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kitchenware Question about PH tester

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cmwr

I need help I bought a ph tester several years ago and have never really used it. It came with some calibration powders and instructions. I want to mail a bottle of Datil hot sauce from Iowa to my niece in Texas. My wife is on me about “is it safe to be unrefrigerated for 3-4 days”. I get it. I’m really confident it is fine as this same sauce sometimes sits in the cup holder of my work van on hot July Iowa days and after work it goes back in the fridge and I’ve never gotten sick. But anyways.

I decided to dump a bottle in a small bowl and test it with this new never used PH tester. I turned it on and it says .53 but it toggles from that to 0000. I test the sauce and it reads about 3.8 on the tester.

How often do these things need calibrated? If it toggles from .53 to 0000 and back can you safely assume if anything the reading is .53 higher or is that nonsense? I test then I rinse off under tap water which I know is not right per the instructions. It says to rinse under distilled water and dry with a special cloth. I don’t have that special cloth.

Can someone offer advice
 
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Solution
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Well all I can say it sure pays off to do business with a reputable company based out of the US. Thermoworks let me speak to a tech support guy this morning who answered ALL my questions. And if it weren’t for him I would have ordered a tester with less features. I didn’t realize that the ph changed with the temp of the fluid being tested! Thanks to his advice I now know that and was able to spend another $10 for a meter that had temp correction built in. Heck yeah. This dude talked to me patiently for 25 minutes before I gave him my payment info to order. So I now have this METER coming with a starter pack of solutions.
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The Hot Pepper said:
Just click the little share icon thingy. 😁

Screenshot_20250725-222426.png
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it's actually a new laptop, without a mouse, working on the (thingy in the middle that works like a mouse but I keep shrinking screens and splitting 2 screens.... :banghead: ) sheesh, where's the pony express when I need them? :lol:

Tried to find the Share thing, kept reverting to a different screen.


Never mind... y'all can find it with the search thing. I need a re-wine! :lol:
 
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Hey @The Hot Pepper, I am going to order that one you linked to. Couple questions, I watched the videos. When you calibrate a meter like this it looks like you have to calibrate it to 3 different powder solutions? What’s the purpose of that? Why can’t you just pick one and calibrate to that and be done? Just trying to understand. Second question I think I already know but just gonna ask anyways. It sounds like when storing any ph meter you need to keep them upright in a glass of solution to keep them wet. Am I understanding that this would only be practical in kitchens etc where they use it on a daily basis? For a diy person like me that just wants to test a recipe I’m guessing I could store it in its case in a drawer. I would guess once you get your ph established in a recipe it should always be similar if you don’t vary the ingredients too much. About how long can you store these out of solution before they need recalibrated again? Sorry for all the questions
 
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mostly just follow the directions for the unit you have. I have always used solutions, not powder. I don't know how they work. From what I remember, one unit i have says if it is not used for about 2 weeks it needs to be recalibrated. If used on a daily basis, it doesn't need to be calibrated on a daily basis. I've calibrated with 7 and 4. one old Hanna checker had 2 tiny dials on the top. one for 7 and one for 4.
 
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Buffering with two or three reference points just helps with accuracy. It's like lining up a strip of masking tape to a sharpie line. It's in range but there's wiggle room due to the width of the tape. Three points ensures it is fully calibrated.

Electrodes should be stored in an electrode storage solution to prevent them from drying out which preserves the glass membrane/gel layer and helps maintain a stable ionic environment. Usually the solution is potassium chloride.

I don't want to recommend a meter because I have not used any on there, though I am in the market for one as well. Best I can do is paste a link to something I think would suit your needs but it's not an actual recommendation.
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
Buffering with two or three reference points just helps with accuracy. It's like lining up a strip of masking tape to a sharpie line. It's in range but there's wiggle room due to the width of the tape. Three points ensures it is fully calibrated.

Electrodes should be stored in an electrode storage solution to prevent them from drying out which preserves the glass membrane/gel layer and helps maintain a stable ionic environment. Usually the solution is potassium chloride.

I don't want to recommend a meter because I have not used any on there, though I am in the market for one as well. Best I can do is paste a link to something I think would suit your needs but it's not an actual recommendation.
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Well thanks for your recommendation anyways. If it isn’t stored in solution and dries out, is it ruined or do you simply recalibrate it again? I may use this once or twice for a few sauce recipes I’ve been making for years just so I finally know and then not use it again for a long time
 
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salsalady said:
Again... follow the directions of the item you have. Different brands could be made from different glass.
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I cancelled my order. It seems silly to buy something that I might use once or twice and not use again for several years when you have to store it in liquid to keep it from drying out. I think I might look into some PH test strips. I don’t know how they will work with colored hot sauce, but this seems like The most economical way for me to go without having to worry about having another piece of equipment in the drawer that never gets used.
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
For recipe creation they should be fine. Keep in fridge.
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I’ve got a couple recipes. I’ve been using for the last few years. I’ve shared these online in various forums and groups. I pretty much keep everything to a t every time I make it so I would think if the sauce is a certain pH as long as I don’t change the type of peppers or the brand of vinegar, each successive batch should be Pretty close in the same ballpark but I’m no expert
 
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