Acid Tester and Other Equipment

[bthompson]

I am ready to try my first batch of non kit wine. I am looking at trying one the 1 gallon recipes on this site. Any suggestions on acid testers? I notice a large difference in price. I know it's a get what you pay for deal, however I wouldn't think the less expensive models would give a bad reading, so what's the real difference?

On that note, I've read tons of good stuff from you guys about making wine from fruit, and am sure I'll be back often as I go through this for more pointers. I plan on getting all the additives and chemicals mentioned in the
recipe (strawberry most likely) when I go visit George in the next couple of weeks, and will be
using a leftover one gallon bottle from some cheap sangria we used for
making punch. I know I'll need a bung and another airlock to fit it. Any other suggested equipment?

 

[reisjdmd]

if by acid tester you mean a pH meter, by all means buys one as it is very useful. i paid about $40 for mine on e-bay. i have harped before on the need or an external standard to see if these meters are accurate.according to my research, the pH of off the shelf heintz vinegar is about 2.2. my meter tested it at 2.1, which i think is accurate enough for any of my purposes. they are quite easy to use.

 

[bthompson]

if by acid tester you mean a pH meter

Now I'm not sure what the heck I'm asking. Sounds logical since acidity is a measure of pH.

 

[grapeman]

I think you mean something to measure the TA. The test kits use phenylthalene and sodium hydroxide to measure how much TA or acid is in the must. The pH measures how acidic that acid is. Think vinegar versus sulfuric acid. The test relies on a visual indication of when the mixture reaches 8.2 and that is where a pH meter could come in handy. By using the meter you are testing to a finite point and not relying on the visual change in color.


Lots of beginners simply rely on taste alone to get in range and it will work with most fruits alright.

 

[bthompson]

Gotcha.

I am looking at this
http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=5400

vs this

http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=217-10

The what-to-do-with-the-results of the latter makes it kind of attractive, but I have no idea if it's needed.

 

[bthompson]

I also realized I have one very similar for my aquariums, wonder if that will work. Hmmm.

 

[bthompson]

I also realized I have one very similar for my aquariums, wonder if that will work. Hmmm.

Range is narrower, only 6-7.6.

 

[grapeman]

The latter Accuvin tests are simple to run. The first you list only does a few tests, depending on how acid your wine is. If you buy a pH meter like the aquarium one(with a larger range), then you can just buy the Na0H in the correct normalcy (N) since you will have the beaker and syringe to run repeated tests. You don't need the indicator solution with the pH meter, but you do need calibrating solution.


Bottom line is there is a big range in prices and products to do the test.

 

[KSGuardsman]

OK, given a limited budget, but a desire to go beyond kits, what is the recommendations for testing equipment. I am looking at the Accuvin Full Pocket Lab (Product: FPL) from George, but I expect I will burn through that pretty quick.

So, I would like to hear from everyone making wine from grapes and other fruit (non-kit) what they use. Thanks in advance for the comments/experience/insights.

 

[Big Ike]

I purchased a suite of Accuvin tests from George and didn't burn through them as quickly as I thought I would. I still have more than half of the original number and I used them on 4 non kit wines.

I would recommend them.

 

[KSGuardsman]

Ike, when you say a suite of Accuvin tests, does that refer to individual sets of 10/20 for each test or the Full Pocket Lab set? The FPL does not seem to have all that many tests in the set, although it would give me a baseline to start from.

 

[fivebk]

I use a test kit that tests for TA they are alot cheaper and have worked fine for me.

BOB

 

[Big Ike]

Ike, when you say a suite of Accuvin tests, does that refer to individual sets of 10/20 for each test or the Full Pocket Lab set? The FPL does not seem to have all that many tests in the set, although it would give me a baseline to start from. 

Yes, I bought several different tests in the 10 packs.

BTW, thanks for your service.

 

[KSGuardsman]

I use a test kit that tests for TA they are alot cheaper and have worked fine for me.



BOB

What are you using, Bob?

I am not a huge volume wine maker (yet), but I have done 57 gallons in the past year (amazing how fast people send me their empty bottles these days!). I know many growers in Missouri and plan to buy at least 250 pounds of grapes this year; destemming, and crushing using their commercial equipment, then bringing the must to Little Rock for fermentation. So, right off the bat, I need to know how to test and adjust my must for pH and TA and sulfite levels.

Anything short of Hanna Instruments, but more accurate than litmus paper would be helpful.

 

[fivebk]

I use the kit that tests TA as appleman stated it uses Phenylthalene and Sodium Hydroxide . I will have my own grapes ready in 2011 if all goes well and will most likely own a PH meter by then.

BOB

 

[grapeman]

KS, that will be 3 or 4 carboys of wine, not a really large amount so there is no need to get really fancy. I would get an inexpensive pH meter which can take your pH readings and then be used for checking TA. For the sulfites, you can use an Accuvin test vial or use something like an acidometer with the proper reagent (iodic solution instead of the blue indicator).