Dr. Meter PH100 0.01 Resolution pH Meter

[jmpreiks]

I did some searching for brewing info on this meter but can't find any. Has anyone used this meter? At a price of $50, I am hoping the accuracy would be closer to the $100 meters most people recommend than the $20 meters most people do not recommend...

Dr. Meter® PH100 0.01 Resolution High Accuracy Pocket Size pH Meter with ATC
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ST3VTQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Would this be a good purchase? Considering there is no way I am going to spend $100+ for a meter plus all the solutions at this point in my brewing "career". SWMBO would not approve LOL.

Or, should I just go an buy some of the "good" pH strips instead?

 

[IslandLizard]

I was looking at the same meter but at an even better price of $37 @ Rakuten.

I wonder how it compares to the Hach Pro Plus which is the preferred one for under $200, but seems to be on back order for 3 months wherever I looked.

There are no "good" pH strips. Even the best have a resolution of 0.1 pH but an accuracy of 0.2. Most are hard to read to be conclusive and tend to read a bit lower than they should at a given pH. ColorpHast were reading systematically 0.3 lower than the actual pH (per calibrated meter).

The Brew Science forum would be a better place for these questions and discussions. Maybe it can be moved to there?

 

[jmpreiks]

I was looking at the same meter but at an even better price of $37 @ Rakuten.

I'm not sure if $37 makes it more attractive or less attractive to me LOL. I just hope it is not an overpriced version of the $20 models...

 

[Gavin C]

It usually always boils down to the criteria for acceptability being met.

1. Resolution to 0.01
2. Accuracy to +/- 0.01 or 0.02 (might be more I'm not sure)
3. Two point calibration
3. No automatic calibration (you need to be able to determine when readings have stabilized and calibrate the device)
4. Reading stability with changing temperatures over time.

There is a thread covering this last one and that seems to be the sticking point for a lot of meters. If the stability has not been tested and verified as being stable then the acceptability of the meter for brewing purposes is in doubt.

I think I saw a thread on this meter recently enough and this seems to be the crux of the issue regarding this and any meter's efficacy.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm not sure if $37 makes it more attractive or less attractive to me LOL. I just hope it is not an overpriced version of the $20 models...

Anything with "Dr." in the name is always suspect of that offense. Wearing professional looking attire helps with the image.

 

[thekraken]

FYI this thing is on sale for Amazon prime day at $11

 

[IslandLizard]

FYI this thing is on sale for Amazon prime day at $11

Thanks for the tip!

To me that means it's really a $3 unit... and they have piles of them not selling for $50.

 

[thekraken]

OH sorry it was the $50 0.1 resolution model that was on sale for $11... Not that it matters now anyway.