Finally got to try my new pH meter

Not bad - Kai’s spreasheet predicted a pH of 5.6.  Colorphast strip read 5.3 (Kai’s experiment showed these strips tend to read 0.3 too low, so if I was only using the strips I would have called it 5.6).

Using an old yeast tube to store the probe has also been working out well.

Nice!

I recently purchased the exact same meter. Definitely allows you to better target your mash chemistry.

May be I should buy me a pH meter.

Father’s Day is coming up…

what is the brand & model of that pH meter?  Where did you purchase it?  It looks quite nice.

It’s a Milwaukee MW101 (newer version of SM101).  I bought it on ebay - you can pick one up there brand new for $78.

If you’re willing to shell out a bit more ($40 or so), the MW102 has automatic temperature correction and calibration.  I decided against it.

If you standardize to measuring your wort pH at room-temperature, then automatic temperature compensation becomes much less of an issue.  Brewers should not place their pH probe in the mash since it shortens the life of the probe.

Too bad the Father’s Day Giver already took the hint about a biscuit (plate) joiner.  :cry:

But I have to say the biscuit joiner makes furniture assembly a dream.  ;D

Paul

Is that due to the temp, or something else?  If the temp, then I presume that you then recommend taking a mash sample and cooling it to get a reading?  Or maybe the shortened life is due to the particulates?  In which case cooling is unnecessary?  Or is it something else?

Its just the thermal thing that shortens the life of the very thin glass bulb.  Going from your room-temperature to the mash temperature several times, places a lot of thermal stress on that bulb.  If you’re a heat lover and run your room temperature around the 150F range, then it should be no problem to measure the pH directly in the mash.  For anyone else, cooling the wort sample to a more reasonable room temperature is going to stress the bulb less.