How do you measure mash pH?

I have read where exposing the probe of the pH meter to hot temperatures (e.g., 150 degree F) can shorten the life of the probe. Maybe there are more rugged probes for this application?

Cheers!

 

Mash temperatures will shorten the life of your meter's probe as compared with room temp.

 

And I've heard that the way that the probe is affected by high temperatures is that the pH just takes a while longer to equilibrate than a perfectly good one does.

Since I'm only brewing about once every 1-2 months, and since it's only in the hot temperatures for maybe 15 seconds at a time, and since I can very easily leave the probe in there for an even longer time if it needs a little extra time to equilibrate, I'm just truly not worried about the life of the probe. I guess time will tell. I've only had my gauge for a short time, so if anyone has any REAL LIFE experience with burning one up, please, I'm all ears.

 

The don't really "burn up," though that's how many describe it. But they wear out faster. Each time you use the probe (at any temp), you use up more of its life. At higher temps, that happens faster.

I don't have any real life experience shortening the life of a probe with high temperatures. I don't need to try it to believe it, because the people who manufacture the instruments tell us. And people who use pH meters in their day jobs tell us.

I have read that a temperature increase from 25C to 50C increases the wearout rate by a factor of 10.

 

Keep on doing it your way. If you're satisfied with mediocre, that's your choice. I prefer to do things to the best of my ability.

I'm guessing you don't really care about hitting any of your targets... Grain not quite crushed enough? No big deal. Gravity off by a few points? No big deal. Yeast underpitched? No big deal. Everything adds up.

 

The bulb is fragile, and high temps shorten the life.

The temperature compensation is for the transducers response curve, not the change in pH in the solution under test.

 

I care about what matters. I don't care about what doesn't. What matters and what doesn't is a choice that each of us make on our own I suppose.

 

I totally agree that it's up to you.

My personal stance is that if I've taken the time to learn about brewing water chemistry and the tools to influence it, why not try to perfect that skill and my beer as much as possible?

 

Before everyone (including any new brewers reading this) get carried away with pH measurement, please read Water, pgs. 150-153 by Palmer and Kaminski. I think you will see there is a much easier quality alternative.

 

Basicly, it says modern brewers have access to RO water (with close to nothing in it)...so use it as a base line for the charts on the following pages for salt/mineral additions.

 

Then make it easy on yourself and add the desired levels of Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulfate
(and maybe Magnesium Sulfate and Sodium Bicarbonate) depending on the style/taste profile you are going for...look, if you want to measure pH go ahead, but it's really an exercise in futility unless your water or maltster suck, imho

 

I disagree with this. I think combining both would be a best practice. Once again - why bother learning all of this and getting the tools if you don't use them? That's just being lazy.

EDIT: I do think your mention of salt/mineral additions is great. I just believe it should be combined with proper measurement.

 

Good point!

 

I should have said, "if you are insistent on using your own bad water then you might need to measure your pH"

This is why you should be using RO water. Cheers

 

Challenge accepted.

Cheap pH probes drift and sometimes considerably. The bulb will is cheap and will quickly need replacement. The temp. correction if any is likely to be hit or miss. The durability and design may or may not be all that great, and it will be dropped one day. Don't buy lab equipment on a budget. pH meters are notoriously finicky.

Do you need to have 0.01 resolution? Probably not. But that's not the point. You need 0.1 resolution and if your pH has an accuracy of +-10% then why bother? If you want to put an effort into an accurate pH measurement why settle for inaccuracy? Why waste the money?

Yes, you don't need to invest hundreds of dollars in a bench pH meter. But don't waste $20 on a piece of crap that is not helping you get a correct pH. Because if it is not reliable why even bother?

 

I like my digital gauge better than the paper strips. The gauge is easy to use and read, and is probably more accurate than the strips. That's why I use a cheap gauge. Hell, I don't even measure pH half the time. Every few batches, just to make sure I'm doing alright, getting somewhere's in the ballpark.

And yeah, I make really shitty beer.

 

cheap pH meters are the new pH test strips