Hello all,
It's been a busy few months and I'm just repeatedly making brie over and over until I perfect it (if possible). I thought I would spare everyone all of the redundant pics.
I was thinking about purchasing this ph meter http://hannainst.com/fc2022-halo-foodcare-ph-electrode-with-bluetooth-smart-technology.html (http://hannainst.com/fc2022-halo-foodcare-ph-electrode-with-bluetooth-smart-technology.html)
I have to recalibrate my cheap hanna meter every time I use it and I'm not sure that it's even accurate.
Does anyone have experience with this one? Do you have to constantly calibrate it? Does it do well going directly into cheese?
Sam
Thank you so much for sharing PH meter.
Sam, I didn't realize you never got a response on this question. From what I have read here, there has been a lot of interest in the Bluetooth Hannah meter, but to be honest, I don't recall anyone ever actually saying they had one. (Some have the more expensive direct read model, which has a good reputation.)
Did you wind up buying this? If so, how's it working?
Another one of the posts that slipped by me.
I have the full read out model and I spoke with Hana about that model , they say it is the same high quality probe with blue tooth so half the price of the one I have .
And mine works flawlessly
I have never used a ph meter like the Hanna or Extech. For these meters, what is the general process. I had a hard time figuring this out from the manuals, which talk a lot about recalibration but not about doing the actual readings. So suppose I'm using it to make my cheese. What is the basic process? I assume you start by calibrating. Then I assume you would dip in the milk and get your first reading. At that point, do you wipe the probe and dip again at the next step of cheesemaking? Or do you have to recalibrate before each reading? I'm trying to understand what you have to do with the probe between readings to ensure it's accuracy.
Thanks!
Anne
Anne, I have the Extech 100. This meter features a flat tip which can be used either in liquids or on a solid surface such as a cheese.
I calibrate only occasionally, generally if it seems that my results are not quite coming out the way I would expect - maybe every other month or so. Generally I find that it is only out by .1 at the most when I re-calibrate.
In between calibrations, I wash the probe with a tiny bit of dish detergent and water, and dry it with a paper towel. Then I take my reading - and take more than one reading , since sometimes the first reading will be off compared to the others (perhaps a little bit of water residue). I then again wash and dry the probe, and then put it back in the storage solution (which in the case of the Extech, is simply some 4.0 buffer solution). I repeat this wash and dry routine for each reading - probably a bit excessive, but it helps to ensure that a film of fat is not interfering with the reading.
I hope this helps!
On a good meter you know you can turn it on and trust the reading , so need to check with the calibration fluid each time you turn on .
I only check it when it has sat unused for more than a day .
My Extech , I did not trust so I would check the reading each time I turned it on , then if it was out by more than .5 I would calibrate .
I also found that 2 different probes would wander though out the make and get clogged by the the time I needed to know when to salt .
After enough abuse by that meter I finally bought the Hanna , about 2 years worth of cheese milk but I think I gained 10 years of my life back in less aggravation.
If your meter what ever it is does not wander and or stray out of calibration then just check it every so often and trust the reading .
Thanks for the response guys.
I haven't had the time to get onto the forum in awhile but I purchased the Hannah bluetooth and found that it was way more sensitive than what I was used to. I also found that the ph is different all over my cheese wheels and I think that's because my curds aren't perfectly uniform. I had read that different sizes will creat different ph levels.
Do you guys find that to be the case?
Sam
pH meters are a fickle lot. I have an Extech 100 and I calibrate mine every cheesemaking session and as we are working only in the 4-7pH range this is all I calibrate to. To keep it accurate I calibrate it and between readings during the session I keep it resting in the calibration solution closest to the pH I'm expecting to read. I wash the tip in non-chlorinated water and dab dry with paper towel and place back in the solution.
Hey Andy
QuoteI repeat this wash and dry routine for each reading - probably a bit excessive
Not excessive... consistent !!
Mal
Ozzie cheese
I too had to calibrate my Extech all the time , every use and multi times per use . And that was okay, but if I used it too many times during the session it would get clogged with fats / milk proteins and start going wonky .
It would randomly wander by about 1.9 or so , no matter what solution it was in , even with the cap on .
Then I would have to clean it in the cleaner solution for an hr or so . And I would miss the salting ph window .
Had the same problem with 2 probes ends .
The Hanna was money well spent
I too find that I get somewhat different readings at different places when checking, both a pressed cheese or the slabs of curds when I am cheddaring. Usually the readings are within a narrow range on one side, but sometimes as much as .2 or .3 different from one side to the other side. I attribute this to temperature variations and/or where there has been more whey available during the initial stages of pressing/cheddaring. But this is, of course, just my guess.
With the Hannah meter, do you get consistent readings everywhere on the cheese/curds, or do you also see variations from one spot to another?
Very consistant once temp of the probe tip comes up to temp
Any one want an Extech ..... very cheap
Andy,
I get consistant readings in the same spot but if I place the probe in another part of the wheel, it can be different by about a 10th sometimes.
I re-calibrate with every new make.
I'm really happy with this meter though.
Sam
One thing that I did notice with the Hanna is that being a pointy probe you have to poke it into the cheese , and thus carry some of the storage fluid into the cheese and or rinse water , both of which I found effects the reading a little ( with the Hanna being so sensitive ) so I usually poke it twice once to clean it and get the probe covered in whey from the cheese and once more to get a clean reading of the cheese .
I usually only do this when the cheese is very close to being ready for salting
And some times I do notice some cheeses are not the same all over , but usually as you say a tenth or so , so no big deal.
Nice tip. Thanks!
Sam
Interestingly, even with the flat-tip Extech I've learned not to trust the first reading - I'm assuming something similar is happening. After the first reading, I get consistent readings in one spot, slight differences over one face, and sometimes but not always slightly greater differences between one face and the other. I generally average it out to decide on the reading ...
Hi. Thank You for good advise.
Hi guys,
Interesting reading. I would love to hear more comments in regards to Hanna wifi model.
Over the last six years I have been using both Hanna HI 9813-5 (Igot two units purchased within 24months) and testo 206 model (also two sets)
Both ph meters fitted with ph and temperature probs.
Let's start with Hanna:
Quick reading for both curds and liquid.
Probes on a cord helping with day-to-day making.
Downside:
PH probe was fantastic but the main peace prove to be VERY moisture sensitive and both knob's for PH regulation failed within 12months in both sets!
Australian Hanna distributor is a nightmare to work with to the stage I moved to Testo.
Testo meters:
-Pocket size is a plus if you walking into a tight space maturation room.
- Splash resistant
- PH probe lasting longer V hanna
Downside:
- So called automatic calibration is a nightmare. Often PH meter will properly re-calibrate at PH4 but failed with PH7 buffer. After a fail attempt you have to start over which is adding another 5-10min as a hold up.
- PH probe required re-calibration on a regular intervals (in my case each 1h or before major step in a cheese making – for example hooping)
- Temperature probe and PH probe being fixed to a hand peace causing problems measuring hot liquid as screen tends to fog quickly.
useful tips which I learned over the years:
- Submerge tip of your PH probe in PH10 buffer at least once a week for around 10min. This will help preserve probe, works really well with Testo meter.
- When dry cleaning use a liner motion from the end of probe to the tip. Do not rub with rotation motion. This truly expand ph probe life if you work with lactic or semi hard cheeses
- Never use your PH meter for brine checks. Use a speciality dedicated meter or PH paper. Combination of salt and low ph is deadly for any probe
- Last one is obvious but I feel worth mentioned. Do not leave meter (probe) in highly moisture environment. After the job done take it back to your office and store in a dry/sun off/ room temp and humidty environment. Tip should be storage in a neutral PH reading gel.
I hope this help
All the best
Lukasz