Cheap Ebay Digital Ph Meters???

Any draw backs to them? Here is a link to one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-ph-mete...735?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3362a22d77

Seems as though once you get your ph dialed in they become less important. Not sure how much a municipal water supply would vary season to season.

Anyone use an el cheapo ph meter?

Anyone use ph strips?

Should I just get a set of Beer specific ph strips? anyone know of an alternative? generic PH strips don't seem to have accuracy range.

I do not own one of these but I think I'll buy it soon! I mean $10 with the "buy it now" option!

I have used the strips and they are useless. This maybe worth it! I bought my refractometer from ebay for $30 bucks and works perfect so I'll give it a shoot.

The price makes me suspect. But who knows.

To the OP, municiple sup[ply may not vary much through the year but grist does. And grist can have a huge impact on pH.

Did anyone every get one and try it out? I keep threatening to pull the trigger and at $13 to my door it is hard to turn down but then again it may be worthless. Ph Meter

LOL I'm just like you Debrewer... was waiting to see if anyone else tried one. I did look more into Ph Meters the storage solution isn't cheap (not included)... also I haven't quite fiqured out how to use the storage solution. really wish I had a homebrew shop or club close.

I may pick one up in about two months. getting parts together for a 10 gall mash tun.

OK I realized I had a $7.00 ebay credit for purchasing enough junk on ebay, SO for $3.74 shipped I ordered one. will post if it works after I receive it. for under $4 I couldn't pass it up.

Any word?

still waiting on shipment from china. I guess it's on the slow boat... lol

I pulled the trigger on one about 3 or 4 weeks ago, still waiting for mine as well! Will be sure to post my thoughts once it's received.

I got mine yesterday. Looks just like many other meters I've seen in Homebrew catalogs selling for around 28 bucks. I haven't tested it yet. will post when I get a chance to test unit.

Still no review on this meter, I"m watching one now and would love to know how they work out for people.

I just received mine today. I tested it out and seems to work fine. I'll have to wait for brewday to see if it makes things easier. It's got to be better than strips.

I bought this one http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-pH-Meter-Tester-Pocket-Pen-Aquarium-Pool-Water_W0QQitemZ120677977934QQcategoryZ75670QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D120676066433%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6833525272876932642

Starrfish, as a response to your question about using the storage solution--you just leave it in there. We have some pH meters in the lab that I work in and after we use the probe we just spray it with distilled water and leave it in the probe until the next time we need it. Since this doesn't have a probe, you might have to just leave the whole thing in the solution, possibly covering the rest of it with Al foil.

I may cut a small sponge for inside the cap soaked in fluid and store that way...

Any updates?

After waiting about 6.5 weeks mine is supposedly being delivered tomorrow.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

Seems to work fine cleaned some kegs and bottles last night, checked ph of some starsan I had mixed up a few weeks agoand it read at 2.7 (under 3.0 so I used it)

will use for brewing this weekend, but so far testing the fish tank ph and the starsan it works great! I'd say buy one!

I've given up on pH meters. I've gone through 3 of them. I just don't brew often enough and if they dry out between uses, they're toast. I use the colorpHast strips and they work pretty well. I found a sanitation site that sells them for about 1/2 what the homebrew shops do.

Spartan1979 said:

I've given up on pH meters. I've gone through 3 of them. I just don't brew often enough and if they dry out between uses, they're toast. I use the colorpHast strips and they work pretty well. I found a sanitation site that sells them for about 1/2 what the homebrew shops do.

Click to expand...

Link to site?

samc said:

Link to site?

Click to expand...

As a noob here, I didn't know if it was okay to post links to non-sponsors.

http://www.sanitationtools.com/Products.asp?Product=1391&Category=72

BTW, speaking from experience, don't leave them in your pocket. They don't work after going through the wash.

Spartan1979 said:

As a noob here, I didn't know if it was okay to post links to non-sponsors.

http://www.sanitationtools.com/Products.asp?Product=1391&Category=72

BTW, speaking from experience, don't leave them in your pocket. They don't work after going through the wash.

Click to expand...

Thanks - btw - at least you should know the PH of your laundry water!

I find pH meters to be a big pain, if the probe dries out, you need a new probe.

I always forget to top up the solution and it evaporates.

Spartan1979 said:

I've given up on pH meters. I've gone through 3 of them. I just don't brew often enough and if they dry out between uses, they're toast.

Click to expand...

You sure have bad luck.

What do you mean by they dry out?
Are you talking about the liquid inside the probe or the supplied storage container?

I have not lost one probe because the end gets dry, they all come back to live after a few minutes of soaking.
This type of storage container does dry out the probe end over time.


This pH meter is as old as I am and is using it third probe.



Cheers,
ClaudiusB

samc said:

Thanks - btw - at least you should know the PH of your laundry water!

Click to expand...

It was out of the range of the strips.

ClaudiusB said:

You sure have bad luck.

What do you mean by they dry out?
Are you talking about the liquid inside the probe or the supplied storage container?

I have not lost one probe because the end gets dry, they all come back to live after a few minutes of soaking.
This type of storage container does dry out the probe end over time.


This pH meter is as old as I am and is using it third probe.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Click to expand...

They come back to life, but can you trust them? Working in a scientific lab, they had to be rejected once compromised as they're no longer considered accurate.

bovineblitz said:

They come back to life, but can you trust them?

Click to expand...

As long the calibration is accurate I do.

Working in a scientific lab, they had to be rejected once compromised as they're no longer considered accurate.

Click to expand...

Unfortunate I am only a home brewer and must rely on the information which came with my replacement probes or Cole-Palmer and others, how to recondition dry probes.


What about solid state pH probes are the better for us home brewers?

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

So I contacted the seller of these cheap pH meters on ebay on storage solution:

Thanks for contacting us.
We only offer 2 pouches of calibration buffer solution (4.0 & 6.86) for this item.

You don't need to store this item in specific solution.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me again. Thanks!

Yours Sincerely,
Sandy
Customer Service Department

How's yours holding up, Starrfish? I just received mine today.
How much water do you use to mix the buffer solutions? Mine seems like to lack English instructions.

I did do more research on similar units... they say use storage solution, so I put some in the black cap. seems to be fine, holding up well used it this weekend. I was placing an order and ordered some premixed stuff. I did see something about mixing with 250 ml water. I don't have any ml vessels... I don't think. I'll check when I get home but I'm pretty sure it's 250ml per packet.

BTW I had a 5.7ph reading from my 81% efficiency 1 vessel BIAB mild this weekend.

250 ml = 8.45350568 US fluid ounces

yup each pack makes 250ml.

Sounds like I'll need to buy storage solution.

I would not hesitate to buy one of these meters, the one i recieved works perfectly. Only complaint would be long time to receive.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

I purchased one of those cheap meters. Doesn't work, reads 1 for everything and it is a pure waste of money to bother sending it back.

after using It MUST be recalibrated. picked up some pre mixed calibration solutin. oh and it does better with out being stored wet.

comes with a metric solution got a free beaker metric .... made 8oz of stuff tested over a month no change