pH Equipment? Why? For what?

[DeejayDebi]

  There is this little devil in Ohio I meant to warn you about! 

[swh]

Folks,

Now that I have my PH meter and TA setup up and running, well measuring, and have my processes a little more coordinated I have been looking for a more comprehensive set of PH and TA data points for recipes. I have gleaned some from various texts, sites (e.g., P. Dixon) and from the recipe list but it seems to be ad hoc at best.  Is the a more comprehensive list out there that I am just missing or is it just the type of thing that is hit and miss.

Now that I have the setup I can't wait to start doing better documentation but for some recipes it's only time and temp. I guess that's the wonderful thing about experimentation.

Cheers, Steve

[Brie]

okay--Wayne's (aka sick twisted puppy) PH meter has arrived (Extech PH 110) Part of the initial calibration is to soak the electrode in a PH4 solution for 10 minutes--how is this achieved at the start point (not knowing how to measure the PH)
Christine

[wharris]

You will need to acquire some pH 4.01 buffer solution.  (Some did not come with the unit?)
http://www.extech.com/instruments/product.asp?catid=73&prodid=474

I would suggest getting small stockpile of pH calibration fluid.  You will want to calibrate that pH meter every so often.

[swh]

So I went to fire up my shinny new ExTech PH110 and it calibrated fine at 7.0(at least it's convinced it did) and would not recognize any other cal points (4 and 10). I am dubious about it actually calibrating to 7.0 since it is thoroughly convinced everything in the world is neutral. I have tried to reset and recal the unit etc. to no avail. Has anyone had a similar problem with ExTech before I call tech support Mon. I see from the forum there is a lot of flinging of ExTech units.

Thanks

[Likesspace]

Steve,
Here is one suggestion.....
Try removing the battery pack (don't remove the individual batteries....just the pack itself).
Press all three buttons and hold them for approximately 15 seconds.
Re-insert the battery pack and then try recalibrating again.
If this does not work, try the above procedure again and if it doesn't work then, you probably do have a problem which tech support will take care of.
Just out of curiosity, was it cold when you received your meter?
I had one that was screwed up and I'm convinced it was because it was shipped during extremely low temperatures. I have no proof of this, but I do suspect it to be the case.
Hope this procedure helps you out.

Dave

[swh]

Dave,

I tried the battery pack removal option in an attempt to reset the unit but I didn't press the buttons. I have read about the possibility of units getting screwed up in shipping in the cold so that was a thought. I received the unit in early December but I believe it never sat outside in the cold. I suspect the unit is flawed since when I received it all I had was buffer 7.0 which it indicated it calibrated to fine as it does now (at the time I didn't have any other buffer). It would not detect anything but 7.0 and tech support said to make sure I calibrated with a 4. and 10 despite the fact that the instructions say it will work(not that accurately) with a one point cal.

ExTech is 15 miles down the road from where I work so a little road trip may be in my future. I'll keep you posted

Steve

[swh]

All is well with my ExTech PH110 once the techs and I determined the unit was defective. Since ExTech is 15 miles down the road from where I work I got a replacement unit today. I asked the tech about the possibility of these small units freezing in shipment, a theory floated around in a couple threads and he said it in NOT an issue but can be for remote probes that contain a larger volume of electrode solution.

To their credit ExTech was great in both tech support and immediate replacement of the unit.

Cheers, Steve

[Rev Lovejoy]

Hi folks. I'm brand new here, and new to cheesemaking. It's just a home hobby for me, hoping to have some aged waxed wheels of gouda for Christmas. I have almost everything I need from New England Cheesemaking, and I have a great local raw milk source.

I bought ph strips at my local brew shop for use in making mozzarella. The strips came with a gauge where the colors were only available at every 2.0 of ph - not nearly accurate enough to follow the recipes in Rikki's Home Cheesemaking. (My first serious attempt fell short) So I am looking into a cheaper ph meter, like the ones being discussed on this thread, and I'm only considering the under $50 range. Considering how rarely I would use it, I am not in need of a serious lab.

I doubt I'll make much more mozzarella - I'm more interested in aging some cheddar and gouda. Is pH as vital in these as it is in mozzarella? Would you bother with a meter in my situation? Or should I just try to find better strips?

[linuxboy]

Dave - What I found with a cursory search was that the one offered by New England Cheesemaking Supply is actually cheaper than other sites selling it. Surprising.

-Boofer-

For those considering the minilab units, I sourced another supplier that has updated electrodes. Here's the e-mail I received:

Thank you for your email and interest in the ISFET S2K712 pH meter.

We can supply the ISFET S2K712 pH meter and the R2K712 Reference Electrode.
The R2K712 is compatible with IQ120, IQ125 and IQ128 as well as MiniLab pH
meters.

If you have not already done so, please visit http://global.isfet.com/ for
details about these products.  Please note a new version has been developed
with a 2 pt calibration function. The accuracy has also been improved.  This
information will be available on the website soon.

Pricing is listed below.

            1-9 Units       10 or more

S2K712      $199.00         $176.00

R2K712      $ 59.95             $45.00


Payment terms are 50% at time of purchase and 50% upon reciept.  Wire
transfer is the preferred method of payment, but you can pay by check or
credit card as well.

http://global.isfet.com/?page_id=1146

[cheesehead]

I make cheese commercially and I rely on pH meters heavily to track the progress.   I check:

-pH of milk before any ingredients added
-pH at "set" (when culture, rennet..are added)
-pH at cut
-pH at draining
-pH just before salting
-pH just after packaging
-pH 5 days after packaging


I need to have a consistent and trackable culture, that's the heart of my cheesemake (cheddar & cottage cheese).  I look for trends day to day, week to week and make adjustments as required.  pH tells me how well the culture is performing


I know the home cheesemake is different but I need to gather data to make sure day in & day out the make process is about the same.

[wharris]

cheesehead,

Operational consistancy is what I try for all the time.  Someday, when I actually acquire some cheesemaking skill, I would love to sell my cheese.

[cheesehead]

I'm not familiar with the extech meters but one of our pH meters had to be calibrated with 4.0 buffer first no matter what - If someone used a 7.0 for initial calibration, it would try to make that read 4.0 - a bit confusing for someone who didn't know that it did that.

I've never bothered with calibrating with a 10 buffer ever...