"the voice of one crying in the wilderness"
i thought i presented a legitimate issue that was of potential [pardon the pun] interestto all pH meter users. i guess i was wrong.
but consider, if you exclude internal electrical circuit failure, there are three reasonably common things that can go wrong with a pH metering system: buffer failure; electrode failure; battery problems. it is axiomatic in the use of a pH meter that you test the meter against an external standard before you test the unknown. sure, you adjust your meter to read pH 4.01 and pH 7.01, but how do you know that one of the three failure modes is not lurking? enter the external standard. simply measure the pH of a known solution, and if the reading is as predicted, you are set to go. i suggested a good and easy approach to this problem, and all i heard was the sound of crickets in a dark and empty auditorium.
now here is somthing to think about. you do not need the 2 commercial buffer solutions. all you need is two common and cheap and easy to prepare household products, that always have the same pH, and you can set your meter to those two points. for example, commercialdistilled water. if you buy from the same source,willprovide the same pH [about 7.05 by my estimate]. this eliminates one buffer. another easy one is to prepare a level1/4 teaspoon solution of pure tartaric acid crystals in 8 oz distilled water. this will give a reproducible pH reading somewhere in the mid 3's. there is nothing magic or necessary about using the commercial buffer solution. however, as with any system, an external standard is necessary. why did no-one bother to take me up on this? my idea is simple and would be helpful for all users of pH meters. hmmmmmm? i used to run portions of a big city hospital lab, and we always used an external standard. admittedly, human life might be considered more precious that wine, but are we, the people reading the chemical and testing site, not supposed to be interested in chemicals and testing?? or is this site fundamentally for dabblers? i would personally not take the chance of possibly screwing up a batch of wine by relying on a pH meter reading without checking against a known solution. perhaps others are not so compulsive. but after readingall of the compulsive posts about sterilization of equipment, i think people are concerned about doing the carefullittle things to maximize the chance of getting the best possible product. well, i just had to get that off of my chest at 3:30 am.
i thought i presented a legitimate issue that was of potential [pardon the pun] interestto all pH meter users. i guess i was wrong.
but consider, if you exclude internal electrical circuit failure, there are three reasonably common things that can go wrong with a pH metering system: buffer failure; electrode failure; battery problems. it is axiomatic in the use of a pH meter that you test the meter against an external standard before you test the unknown. sure, you adjust your meter to read pH 4.01 and pH 7.01, but how do you know that one of the three failure modes is not lurking? enter the external standard. simply measure the pH of a known solution, and if the reading is as predicted, you are set to go. i suggested a good and easy approach to this problem, and all i heard was the sound of crickets in a dark and empty auditorium.
now here is somthing to think about. you do not need the 2 commercial buffer solutions. all you need is two common and cheap and easy to prepare household products, that always have the same pH, and you can set your meter to those two points. for example, commercialdistilled water. if you buy from the same source,willprovide the same pH [about 7.05 by my estimate]. this eliminates one buffer. another easy one is to prepare a level1/4 teaspoon solution of pure tartaric acid crystals in 8 oz distilled water. this will give a reproducible pH reading somewhere in the mid 3's. there is nothing magic or necessary about using the commercial buffer solution. however, as with any system, an external standard is necessary. why did no-one bother to take me up on this? my idea is simple and would be helpful for all users of pH meters. hmmmmmm? i used to run portions of a big city hospital lab, and we always used an external standard. admittedly, human life might be considered more precious that wine, but are we, the people reading the chemical and testing site, not supposed to be interested in chemicals and testing?? or is this site fundamentally for dabblers? i would personally not take the chance of possibly screwing up a batch of wine by relying on a pH meter reading without checking against a known solution. perhaps others are not so compulsive. but after readingall of the compulsive posts about sterilization of equipment, i think people are concerned about doing the carefullittle things to maximize the chance of getting the best possible product. well, i just had to get that off of my chest at 3:30 am.
There is so much information on this forum that I learn something nearly every day, somethings that I didn't even know that I needed to know. I appreciate all the input that I get from all the winemakers here...even when I am too stubborn to follow it 
