pH meter questions

I believe the buffers are going to change as they sit out in the atmosphere. Don't know how long that takes. Also temperature correction plays a part - not sure if your meter corrects or not. The packet of solution I have has a temp correction chart on it. I have a super cheap PH meter and it doesn't take very long for it to settle on a number, not sure if it is a correct number but it makes me feel better.

 

I've never used Milwaukee PH meter for brewing but I used to have one for a Calcium reactor for reef tank and I went through 2 probes when meter was brand new before the 3rd one was good. Maybe it is a defective probe.


Here is contact info:

Milwaukee Instruments, Inc.
2950 Business Park Drive
Rocky Mount, NC 27804 - U.S.A.
Tel.: +1.252.443.3630
Fax: +1.252.443.1937
Primary: [email protected]
Sales Dept: [email protected]
Technical Dept: [email protected]

 

I use a Hanna pH meter at work several times a day, every day. It is usually pretty fast and accurate in spite of being a few years old. I calibrate it every couple of weeks. It gets a little stubborn sometimes when calibrating so I "re-boot" it by taking the batteries out. They probably don't really need it but I clean the batteries when I take them out. After returning the batteries, I clean the probe with a cotton swab and water. The meter is stored in a glass of tap water every day, all day.

If your meter acts up again, even with the new probe, try the re-boot trick. It may help, it may not. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

You can safely ignore that for now as I have no plans on visiting the UP anytime soon.

 

Hey Skipper,

Just curious on you storing the probe in tap water - is that just as effective as that storage solution they sell? Curious as I'm looking at purchasing the Hanna pHep 5 from MoreBeer!

Thanks

 

I don't require a high degree of accuracy from my meter. The way I handle and store my meter probably reflects that fact. I honestly don't know if my system is as effective as following the manufacturers instructions. It works for me.

I use the Hanna meter for testing the pH of industrial waste water while batch processing. After testing the pH of a water sample, I rinse the probe with a garden hose and stick it in a plastic beaker half full of clean tap water. I have not changed the replaceable glass portion of the meter for a couple of years but I think I'm about due. Before calibrating, I usually check the pH of the 7.0 buffer solution just for the sake of curiosity. The meter is not usually off by much and when it is it is usually a bit high (7.5ish at most).

My own meter (the one I use for brewing and wine making) is stored with a bit of wet (tap water) cotton in the cap. I wrap electrical tape around the cap to seal in the moisture. When I use the meter, I soak it in water while I'm getting things ready. I do a two step calibration using 7.0 and 4.0 buffer solutions before use to insure accuracy. I've had my Hanna meter for several years and I am still using the original glass probe.

I'm satisfied that I don't need to buy a special storage solution. Your mileage may vary.

 

Man that sucks! I got to try my new Hanna and it worked flawlessly (Wish I could say the same about my brain, but that is another thread...)

Read the directions, calibrated (took maybe 3 minutes) and measured my tap water. Then I rinsed with distilled water and checked my wort. Quick and easy.

I wondered about the storage solution as well. Seems that you could store in distilled water, but what do I know. I know I'm going to have to buy some more solution. Wife only got a bottle of 7.01.

 

The Hanna manual says in capital letters not to store it in distilled water.

"When not in use, rinse the electrode with water to
minimize contamination and store it with a few
drops of HI 70300 storage solution in the protective
cap. DO NOT USE DISTILLED OR DEIONIZED
WATER FOR STORAGE PURPOSES."

http://www.hannainst.com/manuals/manHI_98127_98128.pdf

 

Oh yeah. I remember seeing that now. Made me wonder why it isn't a good idea.

Mine came completely dry with a dry piece of something over the sensor bulb. I thought they were supposed to be always wet.

 

When I calibrate my Hanna meter I always get the WRNG message when moving from 7.01 buffer to 4.01 buffer as I cannot rinse the unit, the cap and get the cap refilled with the 4.01 buffer quick enough for the meter. But after I get the probe back in the cap and it senses the 4.01 solution the WRNG message is replaced with CAL message. Is this what you are seeing?

I use my meter to check the PH of my stored Starsan more than anything else

 

If the PH probe was shipped dry it needs to be immersed in just water for 24 hours to let the salts dissolve out of the pores in the glass bulb and restore full conductivity again. After soaking then perform the calibration and it should be ready for use again. After each brew session rinse the probe and use the storage salt solution to replenish the salt solution inside the probe between usage so the probe will continue to work and re calibrate. The low end PH meters suffer from temperature compensation issues so do not expect miracles in accuracy when switching from room temp calibration to mash temps.

 

Sorry to hear about your pH meter issues

Curious to see how it's resolved.

 

A dumb question, was the first reading when it was cold, then next readings as it warmed up to room temp?. The PH reading will drop as temperature rises, so lower reading with cold water is expected, sounds like this is an uncompensated PH meter.

 

Looking back at the testing and results you had, it looks like the electronics is the most likely culprit. The sensor should not be changing that much between readings, and I would expect the buffer solutions to be stable where tap water might be losing dissolved air or gasses.
When you said the calibration had taken a long time, was it waiting for the reading to stabilize, or were the readings slow to change when moved from solution to solution.

 

I took a look at the manual for that unit, 2 point cal with 7.01 and 4.01 solutions is interesting, I am used to PH 10 and PH 4 cal steps to get better slope readings to calibrate with. It almost acts like the internal conductive salt solution is severely depleted and PH signal is so weak that the meter is having difficulty getting an accurate potential reading from the sensor. Having used a Hanna brand PH meter in the past for brewing, and installing and calibrating various brands of industrial PH reading equipment, it might not hurt to soak the sensor in straight storage solution for a week and see if it responds faster when calibrating. If so then the sensor was shipped without sufficient internal solution strength, or the reference is not making a good connection, and operation would be iffy at best until solution strength rebuilds in reference and inside glass bulb.

 

Did you try new batteries? My cheapy PH meter gave bad readings until I pulled the batteries from something else and swapped in better ones.

 

Yooper, I got the same meter as you for Christmas. I haven't taken it out of the box. This is disheartening to hear. If meters are such a PIA what is the use? Now i wonder if I should send it back and buy a different meter. Makes my strips look better every time I read posts about meters. Good luck with the meter and hearing from the company.

 

I had a Milwaukee a few years ago and it sh!t the bed. Always needed calibration, would lose claibration frequently. I finally junked it and bought this one: Pond Water Quality & Testing: Hanna Instruments pH Testers

No problems and have owned if for about 2 years or so if I remember right. infrequently need recalibration (probably recalibrated 2times). Works great.

I bought the Phep 5 version

 

You will be stunned. TH's spread sheet is within .02 on nearly every batch. I have never had to adjust the mash after my first additions.

 

what spread sheets are these? link please if applicable

Thanks!

 

EZ Water Calculator

Fast and accurate.

 

Checking my notes, I told a fib, it's been off .04 at most, still not worth complaining about.








And fwiw, my new meter is extremely sensitive and takes forever to calibrate and settle on a ph as well. It also had a faulty probe when shipped.

 

Ok gotcha!

I use bru'n water too. Or at least did on my lager.

Thanks for the link (I can't help not to look at some random interesting spread sheet or similar ha; I am far too inquisitive )

 

Why waiting until March to brew Yooper?

 

A 20 qt. pot, a 5 gallon fermenter bucket, something to bottle from (maybe the 20 qt pot) and a paint strainer bag would be enough to do a 3 gallon batch. Shouldn't take much room.