Ph meter questions.

I think you'll get better results immersing the probe in the solutions. It does not take much - I use 1/3 full shotglasses.

EDIT: Above approach is for cleaning and calibration solutions. For storage my probe came with a little chunk of sponge that gets thoroughly soaked in storage solution and placed inside the cap.

 

The probe should be kept wet when stored. I put enough solution in the cap to make that so.

 

Those probes crack very easily if they dry too much. The sponge inside the cap works, or just fill a little cup or shot glass or whatever and keep it submersed if you have a way of suspending the probe (so it isn't pressing on the bottom). You can reuse the solution so it's not like you are wasting it.

 

The preferred method is to keep a bit of sponge in the storage cap. Keep that moist with storage solution.

Do not use tap water or cal solution.
pH probes are notoriously delicate. Treat them with care and they will last for a good while. Check the accuracy with solution to see if there is alot of drift. Calibrate frequently.
Cheers.

 

You definitely need full immersion. Recycled White Labs yeast vials are perfect for short term storage of calibration solutions. There are special electrode storage solutions available that are probably best, but any solution with a decent ionic concentration (including reasonably hard tap dechlorinated tap water) will work. Distilled or RO water is absolute poison. The pH 4 buffer is an acceptable storage solution in a pinch.

 

I used to store my ph meter with calibration solution or dry, it lasted about 5 yrs with little to no up keep it was a Hannah and I beat the shit out of it http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/p...27&ref=gbase&gclid=CNKS1aiI-LsCFW9xQgod8EsAfQ (Mine wasn't used for brewing)!

 

Bumping this thread because I ran into an issue last night with the same pH meter. I guess I misunderstood the storage procedure. I filled a pint glass about 2 inches full of storage solution and have my meter sitting in the glass. I did this about a week ago. When I took a look at it last night, I noticed that 3 or 4 cubes (about 1/4") of some kind of hard, crystal-looking deposit had formed in the glass. Also, there is a bunch of salty-looking buildup around the top of the probe area. Anyone know what this is? This was the best pic I could get.

 

I just put a little of the solution in the probe cap. The crystals are the salts used for it coming out of solution.

 

Great, thank you!

 

Not that I know of.

 

On the same note, does anybody know what the cleaning solution is ? Is rinsing with tap water before storing in the storage solution damageable for the probe ?

 

The tap water should be dechlorinated. If it is extremely soft, that's not great, but the exposure is only a couple seconds. I have always just rinsed with a bit of the storage solution.

 

I have heard rinsing with RO or distilled is OK.

 

A quick rinse is fine, just not prolonged contact, >2-3min.

 

I have the storage solution for, well, long term storage.

 

I've stored my meter in 4.0 solution the past year or so without problems. I recalibrate it before each brew but it normally only drifts one point off.