Ph Meter Storage Solution Issue

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mateostojic

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Hello brewers,

I bought a Phep 5 Ph meter not long ago and i think that i ruined it.

I have been using a Milwuakee storage solution, which has been crystalising in a pretty spectacular way.
To store my ph meter, i have been filling the cap with the storage solution and keeping the ph meter upright until next use.
I have noticed that the solution seems to be crystalising into a salt and creeping out of the lid seam as shown in the pic.
It was only doing it a bit at first but since the hot weather, it has pretty much all crystalised, leaving little or no solution in the lid. So as a result the electrode has been sitting dry and now my ph meter is not giving me reliable results.

I have pretty much made peace with the fact that i will have to replace the electrode, but i want to avoid this problem in the future.

Should i put the solution in a cup next time and sit the ph meter inside it? Should i store it in the fridge? Was it the hot weather that caused the crystalisation? Did i buy a crappy solution?

Thanks in advance,
Mate

Ph_Meter.jpg
 
Working in treatment plants, we kept ours in a cup of de-ionised or distilled water...did the job...and these meters and probes were not cheap...also from memory, you can use buffer but maybe check that before doing so...
 
Dump it and invest in some pH strips.

They last forever, you can cut them into "thirds" to triple the number you have, they cost ~$20/packet, they come in "brew pH range", they don't leach "storage chemicals", they don't need re-calibration and they are just as accurate.

Give you local laboratory equipment supplier a call.

cheers

tnd
 
Get a small glass, put storage solution in it, get rid of the lid, and keep it in the glass, fully submerged
 
And remember if any wort gets in the reference cuvette (ie you dip it into wort too deep) then the unit is rooted. It will still give a reading but that reading will be wildly inaccurate EVEN after calibration

tnd
 
That's pretty much how I stuffed mine, I'd agree with Darren regarding the strips but you will need to store them in an airtight container, too much humidity and they are useless.
 
That's pretty much how I stuffed mine, I'd agree with Darren regarding the strips but you will need to store them in an airtight container, too much humidity and they are useless.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that. I doesn't ever get all that humid here.

An empty Moccona coffee jar would do the trick nicely.

tnd
 
I think i will give the strips a go.
Thanks blokes.

From the pic you posted and your comments, you have overfilled the cap and it has leaked - probably through capillary attraction. Thats why the crystallization. Actually those "portable" pH units are a bad buy because you cannot replace the probe and they rarely have an airtight boot to cover the probe when not in use. You certainly must keep the probe moist and a proprietary storage solution is good but if not available, a 1:1 mix of vodka and DI water will do the trick.

Wes
 
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