Can I test the ph later at the LHS?

So I'm going use the brunwater suggestions for the next batch. The LHS was out of ph strips and offered to test the ph if I brought a sample of wert in. Would this still be an accurate assessment of the ph if I tested it a day or so later? When would the best time to take the sample?

 

I guess it's better than nothing but not by much. Measurements need to be taken in the mash - that's the critical point and if only one sample can be taken it should probably be taken 1/2 hour after strike at which time mash pH is usually pretty stable. If you took a sample, put it in a sealed jar, refrigerated it, took it to the shop, warmed it to room temp they measured it with a properly calibrated meter and the result was in th 5.3 - 5.6 band then I suppose you would have some sense that things went well during the brew.

pH strips are usually pretty useless, BTW.

 

I have heard the strips are pretty inaccurate. I've brewed lighter brews with tap water, no adjustments, several times and things seem to come out well most of the time. My tap water ph is or was 8.6 when I ordered a Ward Labs profile. I have pretty typical Atlanta water.
So I guess what I was really asking is would testing later be accurate enough to decide to add more or less acidulated malt in a future batch?
Also, does anyone out there have a ph meter, lets say <$50, that actually works well? All I've seen so far are complaints...

 

I have a Hanna that seems to work well. I usually test kind of early in the mash and get a little drift, but at least my meter hasn't broken or tested wildly inaccurate. I think it was a little bit more than $50.

For me, the test is not for making adjustments to the batch, it's to verify my calculations, so I can target the pH in future batches. By the time the pH is relatively stable, the mash is probably mostly done.

I wouldn't bother with the strips, but if you want to use them, I know someone did some tests and found that they were consistently some points higher or lower than actual, so you might want to look google that and keep it in mind.