way to verify that statement but trust Kai. Quote "the strips read about 0.3 pH units lower than the pH that was determined with a pH meter. " Here's a link:

An_Overview_of_pH

That is the colorphast brand strips in a particular range, not strips in general.
 
I usually wait ~15 minutes. I've also read (Kaiser) that they read .3 lower than the actual PH.. I don't have any way to verify that statement but trust Kai. Quote "the strips read about 0.3 pH units lower than the pH that was determined with a pH meter. " Here's a link:

An_Overview_of_pH

Kai's show me this with my ColorPhast strips and his pH meter. Strips were reading that I was around 5.2 - 5.4 (in the proper range), but I was really at 5.7.
 
Ph strips are junk imo. I have hundreds you can have for free, simply either don't work or are wildly inaccurate.
 
FWIW, when I was getting low on my first bottle of pH strips I bought another. Then I compared the old strips with the new strips...not even close to the same readings.
 
Ph strips are junk imo. I have hundreds you can have for free, simply either don't work or are wildly inaccurate.

See, that's why I bought the "good" ones (which you can get for about half their HBS cost, if you buy them from a lab-supply store). Should have spent the money on a damn pH meter!
 
I think the bottom line is that anything that reads in increments of 0.3 pH isn't of much use in brewing. I used to hesitate to say that because pH meters were so expensive but they aren't any more.
 
I now know what you mean by the PH strips being junk. The ones that I bought are made by Precision Labs, and after trying them on several water sources and different liquids that had different PH levels, they read the same on all of them.. LOL... I guess it's time to buy a good PH meter maybe..
 
Reading the email reply from the supplier of the strips states "The sensitivity of the part
number is 0.2-0.3 pH units." implying that it could be plus or minus 0.3. Maybe Kai's batch just happened to read 0.3 low ?

So, this would suggest that you could be 0.6 out if you assume its reading 0.3 low, but the batch you happen to get actually read 0.3 high !

Anyone else compared these colorphast strips with pH meter ? I have just order some myself and would like to know if they are always minus 0.3 - if so then fine. If not then they are basically a waste of time right ?

On second thoughts, maybe the "sensitivity" quotes is actually referring to the graduation of the readings !
 
Reading the email reply from the supplier of the strips states "The sensitivity of the part
number is 0.2-0.3 pH units." implying that it could be plus or minus 0.3. Maybe Kai's batch just happened to read 0.3 low ?

So, this would suggest that you could be 0.6 out if you assume its reading 0.3 low, but the batch you happen to get actually read 0.3 high !

Anyone else compared these colorphast strips with pH meter ? I have just order some myself and would like to know if they are always minus 0.3 - if so then fine. If not then they are basically a waste of time right ?

On second thoughts, maybe the "sensitivity" quotes is actually referring to the graduation of the readings !
IIRC, Kai gathered data from several people on the pH strips and conducted some experiments. It's probably posted somewhere on his Braukaiser.com site.
 
Anyone else compared these colorphast strips with pH meter ?

Several people. They read, on average, .3-.4 units low for mashes (whether this is simply a function of being in that range or a physical feature of the mash, I do not know). This is true for several different packages of Colorphast strips purchased from different places at different times.

This is different from the fact that the points that you can read are far apart. So you have the issue that you can only tell the pH within a couple tenths because the resolution is poor and also that whatever you do read is .3-.4 low on average.
 
My biggest hesitation to buy a decent $100 meter is the process of calibration, storage and ultimate probe replacement at regular intervals. This isn't a tire pressure gauge.
 
My biggest hesitation to buy a decent $100 meter is the process of calibration, storage and ultimate probe replacement at regular intervals. This isn't a tire pressure gauge.

Meh, I bought a $30 one, with an $18 replacement probe. It's close enough to get me in the proper range for beer making. Unlike test strips, it at least tells me something.
 
My biggest hesitation to buy a decent $100 meter is the process of calibration, storage and ultimate probe replacement at regular intervals. This isn't a tire pressure gauge.

I'm kind of hard-wired to "buy a good tool, buy it once." It's hard for me to accept that if I buy a pH meter, I'm basically going to have to buy it all over again within a few years. Even the meters with the replaceable electrodes, I've seen $70 meters where the replacement electrode is $50 or $55.

EDIT: A $30 tool that needs an $18 replacement, that I could live with. It may be psychological more than anything, but if I'm paying more than $50 for a tool I hate for it to be basically disposable.
 
Correct me if i'm wrong..... After checking several styles of mashes and knowing what it takes to adjust them, constant ph checking shouldn't be necessary?

If so, it's not like you're going to be buying tons of replacement probes.
 
... but if you HAVE a pH meter, why on earth wouldn't you use it on every batch just to check? Seems to me that would be like saying, "I've brewed this recipe a half-dozen times before, I'm not going to break out the refractomer/hydrometer this time." I mean, you'll likely be fine, likely be within the expected range, but why have the tool if you're not going to use it?

I'm also not sure whether the probes degrade over time (with or without use), or whether they only degrade when actually being used.
 
... but if you HAVE a pH meter, why on earth wouldn't you use it on every batch just to check? Seems to me that would be like saying, "I've brewed this recipe a half-dozen times before, I'm not going to break out the refractomer/hydrometer this time." I mean, you'll likely be fine, likely be within the expected range, but why have the tool if you're not going to use it?

I'm also not sure whether the probes degrade over time (with or without use), or whether they only degrade when actually being used.

Because if it's not necessary, i'm not buying all the related nonsense forever, like probe cleaner, testing solution, probe storage solution.......

Hydrometers are cheap.;)

Hopefully Aj will chime in on this.
 
I'm not sure if it's more like a hydrometer (in that efficiency/boil-off/etc can vary so your OG can vary) or more like an Iodine test for conversion (in that, after what seemed like 100 consecutive tests without one ever failing I just stopped doing them). I thought remilard once said that he had done a bunch of test/adjustments and after a while pretty much knew where the pH would be for certain mashes.

IMO it really comes down to personal preference. It's not really necessary (nor is a hydrometer really). Some of us like the geekery end of it to varying degrees while others are more into building fully automated structures or whatever (and everything in between). I do the latter at work (work with tanks/pumps/etc) and strive to avoid it at home but like the geekery end of it to some small degree. So I turn my barley crusher by hand and ladle wort with a saucepot but (will soon) measure mash pH with a shiny new pH meter.:drunk:
 
So I turn my barley crusher by hand and ladle wort with a saucepot but (will soon) measure mash pH with a shiny new pH meter.:drunk:

Caveman.;)

I want as much control as possible over every single aspect of brewing. That's why I had my water tested, that's why I have a dedicated water filter, that's why I eventually bought a ph meter. As anal as I am, I wonder about the necessity of checking 20 similar recipes, when you know what the ph will be.

Having said this, i've only done 3 batches with my meter, and plan to do many, many more before I would even consider not checking it.
 
I'm not sure if it's more like a hydrometer (in that efficiency/boil-off/etc can vary so your OG can vary) or more like an Iodine test for conversion (in that, after what seemed like 100 consecutive tests without one ever failing I just stopped doing them). I thought remilard once said that he had done a bunch of test/adjustments and after a while pretty much knew where the pH would be for certain mashes.

IMO it really comes down to personal preference. It's not really necessary (nor is a hydrometer really). Some of us like the geekery end of it to varying degrees while others are more into building fully automated structures or whatever (and everything in between). I do the latter at work (work with tanks/pumps/etc) and strive to avoid it at home but like the geekery end of it to some small degree. So I turn my barley crusher by hand and ladle wort with a saucepot but (will soon) measure mash pH with a shiny new pH meter.:drunk:

Yes, after a dozen or so batches with the meter it got to where I am close enough more often than not that I make no adjustments. If I am not making the same recipe that I have checked with the meter before, I have often brewed something with a similar grain bill. That said I am surprised from time to time and I do always measure pH (I'm an actuary though, I probably like numbers more than is healthy).

I also measure the fermenting and finished beer pH. It's been fun and educational and I don't regret spending the $100ish I've spent on the meter and enough calibration and storage materials to use it for about a year and a half.

If you read all the threads about people freaking about about lag time (to visible krausen) I would think just the piece of mind from being able to check pH several hours after pitching before you go to bed and see that the yeast are active (as evidenced by lowered pH indicating organic acid production) would be worth it for many people.
 
Just curious. For those of you who have used pH meters, did you find that your mashes were significantly off and if so, what adjustments have you made?
 
Just curious. For those of you who have used pH meters, did you find that your mashes were significantly off and if so, what adjustments have you made?

That has a lot to do with your water profile. I now make very little adjustments salt wise, but I have good brewing water to start with.
 
I'm an actuary though, I probably like numbers more than is healthy.
Ha, that explains a lot (my dad was/is an actuary, kids love free confetti ;)).

I measured every beer I drank last night just for ****s and grins.
 
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