pH Meter

[Frumunda]

Is there somewhere I can get a ph meter without having to pay over $100 for it?As a matter of fact,I don't even want to pay $100 for it,but I certainly don't want to pay the $200 and up that I've been seeing!That's rediculous!

[wharris]

You can get an assortment of <$50 at Amazon here.

I have gone through 2 of these.  I have had much better success with my current one here.

The low-cost ones will suffice at first,  but for me, the constant calibration, fussing and lack of trust I had in the overall results, combined with my increasing dependancy on pH values made me get the better model. 

The cash outlay sucked, but now that I am past it,  i am so very happy with the unit.

[homeacremom]

Good to know you are still happy with the Exstik110, Wayne.
 
I've got one on the way and am looking forward to perfecting recipes that are completely repeatable!

[wharris]

well

Manageing pH is but one operational task to be mastered. I personally think it is one of the biggest immediate aspects of cheesemaking that requires mastery.  But I think  Likespace said it best when he said that the key to making cheese is the mastery of the subtleties of cheesemaking. 

And there are many subtlties.

[Cartierusm]

Most people, myself included, don't want to put out for an expensive PH meter, but it's one of those things that's useful for lots of home hobbies, plus cheap ones break and need calibration, as wayne said, and most don't go to .01 which is necessary for cheese making. If you PH meter goes to .1 it's useless for cheese making.

[Minamyna]

I just figured out that mine doesn't adjust for temp. Does that mean it won't work at all? I have tried calibrating it several times, with 2 different sets of pH calibration fluid.

Very frustrating.

[wharris]

I would not say that it does not work at all.
But it will not be as accurate as you need it to be.
In order to be accurrate, you would need to manually adjust the pH for temp, by using a graph like this:

Did your pH meter come with instructions for manual temperature compensation?

My advice would be to sell or re-purpose your pH meter, and buy one that automatically compensates for temperature.
Sorry.

[Minamyna]

Well my pH meter was one that my uncle had already, so I borrowed it.

http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Instruments-Inc-Checker-Tester/dp/B000WTELF4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

It doesn't have the greatest reviews.....

[wharris]

LOL
I had the exact same one.



keyword: "had"

[BigCheese]

The extech exstik110 is doing me right so far, but I know others have had mixed feelings.

[Minamyna]

ok ok ok ok ..... I am broke so I will have to wait... ::pouts::

[stinkycheeseandmore]

I just purchased a Oakton phtestr 30 and I have to say I am a little confused on how to properly calibrate the meter. It looked like it was going to tbe the perfect meter, but yes, it's was over $100. Is anyone else using this meter and can provide insight into how to properly calibrate? When I put the meter into the buffer and hot calibrate and I supposed to wait to the meter shows the correct ph for the buffer before I accept the values? sorry if this question is basic but I am a new to the ph meter concept.

[Minamyna]

Usually there is a screw you twist to make it read correctly. I just read the instructions that came with mine.

[Boofer]

Elsewhere in this forum I have detailed my troubles using my Extech100 pH meter (Baby Swiss). A couple days ago I made my second Jarlsberg. Trying to reach certain pH points proved to be a problem. Part of the problem is shown in the pic I attached. I thought I had held the meter in the whey for a long enough time to match the analog thermometer.

The picture shows me trying to reach the target pH of 6.40-6.45 for my washing temperature. The meter shows I'm way out there.

I calibrated it to 4-7-10.

Can anyone point me to a training session for using my meter? What am I doing wrong? This is the third cheese this month I've tried to use with my meter.

-Boofer-

[BigCheese]

I don't know how much of a difference it would make but you should be calibrating 7 first, then 4, then 10.

A good way to check the meters accuracy after calibrating is with milk that you know is good. Should be right around 6.7 (This second point is just my speculation).