ph meter ?

OK I want one but not sure what one to buy. Any info. on these?
THANKS

 

I started a thread and about what brand people had and got not one reply.

I would try Brewboard or Northern Brewer for starting this type of thread.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/what-brand-ph-meter-do-you-have-107771/

 

I don't have one, and haven't worked with one, so take this with a grain of salt.

For most hoembrewing applications, a pH meter is a little overkill. While pH is important, you can get a bunch of good quality strips to do the job.

 

i would just get some of the strips of paper, as most pH meters on the market arnt that accurate unless u wanna pay close to $100, so the papers are a cheap realiable measure.

 

Working in a lab, i would not recommend one. The maintenance & calibration required to maintain a meter which reads to the first & second decimal is not worth it (if at least for the $ aspect).

Papers will get you where you need to be.

 

For just brewing, I agree completely. A pH meter is unnecessary overkill. However, I cure sausages, make homemade mayonnaise, can fruits and vegetables, and ferment pickles. Having a meter that allows me to test pH more accurately than strips made sense so I bought an inexpensive pH meter from AustinHomeBrew and 4pH & 7pH calibration solutions. I don't know how much I'll use it, but it's been pretty handy for checking the continued effectiveness of Star San solution so far.

Chad

 

Everyone who is saying a pH meter is overkill - please consider that some of us are colourblind. I, for one, cannot read a pH strip if my life depended on it. The pH's on the strip all look nearly identical to me.

On that note. I had a pH meter up until it took an unexpected departure (aka, I have no clue where it is, but suspect it was purloined). It was great and I used it for cooking (canning, some candies ,and other things are pH sensitive, so are some bread recipes). However, I never used it for beer. And, bummer of it all? I cannot recall what brand I had, which is why I have not bought a new one.

Lately, I have been looking at picking up a new one. From other canners, I have heard great things about the Hanna Checker, it is also fairly cheap. I am fairly certain that is not the one I used, so I have no experience with it.

The biggest trick to using a pH meter is calibrate, calibrate, calibrate. Did I mention, calibrate? Oh and clean it in a sterile solution between uses. Cactus had a point on that, they can be a pain. However, my experience is if it did go off calibration it was only by +/- 0.2. Most of the time that was close enough for what I was doing.

When I had mine, every time I used it I would pull my calibration solution out of the fridge, in its little container, and dip the sterilized pH meter tip into it and calibrate - by this I mean, each day I intended to use it I would calibrate it, I rarely needed to recalibrate unless I used it a lot in one day. I replaced the solution every 18 months - I have heard people say you can keep them indefinitely, but I operated on the theory that it would slowly go off because you are introducing materials in it slowly over time.

So, there's my 2 cents. Let us know what you get and if you like it. I am thinking of picking up a Hanna when I start doing all mash, but will wait until then.

And, did I mention, calibrate, calibrate, clean -- and yes, some of us are colourblind and can't read a pH strip to save our lives. Now, if someone can suggest a colourblind friendly pH strip, I'm all eyes.

And, someone else posted a link to a meter on sale for slightly cheaper than the Hanna Checker (albeit, they look similar) in another thread - here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/electronic-ph-tester-sale-28-50-a-118245/

M