Milwaukee pH55 Not Calibrating - Tips or Ideas?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by jokelahoma, Mar 29, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jokelahoma

    jokelahoma Savant (1,162) May 9, 2004 Missouri

    Hey all, I bought a Milwaukee PH55 from Northern Brewer, because I figured I wanted to be as accurate as possible on my pH, and test strips just weren't cutting it. It comes with two packets of calibration solution, one at 7.01 and the other at 4.01. After letting it set overnight in the storage solution (which I also bought), I followed the instructions for calibration, and... bupkus. It recognizes and reads the first solution (7.01), but when I move to the second as instructed by the machine, it fails to recognize it as a valid calibration medium. I get "WRNG" on the display and no reading. Ergo, I am unable to calibrate the damn thing, and I planned on brewing today mainly just to see how it works, how well I am getting close to the proper pH, etc. I'm kind of miffed.

    Oh, one other note that may be of importance: It doesn't matter what I use as the first solution. I can drop it in plain water, in vinegar, etc. and it'll calibrate that to 7.0, but no matter what I move it to for the second solution, it fails to recognize it. It's brand new just out of the box. So anyone deal with this before? Any ideas, thought, tips, tricks? I hate the idea of sending it back if I can avoid that. Thanks!
     
    #1 jokelahoma, Mar 29, 2014
  2. DrewF

    DrewF Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2010 Pennsylvania

    You mentioned packets of solution. Did you mix them with distilled or tap water?
     
    #2 DrewF, Mar 29, 2014
  3. jokelahoma

    jokelahoma Savant (1,162) May 9, 2004 Missouri

    No. There was no indication anywhere that I should. It just says to drop the probe into the sachet, 7.01 first, then 4.01 when prompted by the display.
     
    #3 jokelahoma, Mar 29, 2014
  4. whereizzy

    whereizzy Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2011 Wisconsin

    I have the ph56 and you REALLY need to move to the 4.01 solution FAST to get it to read right. Like Superman-fast or else mine won't give a reading. It takes me a few tries...
     
    #4 whereizzy, Mar 29, 2014
  5. jokelahoma

    jokelahoma Savant (1,162) May 9, 2004 Missouri

    If you're too slow, does it just stay on "Use" instead of "rec" before giving the WRNG?
     
    #5 jokelahoma, Mar 29, 2014
    psnydez86 likes this.
  6. whereizzy

    whereizzy Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2011 Wisconsin

    Actually I don't remember ever getting a WRNG on mine. It just kinda loiters there. Return it and buy another from Amazon and save money at least.
     
    #6 whereizzy, Mar 30, 2014
  7. NiceFly

    NiceFly Initiate (0) Dec 22, 2011 Tajikistan

    Since the 7.0 calibration point is good you are probably good to go. pH meters can take a while to move a long distance in pH and you are probably timing out.

    Instead of starting with calibration just go to measure and measure both solutions. If the read correctly then you can bypass the bug in calibration.

    Also, you can store it in the 7.0 solution or distilled water with no worries.

    disclaimer: never used your model, just my experience with pH meters.
     
    #7 NiceFly, Mar 30, 2014
  8. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,097) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    you are sure this model has two point calibration?
    try skipping the second point if possible. the take a reading in the 4.01. if it is accurate you are good.
    otherwise you probably want to call NB.
    Cheers.
     
    #8 billandsuz, Mar 30, 2014
  9. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I have a milwakee meter too. I got the same reading yesterday. It's because I was too slow moving from the 7 to the 4
     
    #9 psnydez86, Mar 30, 2014
  10. jokelahoma

    jokelahoma Savant (1,162) May 9, 2004 Missouri

    I tried it again, as fast as my hands can move. I was in the 4.01 even before the display went from OK 1 to USE, and still nothing. It simply refuses to recognize the second solution. And unfortunately, it has to be two point calibration. When I do one point, then drop the meter in vinegar, it reads 6.9, which means either I have the crappiest vinegar ever, or the meter isn't calibrated correctly with just one point.

    I'm likely sending it back. With luck, a replacement will work properly. Thanks, all.
     
    #10 jokelahoma, Mar 31, 2014
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.