Looking for homebrewing gift ideas? Check out our previous gift guides here or here!
Also, if you enjoy BrewUnited, please consider doing your Amazon shopping via our affiliate link!
Also, if you enjoy BrewUnited, please consider doing your Amazon shopping via our affiliate link!
My meter fits perfectly down into my calibration solution. Rinse and dry the meter, dip it, calibrate. Rinse and dry, dip into the next. Easy peasy.
Posted 34 days ago.
> It's not difficult to calibrate my meter. It's a pain. Calibration solution is expensive.
/face palm
Dan, try a test batch mashed at 5.3/5.2 with lactic acid. Don't worry about calcium levels as long as you are over 30 ppm. Get your chloride to about 40-60 ppm.
I don't like much sulfate with noble hops in very pale beers. I also acidify my sparge liquor to under 5.6, which should also reduce silicate extraction.
Posted 34 days ago.
Solution isn't that expensive, if you get it from the right place. Also, Olan I would highly recommend you stop sticking the probe right into the bottle.
I get my solution right from Omega (the Canadian site). Looking in the American site it also seems cheap for 475 mL bottles.
www.omega.com/pptst/PHH-7000.html
My advice if you want accurate readings is to calibrate every day you want to use the meter.
Pour a bit of the solution into the cap of the meter (blue outer cap for Omega meter), then measure in that. At my current rate I will probably need to refresh my solution with fresh stock before I run out.
Seems the ph7 is out of stock at the moment, haven't seen that in Canada. Wait until in stock again and order!
Posted 34 days ago.
I understand what you are saying from a best practice point of view. I do rinse and dry before each change.
For what it's worth, Omega replaced my meter once, and I got a new set of calibration solutions out of the deal. I've kept them for later, but I have done the cap measure thing with them - the results match my "dunked in" bottles.
Posted 34 days ago.
That solution is a great deal cheaper than the Hach solution I have.
Looks like Amazon has storage solution and calibration solution pretty cheap now. It used to not be very cheap at all, especially with shipping.Posted 34 days ago.
my cheap-ass meter came with a powder to mix with DI water... is that not as good as buying solution?
Posted 34 days ago.
Ray, the powder is fine as long as the water you mix it with is properly de-ionized and your measurement is very precise. I have serious doubts about the actual purity (as far as ions) of any grocery store bottled water, and it's just as expensive to buy lab grade DI water as it is to buy the solution and I know the solution is good. Also, I don't have lab grade instruments to measure the water with either.
Posted 34 days ago.
So you think me using it with RO isn't sufficiently accurate?
Posted 34 days ago.
Honestly, I don't know. It depends on how good your RO machine is. If you have a TDS meter you could verify it.
Posted 34 days ago.
I keep my probe in storage solution, as well.
Posted 34 days ago.