Mash pH meter

[Mayor of Simpleton]

Apera ph60 looks to come about £120. Thete ate other ones from same brand half the price.

What’s the compromise?

Wow. I just checked and I paid £76 for it. It is £86 on Amazon now from the Apera store

 

[Braufather]

Ok I’ll look again.

 

[Mayor of Simpleton]

Ok I’ll look again.

Have a look on the Apera instruments web page. Seems to be £80 on there. I assume you can buy direct. The "find a pH meter" tool takes you to it

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I honestly don't think you need to pay that much: so far as I can tell all these meters all use the same type of electrode.
It's just a fact of life that pH meters do require a bit more care and looking after than most other 'tools' like a thermometer..

The key thing is to look after the electrode. In any case they only last a couple of years, but on a good meter they are replaceable.

Also if you want good accuracy you really need to do a three-point recalibration at least once a month (in practical terms that tends to mean before every session), using buffer solutions properly made up
with distilled water. What I do is mix 250ml of each buffer and just use 10ml of it for a calibration.

It‘s certainly a very good idea to rinse the electrode with distilled water between readings, and ideally it should be stored in a calcium chloride solution between sessions.

I have this one (£30) which works well.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I have an Apera one (the green and white one) which was about £40. I like it, but in hindsight I wish I'd bought one that gives readings to 2 decimal places instead of one.

 

[Braufather]

I honestly don't think you need to pay that much:

I was half expecting you to follow that telling me to build my own own

Seriously though I would prefer faff free. My old cheapy lasted a year before it needed any calibration and only ever rinsed with tap water. I like the idea of a better quality one though where as you say I can replace the electrodes when needed.

 

[Braufather]

I wish I'd bought one that gives readings to 2 decimal places instead of one.

Is that because if you get a reading of 5.2 you would worry it’s actually 5.15 for example. Piece of mind I guess?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Yes exactly @Braufather.

 

[Braufather]

Yes exactly @Braufather.

By the way How do you do that @ link?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Just type the @ and then the name of the person you want.

 

[Braufather]

You have to type it all out? With my spelling and fat thumbs that will be problematic.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Only the first few letters, then you get a list of all the members with the same letters and you can tap on the one you want.

 

[Braufather]

@Tess Tickle sorted.

 

[Rodcx500z]

just dug my cheapo one out, water from the tap

 

[The Baron]

Been discussed loads of times this PH meter thing and I have still the same old yellow chinese cheapie and it hardly ever needs calibrating and when it eventually does it is usually only 0.1 point out.
Maybe I have been lucky but I paid under a tenner for it probably 5 years ago and still as efficient and gives reading near enough for me.
Ps I am a Yorkshireman-short arms deep pockets they say

 

[Braufather]

@the baron

Mine too but not sure if we got lucky as there are plenty of bad reviews. I tried to get another from same place as last time but they don’t stock them anymore. Can you remember where you got yours?

 

[The Baron]

It was off Fleabay but they erase your purchase history after a short while so no but I have had the same thought of buying another one as this one has been so good at the price I paid. From memory I think I only paid £6 from China

 

[jayk34]

just dug my cheapo one out, water from the tap View attachment 66481

That's the one I had up until my last brew. I went to check pH and it was very high. I looked at the bottom of the meter and the wee glass bulb had shattered. Don't know why ? I rinsed and dried it off with distilled water after every use and always used it in cool wort.

I might try the beer pH papers listed previously instead

 

[Sadfield]

I honestly don't think you need to pay that much: so far as I can tell all these meters all use the same type of electrode.
It's just a fact of life that pH meters do require a bit more care and looking after than most other 'tools' like a thermometer..

The key thing is to look after the electrode. In any case they only last a couple of years, but on a good meter they are replaceable.

Also if you want good accuracy you really need to do a three-point recalibration at least once a month (in practical terms that tends to mean before every session), using buffer solutions properly made up
with distilled water. What I do is mix 250ml of each buffer and just use 10ml of it for a calibration.

It‘s certainly a very good idea to rinse the electrode with distilled water between readings, and ideally it should be stored in a calcium chloride solution between sessions.

I have this one (£30) which works well.
View attachment 66468

That's a good recommendation. Not too expensive, 3 point calibration and a replacement probe.

I hate pH meters they're needy and temperamental PITA's, having to use them in an industrial environment.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

That's a good recommendation. Not too expensive, 3 point calibration and a replacement probe.

I hate pH meters they're needy and temperamental PITA's, having to use them in an industrial environment.

I agree! There’s a lot to be said for narrow range indicator strips, but I find it hard to convince myself I’ve read them accurately