PH reading

[redrocker652002]

OK, so I will start by saying I have very little knowledge on this at all. I bought some of those test strips that shows PH as just a fun attempt at seeing where I am. After the boil I tested my PH using one of those test strips. It seemed to be the color of about 6. After doing some more reading, I have found this to be a bit on the high side. Of course with that said, I have also read those strips are not the most reliable to use either, but they were cheap and I figured why not give it a try. Just a bit more info on this brew. I forgot to add the Campden tab in the water before I started, just a brain fart on my part. I have used them in the last few brews so I am wondering if that might have affected the numbers? But, when I first started I did not use them and I don't notice anything different than what I am getting now. Also, I overshot my OG by about .005 from 1.049 to 1.054. I did not think that was a big deal, and to be honest I am a bit happy because that means I got more out of the mash than I expected. I set my efficiency at about 71% I think, so maybe I am in the 75% area? Also, I transferred my grains to a cooler and sparged them in about 3 gallong of 170 degree water for about 15 mins to get a little more out of them. Not sure if that has anything to do with PH or not. I am trying to wade in the baby pool of water chemistry, and I figure the PH side of it is the best place to start. Any input is welcomed.

 

[VikeMan]

Test strips are terrible. If you want an accurate pH reading, you'll need a good, calibrated pH meter. I can recommend the Milwaukee MW101 and MW102. There are a lot of cheaper meters, and most of them are junk. Hopefully someone can recommend one that's not.

 

[tracer bullet]

I've been happy w/ my Apera pH60. I got additional bottles of the 4.00 and 7.00 cal solutions and check against them each time I brew (about 1x a month). I find that it holds super closely.

Agree the strips are junk, espcially for beer which is colored (maybe OK for just water). I'm disappointed that I wasted money on them before I knew better.

 

[mac_1103]

Inkbird gave me this one for free to review. I've been pretty happy with it, but I'm not all that anal about pH; just want to know that I didn't miss by a mile. It's 50% off right now.

 

[tracer bullet]

Nice. $20 is definitely cheap if it works.

I'd advise almost anyone to check the cal of the meter against the cal solutions. I do it each use, but again that's like 1x / month average, maybe every 3 weeks. and the cal solutions do expire as well. But I just do it to be in the ballpark as well, 5.4 ish let's say, and not screw up and be at 5.0 or 5.8 or something crazy. I'm not looking for perfect accuracy. I'm not a fan of owning or suggesting other buy junk, but with the cal solutions readily available one might forgive a meter for being less than perfect.

 

[redrocker652002]

Cool. Thanks all. I am going to look into them and see what I can find. I have 60 dollars credit with Austin Home Brew, maybe they have one that will work and I can use the credit.

 

[redrocker652002]

This one would only cost me about 30 bucks after my credit. Hmmm. LOL.


https://austinhomebrew.com/products/milwaukee-ph55-ph-temp-meter

 

[day_trippr]

The specs on that meter are rather low - 0.1 pH resolution and +/- 0.1 pH accuracy.

The Apera pH60 specs are 0.01 resolution and 0.01 accuracy. Amazon has it for $80. I've been using a pH60 for a few years now and am very happy with it...

Cheers!

 

[redrocker652002]

The specs on that meter are rather low - 0.1 pH resolution and +/- 0.1 pH accuracy.

The Apera pH60 specs are 0.01 resolution and 0.01 accuracy. Amazon has it for $80. I've been using a pH60 for a few years now and am very happy with it...

Cheers!

Cool. Well my birthday is in February so who knows, might put that on the list of things to get.

 

[hotbeer]

The more color your wort contains the harder those test strips are to read. I use them, but for the most part I'm just brewing very pale beers. Plus I had a lot of experience using them for other things where the color saturation in the solutions being tested weren't an issue. When I brewed some stouts last year, I found them totally useless. I've never brewed darker colored ales, so I can't say if someone with experience might find them still useful.