pH Meters

[Gareth Kerr]

Hey guys, I'm just after a little advice on pH meters. I've previously tried the narrow-band strips which seemed pretty crappy really.

I'm looking at a bunch of cheap ones from DX for about $20-30 (http://dx.com/s/ph%2bmeters.html?category=421) and wondering if anyone has any experience with these?

I got a bit of a fright from the US folks over on homebrewtalk who often seemed to recommend meters in the $400 range with something in the ballpark of yearly $100 electrode replacements. I'm not trying to discover new frontiers of pH precision as much as getting a roughly accurate figure for mash pH so this would seem to be overkill, no?

[Nicholas Jones]

After posting this I wondered if their soil pen was more suitable? http://www.getbluelab.com/shop/Bluelab+Soil+pH+Pen.html .Also a lot of talk on the net about keeping them clean and keeping the tips moist and regular calibration. It appears your experience would suggest this to be the only way to use them reliably Adam

[Adam Sparks]

no Id stick with the standard PH pen or meter, but just be aware that you can't put it straight in you mash, you need to draw off some liquid, cool it and then test it.

One thing I havent done is tried using aftermarket ph electrodes from china with the bluelab meter, that could be a good replacement option.

There is also a connector for iPhone that lets you plug in an electrode, Id be keen to see how that compares