I have the same unit. It’s over 4 years now with the original probe. Always stored in 1.5M KCl storage solution. No drift yet, but I’m assuming that it won’t be long, given the age of the probe. But who knows?
Its been a good unit.
Same unit/probe here. Same probe for over 2 years. Mine has worked great. It is starting to take a little time to settle on a pH value but the values are correct and it stays within calibration quite well. I think you’ll be happy with it.
This discussion is pretty old. I am hoping to revise it and learn a few things. First, I have been having significant problems lately with my pH strips. They all seem to read a low pH no matter what I am brewing (e.g., stout, IPA). I did not know they have a shelf life? Second, I am done with pH strips. I tried a pH meter before, maintained it properly, but had difficulties with it. I am wondering what pH meters others recommend? It looks like in this old discussion it is a Milwaukee 100, 101, 0r 102?
I use Brew’n Water to calculate the acid additions and I’ve found it to be extremely accurate. I believe the Brew’n Water spreadsheet is either free or sold at a very reasonable cost.
To measure my pH, I use the Extexh PH100 (ExStick). It Can be purchased on Amazon for about $125 or so. I calibrate the meter before each brew. I buy new calibration control solutions when they expire — about every two years. I buy them also on Amazon.
I measure my pH about 10-15 min after dough in. Been brewing between 6-12 batches per year for about 13 years and this system works great for me.
Cheers!!
Thanks! Sounds like a solid strategy.
I have a Milwaukee 102 Pro that works fine. But you need a sample of about 10-15ml and you do need to cool that to room temperature. Yes, it has ATC, But that doesn’t mean you can take your measurements at mashing or biking temp. It takes time and because I wanted faster reading, I decided to splash out on a Anton Paar pH2Go. Insanely expensive at around 400 euros, but it only needs about a 0.5 ml sample. That cools really fast. It doesn’t use an electrode, so it less vulnerable to clogging up or drying out. I like it a lot but you don’t need something that expensive. But you do need to spend some money. Buy something of brands of Hanna or Milwaukee with a electrode you can switch over for a new one. Treat it gently and keep it in a strong KCl solution. Calibrate just before you start brewing, splash it with distilled water in between measurements and put it back in the storage solution at the end of the day. Check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Should last you for several years.
Cheers,
Mark
Just a note on measuring mash pH. Martin confirmed in a seminar at HBC that mash pH doesn’t settle til 45 minutes into the mash. So trying to correct it earlier is chasing your tail. The best course of action is to take notes and adjust next time.
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… But that doesn’t mean you can take your measurements at mashing or biking temp. It takes time …
I purchased a set of stainless steel shot glasses. I drop the sample in one and then the shot glass goes into a bowl of icewater. It cools down pretty quickly, but you have to babysit it or you’ll chill it too far and then you have to warm it back up to room temperature.
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Get a meter with ATC, no babysitting necessary.
That’s what I do, but I also stick a temp probe in that sample cup to help guide me when to pull the cup out of the ice bath. I’m swirling the cup the whole time and as soon as the wort temp gets around 70F, I remove the cup from the bath and I know there will be a bit more temp drop. The goal is to get it into the 60F to 65F range.
PS: ATC doesn’t do the magic that you think it does. There are many reasons that you have to do this sample cooling procedure and the most important one is that your probe will last longer.
I looked it up (because I can never remember) ATC is complicated. You need to use ATC when you’re calibrating the probe and consequently when measuring your samples. These need to be in the same range (say 25°C/ 77°F). If you calibrate at 73 °F and measure at 80°F it can compensate for that. But you can not measure at mash or boil temperature and expect the meter to compensate for that, that won’t work. pH is highly dependent on temperature.
Good trick. I’ve been doing that for 20 years and it’s very effective.
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making an adjustment in the kettle after mashing either preboil or end of boil can work well
Agreed trying to correct mid mash is a bad idea. Either take notes for next time or adjust in the kettle is my practice
This is the PH meter I use and I love it
My trick to ensure the probe doesn’t dry out is to first store it in the provided cap with storage solution. Then the entire unit goes into a ziplock bag which I then sit upright in a pint glass so it doesn’t spill/leak.
It keeps calibration extremely well with this methodn(even if it sits idle for months. I always check with calibration solution but rarely need to recalibrate.
Martin turned me onto keeping jars in the freezer for cooling samples. I’ll generally scoop wort out into a coffee mug and let it cool slightly for a few minutes then I use the little jars I keep in the freezer to cooling the samples further. I’ve never had a jar break on me, but I’d still prefer not to put boiling hot wort into glass it without cooling it slightly.
PH meter I use
These are the jars I use
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07KPBYZ5V?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Yep, but those are 2 different purposes IMO
That’s true, but it can still be beneficial to acidify in the kettle as an adjustment under certain circumstances…
Say you were going for a crisp style beer with a mash target of 5.2-5.3 and you overshot at 5.4-5.5
A mash PH of 5.4-5.5 is still plenty healthy for mashing, but the beer will be better if you bring it down in the kettle.
Now if you egregiously undershoot 5.2 or overshoot 5.6 in the mash there’s no “correcting” that.
In German breweries it’s common to mash in the middle range and then acidify in the kettle down to 5.2
Yes, I used to employ heavy glass shot glasses that were taken from the freezer and dosed with wort for cooling. The problem is that its likely to overchill the wort and that’s not a good thing for pH measurement accuracy. This is a Goldilocks situation where you need to cool your wort sample to a narrow 65F to 70F range for proper measurement. An ice bath and a thin metal container is a good way to regulate how much chilling you apply to your wort sample.
PS: Using a small-diameter pH probe enables you to use something like a shot glass for holding your wort sample instead of a big container. Those all-in-one pH probe/meters can’t fit into a shot glass. I’ve said this before, the Milwaukee MW-101 is a simple and robust meter and its probe is durable and has small diameter. I feel it’s probably one of the best cost/performance pH measurement options on the market.
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I use a metal cocktail shaker with a strainer lid. I can stick a thermometer probe through the holes in the strainer while I swirl it in a bowl of ice water. And the shaker is large enough to insert a pH meter probe.
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The pocket Apera meter I have comes with a plastic sample cup specifically designed for it to ensure the probe is fully submerged.
Generally, I’ll fill it to the brim with a sample, let it overflow, and gently move the probe up and down to ensure it’s fully submerged. I’ll then remove the probe and top off with some additional sample liquid and repeat one more time. When I do this with same procedure using calibration solution I get a perfect read even when retesting the calibration.
Good tip on making sure not to overchill the sample. I usually just stick my finger in it and if it feels room temperature I’m generally happy enough.
For best practice, I guess I should really check the temperature of the calibration solution I calibrate the meter and then ensure my sample is in a similar range.
With my historical procedure, my readings are usually spot on with Bru’n Water for pale beers with a simple grain bill.
It would be interesting to compare the results of the same sample with different brands of meters
I’ve had decent success taking a pH measurement at the 15 minute mark. It may not be the final settled in number, but I want to know if I’m significantly off my target. In my most recent Rauch Helles I took a measurement 15 minutes into the beta rest (5.56pH), added 3 mL of 10% Phosphoric Acid, and by the start of the alpha rest the mash had come down to 5.47, which is where it finished the mash as well. Of course I’m also taking notes to try to get closer to the target from the start, but the 15 minute sample measurement has been very useful in my brewing. My current strategy is to design the mash to come in a bit higher than desired. If it comes in lower than the software predicts I leave it be, if it comes in as expected I make a small acid addition, if it comes in higher than expected, I make a larger acid addition. I find it much easier to correct downward than upward, that’s the reason for this strategy. Things have also improved since I took Martin B’s advice on this forum and bought an alkalinity test kit. My city water chemistry bounces around a bit, so measuring the alkalinity allows me to fine tune my acid/acid malt additions.