pH meter recommendations?

[Yooper]

Bob wants to buy me a pH meter for Christmas. Can anybody give me some good recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[chromados]

Hanna pH/Temp Waterproof Tester - pHep 5 | pH & TDS Testing

I have used this for a while and really like it. I know that it is more expensive than some, but getting one with a nicer electrode will take the stress out of having it go bad and needing to replace it.

Chromados

 

[the_bird]

On matters like this, I'd listen to Kai.

PH Meter Buying Guide - German brewing and more

 

[Henrythe9th]

I have this and it actualy works 3 calabration points and water proof
pH Meter : Featured Waterproof pH meter

 

[GodsStepBrother]

I have the Hanna Meter as well, just be sure and order the storage solution I didn’t thinking it came with it.

It works like a charm and is super fast.

edit:
Kaiser, likes the Milwaukee meter. I looked into that one but liked the simplicity of the Hanna more. I have never used the one Kaiser recommends. Both the Hanna and Milwaukee are accurate to the recommened .01 range.
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=PH_Meter_Buying_Guide

 

[bolts]

I just ordered this one -- a friend already has one that I like.

Amazon.com: HM Digital HMDPH200 Waterproof PH and Temperature Meter: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Ph resolution to .01, accuracy to .02. Automatic Temp Compensation up to 176 (if I read the manual right). I chose this one over the Hanna given the better accuracy and wider temperature range (based on the specs in the manuals).

 

[bolts]

I have the Hanna Meter as well, just be sure and order the storage solution I didn’t thinking it came with it.

It works like a charm and is super fast.

edit:
Kaiser, likes the Milwaukee meter. I looked into that one but liked the simplicity of the Hanna more. I have never used the one Kaiser recommends. Both the Hanna and Milwaukee are accurate to the recommened .01 range.
PH Meter Buying Guide - German brewing and more

I don't expect it to matter much for most of our purposes, but be careful with resolution (precision) vs accuracy. Per the manuals, the Hanna 98128 is accurate to +/- .05 (the 98128 model). The replacement for the SM101 is the MW101 (Low-Cost Portable pH/ ORP/ Temperature Meter - MW101 : Milwaukee Instruments) and is accurate to +/- .02.

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

Low-Cost Portable pH/ ORP/ Temperature Meter - MW101 : Milwaukee Instruments

 

[GodsStepBrother]

Did not notice that bolts thanks!

 

[Dog House Brew]

I'm in the same boat Yoop. Santa wants me to have one of these too. I'm sick of trying to determine the inaccurate color chart on my strips, and add the .3 low or what ever reading. AJ in the science section recommended the Hanna. I do like the small size, but really up in the air. I do like the Milwaukee that Kai uses. I also like the 9 volt battery life of 300 hrs. How can you go wrong with a Kai recommendation after all of his studies. I'm leaning toward the Milwaukee.

 

[CamelToeJoe]

Hanna by far... I been a Hanna user for three years in applications outside of brewing..Customer service is excellent.

 

[Homercidal]

Hannah has a good name and the prices are similar enough to make price a non factor.

Still, that Milwaukee is a nice unit, and I like the remote head. But a replacement is $50, so it's almost the same as buying a whole new unit...

But the Milwaukee has a greater accuracy; .02 vs .05.

I like Kai's preference for manually calibrating. I've heard stories from people online about their testers refusing to calibrate. The manual mode prevents this.

I think the Milwaukee edges the Hannah for me.

Just remember to buy buffer and cleaning solution when you buy it too.

 

[kincade]

Just went trought this same decision, and due to a lot of bad reliability reviews on the milwaukee i purchased the hanna. Check amazon for some reviews. Im sure they are both good meters, but the hanna seems to get better reliability reviews.

 

[kincade]

I nearly bought my hanna from Eseason gear, but I checked out their policies and read some shady reviews. A bit worrisome for me. From eSeasonGear FreeShipping! :

-You may return the item back in brand new condition, unopened, untested, and in the original box for a refund (or an exchange for the same item) within THREE (3) days after the delivery date (please check out the none-returnable items listed below). Please include all original packaging material, free bonus, and a copy of the packing slip. The buyer is responsible for the return shipping fee.
-CHARGEBACKS: We will report all CHARGEBACKS to www.badcustomer.com & Chargeback Protection :: Free Protection Against Chargeback to prevent charge-back abuse! Your order emails will be sent to your bank and that may affect your CC rating. If you filed charge back and kept the item, your personal information may be posted on the Bad Buyer List and you could be put on the First Page of Google.

-A 25% Restocking Fee will be charged for new items returned. We check each new item returned carefully before we put it back in stock.

Between those and no phone number on their website I ended up ordering from another retailer. YMMV.

 

[kincade]

Whatever flips your pancakes.

I think potential buyers should know this before ordering. Everything will likely go fine. But IF you have a problem, you have 3 days to return with a 25% chargeback. No policy on defective items that I could find. No number to call and ask them. And if you end up needing to charge back they will blackball you and list your name on the web. Not the most customer oriented policies IMHO.

Add to this that the meters are available for similar pricing elsewhere, and I see no compelling reason to order from them.

 

[Homercidal]

Cool... I didnt deal with them.. My probe went bad after a slight drop.. Out of warranty.. Called Hanna they shipped me a brand new one free.

Buy from who ever....

That is some above and beyond customer service!

 

[Homercidal]

Is there a consensus on which one is better?

I'm leaning towards Hannah, simply because their customer service seems awesome.

 

[mabrungard]

I've had the Hanna Checker pH meters for years and they are fine. I just upgraded to the Milwaukee MW-101 this year and like it even better. It has everything a brewer needs, redimentary temperature correction and high pH resolution. The MW-102 is a step up, but its features don't add anything to the brewer's input. The MW-100 has too little pH resolution and that makes it marginal for brewing usage.

I picked up a MW-101 for under $80 shipped.

 

[kincade]

I ordered one hanna and it was defective out of the box (from b3). It leaked.

The replacement from amazon works perfectly, and actually came with much more than the B3 package (storage case, solutions, etc).

Martin, does the mw-101 need to have the temperature manually adjusted with every sample (and thus needing an accurate thermometer for the measurements)? Im still confused about ATC.

 

[VladOfTrub]

Depends on how many Shekels Bob wants to spend. Check Grainger. If you decide on a tester. Find one that does TDS and can be used with a water test kit. Just in case you'd like to check the water for iron, sulfer etc.. I think Hanna has a complete water test kit with meter for about three C notes.

 

[Yooper]

I don't need TDS and all that. But I suspect strongly that he bought me a Milwaukee 56 meter, based on something he said.

 

[Bru]

Yooper, which ever one you get make sure its waterproof and temp compensation is nice to have.
Consider the Hanna pH turtle - gives your pH on the laptop :
pH Portable Meter for the PC, HI 9815 | HANNA Instruments USA

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Consider the Hanna pH turtle - gives your pH on the laptop [...]

It uses an RS-232 port. Do laptops still come with serial ports these days?

Cheers!

 

[Homercidal]

It uses an RS-232 port. Do laptops still come with serial ports these days?

Cheers!

Some do. Most do not.

 

[Bru]

Well spotted.

 

[the_bird]

I don't need TDS and all that. But I suspect strongly that he bought me a Milwaukee 56 meter, based on something he said.

"So, I bought you your present. I wonder if they actually make these over in Wis... con.... sin. Crap, I've said too much."

 

[mabrungard]

I like the idea of the Hanna Turtle, but it does not have sufficient resolution for brewing usage.

 

[mabrungard]

You don't chase a pH value into the hundreths, but you do observe the overall pH with respect to its output at the tenths level. When you have a meter that can only report to the tenths of a standard unit, you won't know your result within a twentieth of a unit. For instance, if you're looking for a pH of about 5.4 and the meter reads 5.3, you don't know if you're off by 0.05 or 0.15 units. With a meter that reads hundreths, you can have a little more confidence in what the actual 'range' of the reading is.

As mentioned above, the pH of the wort will vary with time. This is especially true if the sample is cooling while you measure its pH. Its very helpful to see the pH reading when you have a resolution in the hundreths as it varies and settles into a relatively narrow range. Using a meter with a resolution of only a tenth is going to prematurely show you that the sample measurement has stabilized when it may not have.

By the way when I report my pH readings, its typically only to the tenth of a standard unit. The hundreths are just for extra surety in interpreting the reading.

Do yourself a favor and don't short change yourself by picking up a meter with insufficient resolution.

 

[ajdelange]

It uses an RS-232 port. Do laptops still come with serial ports these days?

No but one can buy inexpensive serial to USB adapters:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000VYJRY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

They also come in versions with more than one serial port. Given the number of instruments still made with serial as the only interface and the number of older instruments out there if you want to instrument anything you will need one of these,

 

[ajdelange]

Have you ever used a pH meter?. Getting down to two decimal places is over kill.. and can change in five minutes.. you'll be chasing that number unless you load up on buffers.

No, it's definitely not. The desired range of mash pH is 5.3 - 5.5. At 0.1 resolution that's 3 bins. How are you going you going to make meaningful fine adjustments within that range? And what does loading up on buffers have to do with it? Anyone using a pH meter must "load up" on buffers and use them every day he uses the meter as a minimum.

As for "chasing" the readings - that's quite important as it takes time for the reactions which establish mash pH to go to completion and it is only at that time that one should read the meter. Watching the drift over time tells you when that time is. Some of the more expensive meters keep track of this for you automatically e.g. beep and freeze the display when the electrode voltage variation settles out. These are typically working with a resolution of about 0.0017 pH (0.1 mV).

Two decimal place resolution is much preferred to 1 as it puts the quantizing noise at 0.003 pH which is well below the fundamental accuracy limitation of ±0.02 pH attainable with spanning (4 and 7) ±0.02 pH technical buffers. This represents good system design i.e. the instrument resolution contribution to inaccuracy is insignificant. For 0.1 pH resolution the quantizing noise is 0.03 - greater than the buffer limitation. This represents poor system design.

But this would be moot if we didn't need more than 1 decimal place accuracy but we do or at least benefit from it. One decimal digit with a cheap pH meter is better than the 0.5 decimal digit available from test strips but not as good as the implied 1.3 digits available from a meter with 0.05 pH accuracy (the limit I would recommend for brewing) which is in turn not as good as the 1.7 digits implied by a meter with resolution of 0.01 but accuracy of 0.02 as detemined by the buffers.

Now if your comment about chasing pH readings means that you are finding reading unstable in situations where the true pH is known to be stable (i.e. in a buffer at constant temperture). Then there is a problem with the meter and or electrode. Most commonly the problem is a clogged junction but as meters age their response slows especially in brewing where protein deposition is a potential problem. In low ionic strength situations electrical noise from static buildup/discharge can be a problem. There are solutions to all of these.

 

[ryclo]

Hanna Temp/PH pen for $69.95 with free shipping is hard to beat!

Hanna HI 98127 pH Tester - Mitchell Instrument Company