A pH meter has always been one of those things that I’ve wanted, but the price point has been too high for me to justify pulling the trigger on one. I’ve never had any major issues that I would attribute to my water. I’ve always used either Brun’water or Kai’s calculator on Brewer’s Friend and spot-checks with colorpHast strips have always been what I was expecting to see.
Even if it’s a throwaway meter after a handful of uses, that’s perfectly fine with me. I’m just looking to spot-check a few of my usual recipes to verify that the water calculators are accurate enough for me.
Wow, that’s cheap enough. I would imaging it would be more accurate than strips at the very least. I bought the MW101 and its great but the replacement probe is about $30. You could just buy a whole new meter for 1/4th the price. Let us know how it works.
I go back and forth about buying a ph meter. I would like to have it for checking my mash and the ph on my sour beers. I’ve also checked the mash with the strips I bought a while back and find the results on the strip sufficiently close to what Bru’n Water says, so I’m not sure whether the ph meter is a meaningful investment. Along with the meter comes buying calibration solutions and it seems the probes have to be replaced periodically no matter how careful you are with it.
Those were all my reasons not to get one, too. At this price, it’s essentially disposable. I have a very deep well, so I’m pretty confident that my water supply is rock stable (pun intended). If I get the numbers I’m expecting on a Saison, an IPA and a Porter, then I’ll be OK never using it again. Whatever additional use I get from it would be for things like sour wort berliners and so on.
Going to buy 1 of these suckers. Having used pH meters for work, I never wanted to go through the hassle of calibrating them to take occasional readings plus the lost money when they go bad. I have more interest in taking readings at least until I verify how well Bru’n water and pH strips work with my water, my mashes, and my sour beers and the price is too good to pass up.
Mine just arrived. Here are my impressions out of the box. The pH meter came with two pH solutions for calibration but only instructions on using one of them and adjusting a single calibration screw. Normally, pH meters are calibrated with two solutions and by adjustment of two calibration screws.
The instructions say not to use distilled water or deionized water for storage purposes, but doesn’t say what be used for keeping the sensor in proper condition. Any idea what I should put in the cap to store the sensor in?
The short of this is that for $7.5 I can’t complain but I wonder how well this will really work.
I also received my el cheapo pH meter and calibrated it in the buffering solution. I tested my water at 7.2. I think I should brew with 5.2 strike and sparge water. So, I’ll add lactic acid.
I’m thinking the grain bill will change the pH so… Do I add the lactic acid to the strike water itself or wait to dough in and check the mash pH and adjust then? Same with the sparge (batch sparge)?
I strongly recommend that you get and use some sort of brewing water calculator; Brun Water is one of the best available and can be downloaded free (https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/). The first tab (it’s an Excel spreadsheet, so the format should be familiar) has some fairly in-depth water chemistry info and instructions.
As an aside, my personal opinion is that lactic acid can add some “sour” flavor elements at fairly low addition amounts. As a rule of thumb I avoid adding more than 3ml total (mash and sparge) for a 5 gal batch.
I can’t find my current manual, but a generic online one says this
maintaining your pH meter If you do not look after your pH meter then incorrect measurements of pH levels may occur. As a minimum, you must always wash the pH electrode (the measuring part of the instrument) in clean water. Do not touch the pH electrode unless using a damp tissue or cloth for cleaning and then only using extreme care.
When not in use, ensure the pH meter electrode is kept moist in either storage solution or a pH 4 solution. If the sensor is allowed to dry out completely, the instrument’s performance will be effected and its warranty invalidated.
I’m pretty certain the pH meter I have now and the I owned before this said 7.01 or distilled water. Both are bench top testers.
Now I’m trying to hunt down the manual but can’t find it and wasn’t online that I could find.
few concerns with this meter (may not apply to those not concerned with taking accurate and precise readings, and more than occasionally- whether it be mash, kettle, finished product readings):
looks like single point calibration
single digit resolution…5.4 reading could be 5.4X
$8.39 is great price;curious how long it lasts and read accurate PH
I get how you’ll be using it Eric, but not sure others relying on more precise and consistent measurements will fare with this meter.