Ph Meter - 1st use

[dan125]

I too have been tinkering with the acidulated malt on my last few brews, but armed only with dodgy test strip Ph readings, so hoping the new meter will help hone in the mash Ph after a few more brews.
I ended up calibratng the meter this afternoon after testing it in the Ph 9 solution and finding it was a bit out.

 

[Martybhoy]

It's good to nail another small piece of the many that make up brewing.

 

[dan125]

Water isn't really any good for calibration, even distilled water because the meter will struggle to get an accurate reading due to the low ion content.

Does this also mean that readings in treated liquor would be unreliable?
I'm a bit confused by the readings I got, as the mash had a higher ph than the water did before I added the grains :wha:

 

[Mguthriem]

I believe I have a similar yellow, cheap pH meter. It’s been working well for me, but I used it a couple of days ago and it’s suddenly just giving out random, fluctuating numbers. Has anyone else seen this and is there a fix? Thx!


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[Hoddy]

I believe I have a similar yellow, cheap pH meter. It’s been working well for me, but I used it a couple of days ago and it’s suddenly just giving out random, fluctuating numbers. Has anyone else seen this and is there a fix? Thx!


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Did you let it soak in water before you used it?


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[strange-steve]

Does this also mean that readings in treated liquor would be unreliable?
I'm a bit confused by the readings I got, as the mash had a higher ph than the water did before I added the grains :wha:

No it should work ok with most tap water, it's only when the ion content is low, like RO, DI or distilled, that you'll struggle to get an accurate reading. The liquor pH doesn't really have much impact at all on the mash pH so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

 

[dan125]

No it should work ok with most tap water, it's only when the ion content is low, like RO, DI or distilled, that you'll struggle to get an accurate reading. The liquor pH doesn't really have much impact at all on the mash pH so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

Thanks Steve :thumb:

My mash Ph came in 5.7 depite reducing the alkalinity to single figures. As I'm doing BIAB, does the larger water volume have a larger buffering effect??
Could I reduce the alkalinity into negative numbers to hit a better mash Ph?

I didn't use any acidulated malt this time as I wanted to see what the mash Ph would be without it, and I'm sure its probably all in my mind, but I could swear I picked up a little sourness in beers I've used few 2-3% in.

:

 

[strange-steve]

I've found that even with 100% RO water the pH will be up around 5.7 with an all pale malt grist, so you may need to add more acid or calcium salts to get it down. A full volume mash will give a slightly higher pH, but probably only about 0.1 higher.

 

[Mguthriem]

No. I didn’t realise I should have. Will try soaking it, see if it recovers...

Thanks!

 

[mabrungard]

Hard tap water is OK (but not ideal) for rehydrating a pH bulb. DI or RO water is not suited for rehydration since it can leach out the salts from within the bulb. The best rehydration solution is storage solution which is typically a 1 molar to 3 molar solution of potassium chloride. Keeping the bulb hydrated by either soaking it in the solution or keeping it sealed in a high-humidity cap should improve the probe's response and measurement.

Its always best to check your probe's calibration on a daily basis prior to use. That's the only way that you can assess and monitor that the probe is measuring and reporting accurate values. When you can no longer calibrate the probe, that is your signal that its shot. pH probes have a finite life and you can expect to replace them on a regular basis. If you can get a couple years life out of it, you're doing well. You can get longer life out of a probe if you don't use it that often and keep it stored in solution.

 

[Mguthriem]

The best rehydration solution is storage solution which is typically a 1 molar to 3 molar solution of potassium chloride.

Thanks for the advice on meter maintenance!

Would a CaCl2 solution work too? I have some in my brewing supplies. Also have NaCl (lol) but no KCl!