Frustrated by pH

[jerrya100]

So with my last 2 brews I decided to try to understand the ph of my mash a bit better. I have been studying up on water chemistry and how to adjust ph to appropriate ranges. I picked up some of the ph test strips. One set of the beer range strips and another set that can test wider ranges. Both times I have tried this I am not getting any change of color on the strips and still have no idea what my ph is. Is there a certain process you all use to get ph strips to work correctly? Let the mash sit for a certain amount of time before testing? Let the sample cool down? Any ideas would be appreciated. I am in the process of buying a ph meter now. Hoping that will work better. Any suggestions on a ph meter. I don't want to spend $100 on one though. Thanks

 

[bigdongsr94]

Hannah checker on amazon has worked alright for me. It was like $30, I'm too lazy to go look.


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[bigdongsr94]

Oh get calibration and storage solution with it. I calibrate it every use.


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[noblesquirrel]

How are you using the strips? The ideal way would be to use a plastic pipette, pull a sample from the mash and then run the bulb under cold water. pH is temperature dependent, so you want to get the temp down to roomish temperature. Then drop some of the mash liquor onto the test strip. If you're just sticking the strip into the mash, it isn't going to work very well.

 

[mabrungard]

Be aware that the paper pH strips are not suitable for brewing use. They don't work at all. The wort color affects the reading and the low ionic strength of wort does not lend itself to working. The plastic pH strips seem to be somewhat more reliable, but there is no substitute for a freshly calibrated pH meter.

 

[homebrewdad]

Listen to mabrungard (aka the king of water chemistry). Test strips are crap.

Really, cheapo meters are crap, too. If it's not accurate and precise, why bother? If you're not using a good meter, you're spinning your wheels.

Incidentally... by the time you buy that cheapo $30 meter and the testing solutions, you're right at halfway there to a good meter like the Omega PHH-7011 ($99)... which comes with calibration solutions, a carrying case, etc.

 

[acidrain]

Do you know your water chemistry? If not, get a report and start there.
Honestly, there is no reason to even use a PH meter if you know the water chemistry. Just enter it into one of the brew water calculators, along with your grainbill, and it will tell you very precisely what your PH will be.
I started out using PH meters, and since discovering how accurate the calculators are, don't even use one anymore.

 

[bigdongsr94]

Just a note: cheapo $30 meter hits bru'n water predictions. I like them both! Also get solution for any meter so the fact that you need to buy solution is neither here not there.
Yes I wish the meter was nicer but now that I understand my water and have tested my predictions with the meter ...I don't even need it. The meter with mr bru'n have taught me what to do so in glad I saved the money.


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[Natdavis777]

I think the test strips are a waste. Never had any luck with them. PH meter is the way to go.

 

[mabrungard]

A cheapo meter is not necessarily a waste of money, but they probably are going to crap out sooner than a more robust meter with a double-junction probe. As long as you store the probe in a saturated KCl solution, calibrate the meter response before each use, and don't immerse the probe in hot liquids, it should still produce a fairly reliable measurement. The biggest problem with really cheap meters is their resolution. Even though we only want to know the mash pH to about the nearest tenth, we actually need the meter to measure to the nearest hundredth so that we can interpolate the reading properly. Cheap meters that output only to the tenth are not much use in brewing.

The question is: Does a cheap meter that costs half as much last at least half the life of the more expensive one? ;-)