35 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

I thought I had my Milwaukee PH55 meter figured out. I was able to measure my tap water (always 6.6), calibrate it if it needed it, if it wouldn't calibrate I would soak it in white distilled vinegar, calibrate it again, etc. On a recent brewday, the meter had what I would call its worse performance yet. Measure my 6.6 tap water at 6.9. Measured 7.0 solution at 7.3 and 4.0 solution at 3.8. I went to calibrate it and it wouldn't calibrate. It keeps saying WRNG (wrong?) and won't go through the calibration process. I winged the brewday but I'm done with this thing. I recently joined a FB group "German Brewing" and some of those guys mentioned Hanna PI98128 but the REVIEWS are ALL over the place. Someone else mentioned a company called Hach who makes $1000 pH models but they also have a pen-style $70 meter that measures in 10ths and another $115 one that measures in 100ths. Does anyone know anything about them? I need to switch this thing out and smash it with a hammer.

[SchwanzBrewer]

You are probably the resident PH meter product expert. I haven't used my milwaukee in a while since I fiddle very little with my water. 

[neddles]

I thought I had my Milwaukee PH55 meter figured out. I was able to measure my tap water (always 6.6), calibrate it if it needed it, if it wouldn't calibrate I would soak it in white distilled vinegar, calibrate it again, etc. On a recent brewday, the meter had what I would call its worse performance yet. Measure my 6.6 tap water at 6.9. Measured 7.0 solution at 7.3 and 4.0 solution at 3.8. I went to calibrate it and it wouldn't calibrate. It keeps saying WRNG (wrong?) and won't go through the calibration process. I winged the brewday but I'm done with this thing. I recently joined a FB group "German Brewing" and some of those guys mentioned Hanna PI98128 but the REVIEWS are ALL over the place. Someone else mentioned a company called Hach who makes $1000 pH models but they also have a pen-style $70 meter that measures in 10ths and another $115 one that measures in 100ths. Does anyone know anything about them? I need to switch this thing out and smash it with a hammer.

I think you have had that meter well beyond it's expected life, no? Milwaukee 101/102 are used by several people here. Maybe Drez will poke his head in here, IIRC he knows a place to get them at a very good price. 

[Big Nake]

Okay, so when did I get this meter? There is NO WAY that it's older than 2 years. No sir. Is that old enough for this thing to be sunsetting? If that's the case, that makes one more reason these things just suck. The storage and calibration suck. The additional things you have to have (solutions, etc) suck. Their performance sucks. The maintenance sucks. Now the lifespan sucks too. I wonder if people get "good ones" and other people get "lemons", etc. The reviews of the Hanna meter go from 1 to 5 stars and there are plenty of both. Does the MW101/102 behave better? Ima go check the reviews for those models and see what's up.

[matt6150]

I think you have had that meter well beyond it's expected life, no? Milwaukee 101/102 are used by several people here. Maybe Drez will poke his head in here, IIRC he knows a place to get them at a very good price. 

Yeah this is the model that I have had on my wish list based on drez's recommendation. If he knows a cheap place to get one that would sweet. Amazon has them for $108.

[neddles]

Okay, so when did I get this meter? There is NO WAY that it's older than 2 years. No sir.

You're right, but it's dangerously close.

https://www.brews-br...=milwaukee ph55

 

Is that old enough for this thing to be sunsetting? 

 

https://www.milwauke...rs.com/faq.html

 

 

What is the expected pH probe life..?[color=rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, Verdana;font-size:16px;text-align:justify;]All Milwaukee Instruments probes are warranted for six months, and should last from 18 to 24 months if the probe is clean and kept wet in the proper storage solution.[/color]

So you are not well beyond the life of it as I suggested. But you are right there.

[HVB]

I think you have had that meter well beyond it's expected life, no? Milwaukee 101/102 are used by several people here. Maybe Drez will poke his head in here, IIRC he knows a place to get them at a very good price.

I have the 102 and it has worked well for me. Calibration is fast and simple. Oh and 89.99 here https://www.water-te...ukee_mw102.htmlHope the link works, I am posting from my phone.

[neddles]

I have the 102 and it has worked well for me. Calibration is fast and simple.Oh and 89.99 here https://www.water-te...ukee_mw102.htmlHope the link works, I am posting from my phone.

I knew you'd come through.

Edited by nettles, 10 February 2015 - 05:21 PM.

[Big Nake]

You're right, but it's dangerously close.https://www.brews-br...=milwaukee ph55  https://www.milwauke...rs.com/faq.htmlSo you are not well beyond the life of it as I suggested. But you are right there.

Huh. Yeah, almost 2 years and it seems like it should be retired. I had no idea the probe life would be that short. Hmm, decisions. Thanks for the info.

[djinkc]

Are the strips really that bad?  I haven't used them much but aren't the ColorpHast strips a good alternative?  All I've read about pH meters is they require a lot of maintenance.

[HVB]

Are the strips really that bad? I haven't used them much but aren't the ColorpHast strips a good alternative? All I've read about pH meters is they require a lot of maintenance.

I am not sure what maintenance I should be doing. I calibrate the meter every few batches and nothing else.

[Big Nake]

Are the strips really that bad?  I haven't used them much but aren't the ColorpHast strips a good alternative?  All I've read about pH meters is they require a lot of maintenance.

I read something in one of the books (WATER, I believe) and there was a line in there about how big boys use meters, not strips. Being the perfect consumer (and gullible, guiltable, etc), I picked up a meter. Many people say the ColorpHast strips are "okay" while some say that the meter is much more accurate. The meters need to be stored "wet" in a storage aolution. They also need 4.0 and 7.0 calibration fluids so you can do a 2-point calibration. There are times when I can use the meter without calibrating it (it reads the 4.0 or 7.0 accurately or it reads my Lake Michigan water at 6.6 which it ALWAYS is) and there are times when I have to calibrate it each brewday and even THEN it won't calibrate.

[BlKtRe]

I have gut checked over the years with a borrowed meter and it always read as close to good strips. Because of the maintenance issues of meters I choose not to own one. I know so many brewers that have the same exact complaints as Ken. JmCG who posts here on occasion just had his brick on him not to long ago. Which reminds me I need to order some more strips. Fwiw I use good strips at work for hazmat calls. No way would we use a meter because of the same reasons so my opinion of them might be jaded.

[neddles]

Like Drez I find my meter to be pretty easy to use. I don't really maintenance anything with it. It came with a storage vial that you put the probe in and replace the fluid every now and then. At first I recalibrated every other batch or so until I realized that was not necessary. Then I recalibrated every 4th batch or so until, again, I found I was making no adjustment. Now I think I am just going to recalibrate every 3 months or so regardless.

[Big Nake]

Someone in this FB group mentioned THIS meter for fast and accurate readings and reliability. I just read through some MW102 reviews on Amazon and it's mostly good. Some of the good reviewers came back later though and said they returned it in favor of something else. I think a lot of this comes down to the user. Some people might cut corners on solutions, leave the probe dry or crusted with stuff, etc. I thought I was pretty good with mine and I even called Milwaukee to talk with them about proper maintenance and what to do if it wouldn't behave. I do like the confidence I have in using a meter compared to strips. The strips are a little tricky to compare and if the strips or the 'key' on the box is faded or something, it's a crap shoot. There was also the +.3 or -.3 correction factor that used to drive me crazy. Oh well, a new meter is coming at some point. I would say it's between the Hach, MW102 and this Omega. Cheers.

[Brauer]

Sometimes you can extend the life of an aging probe by cleaning it and/or replacing the solution in the probe. You might be able to find manufacturer's recommendations for this, but it usually involves cleaning with something mildly acidic or alkaline (a bit of a soak in Starsan might do the job) and the probe solution is often the same as the storage solution (make sure you add clean stuff, not the dirty stuff you've been soaking in).

[Steve Urquell]

I've been using the Hanna $40 meter below since 3-22-11. It started to get to where it takes forever to settle on a reading ~1yr ago. I tried cleaning the probe by soaking in starsan and then vinegar, pulling out a new length of cloth junction but nothing helped--probe is done.I figured since the cost of a new meter is the same as a probe for another meter, I'll just buy another one like it.All I ever had to do with it was keep it stored in solution. As others have said, I check calibration every brewday but it has always kept its calibration.As far as storage solution is concerned, I bought a couple packs of powdered buffer capsules that mix with 1000 m/l of distilled water so I never have to worry about expired solutions.https://ecx.images-a...L500_AA300_.jpg https://www.amazon.c...ET3D1A630A5HPZX

[neddles]

As far as storage solution is concerned, I bought a couple packs of powdered buffer capsules that mix with 1000 m/l of distilled water so I never have to worry about expired solutions.https://ecx.images-a...L500_AA300_.jpg https://www.amazon.c...ET3D1A630A5HPZX

I learned about these capsules from you and got some about a year ago. Very easy and convenient. 

[Big Nake]

So I took a flier on an Omega pH meter that someone on our FB group suggested. He said it "read faster and had better accuracy". I looked at reviews for the MW-102 and Hanna 98128 (two meters that MANY homebrewers use with good results) and I found many good reviews as well as many that were bad. Yes, those people could be idiots but of course *I* could be an idiot too! So I threw those out and narrowed it down to two meters that seemed to have a good following and neither were available through Amazon... a model by Hach and the Omega. The Hach model I was looking at wouldn't ship for 3-5 weeks. The Omega came earlier this week. What I like about it is that the probe is covered with a screw-on cap that just has a few drops of storage solution in it. The probe is well-protected by this cap. Then over that cap goes a bigger cap that allows the meter to stand upright. The meter came with 4.00, 7.00 and storage solutions (all of which were a little 'slushy' when they arrived). The meter read the 4.00 and 7.00 solutions quickly and accurately and calibrated quickly too. This one reads into the hundredths as opposed to just the tenths like my last meter. I'm brewing tomorrow and will take it for its first run on a batch. Fingers are crossed that I get a good, confident vibe out of this thing. Cheers.

[mabrungard]

pH strips are great for testing solutions with high ionic strength. Unfortunately, wort is actually a fairly low ionic strength solution and pH strips DO NOT work well. 

 

pH meters have their place in brewing, but they do require care. I've written extensively about the care and use of pH meters on the Bru'n Water Facebook page. There is also guidance on factors that I find important in selecting your own meter.

 

httpss://www.facebook.com/pages/Brun-Water/464551136933908?ref=bookmarks