I was looking to purchase a decent ph meter, and in looking at the Cole Palmer web site, it is somewhat intimidating.
Can anyone out there suggest a meter they feel serves the cheesmaker in all facets of the process. Accuracy in liquid and semisolid environments, as well as durability would be a major consideration. I would prefer a handheld unit rather than stationary, and I would not mind paying a little more for a quality item.
Thank you
I am a noob in the cheesemaking department and like you, I lust after a good PH meter. If money was not a constraint, I would be ordering one of these: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/pH/ph-spear.html (http://www.thermoworks.com/products/pH/ph-spear.html) The pH Spear. But for the near future, I'm using litmus paper. Why I like this one is my epxerience wit the company and one of their primary products, the Thermapen. I own two of those, both worked like champs, but the battery went bad on one and I didn't pull it in time. Whacked out the unit. They were superb in dealing with the repair. I am looking for a thermometer for my oven and based on my experience with them, they are my number one place to look for an accurate high temp oven thermomenter.
I'd love to see what recommendations you get, since I will be buying a PH meter in a year or so. And on a retiree's budget, the high end one I showed is likely out of my price range.
george13, there is a stub of a Wiki: pH Meters (https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki/) article, which needs more work.
If you read through the threads in the "Equipment - Making Cheese" Board you'll find peoples experiences with several models, the most popular seems to be an Extech Brand, Model 110, but even that people are not 100% happy with.
In that Board if you click on the column heading "Subject" it will sort the thread names which could help to find the pH Meter Threads.
Thank you, I am slowly realizing the vastness of information on this forum. I will check the equipement section and consider all recomendations. thanks again.
Welcome, I've been around since the start but there is a tonne of posts that I don't know about plus some threads evolve into other subjects making the Thread Title less useful so sometimes using the Search tool works better, if you have key words, there's a How To for power using the Search Tool in the FAQ's Board.
Also, you may want to search on Titrate or Titration to see some competing views on that system vs pH Meters, such as this one (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5816.0.html).
I use the Extech 110.
I had some issues with my initial one, but they sent me a new one, and it has served me well for almost 3 years now.
I like the fact that I can use it for liquid and solids.
I use my pH meter for both cheesemaking and winemaking
I know this is an old thread but how do you test the pH of a solid? My knowledge of pH tells me that you need an aqueous solution to do it.
Puree and emulsify in distilled or RO water, then test.
Easy enough. Thanks!
No problem if your making several wheels and secrifice one for testing but if your only making a single cheese you need a flat surface probe, or guess working your PH at pressing using time based make based on trial and error.
I also got the extech 110 recently and Im loving it,my cheeses are now coming out the way "The author intended" and im not over acidifying at press.
I've had a Hanna pHep+ (http://www.hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=040003&ProdCode=HI%2098108) for about 9 months, but have had a lot of trouble with it. I sent it back due to a bad electrode and the replacement hasn't been much better. I just can't calibrate the thing. I'm going to send it back for another replacement today.
In the meantime, I'm researching more serious meters, and was thinking about the Hanna pH Meter for Food and Dairy (http://www.hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=040001&ProdCode=HI%2099161). Has anyone used this unit - or have experience with other brands in this price range ($300-$500)?
I'm also considering similarly priced portable meters from Oakton (http://nelsonjameson.com/Laboratory-QA-QC-c5//Lab-Instruments-amp-Equip-/pH-Meters-amp-Accessories/pH-Meters/Oakton-pH11-Meter-p1457.html?m=product_detail&p=1457&special=&related=) and Orion (http://nelsonjameson.com/Laboratory-QA-QC-c5//Lab-Instruments-amp-Equip-/pH-Meters-amp-Accessories/Thermo-Orion-3-Star-Portable-pH-Meter-p1474.html?m=product_detail&p=1474&special=&related=). I'd really like to hear what others think.
I've now read through a lot of the equipment forum threads about pH meters and - frankly - was more confused about what to get than I was before. While I believe that the Hanna unit I mentioned above would be a fine purchase, I'm not sure that it is double junction, as LinuxBoy recommends. I also didn't understand what, exactly, that means. Further research turned up this explanation, which is very helpful: http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/techinfo.asp?htmlfile=longlifepHmeters.htm&ID=389 (http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/techinfo.asp?htmlfile=longlifepHmeters.htm&ID=389) . I thought I'd post it here in case it is of help to anyone else.