Hanna Instruments - pH Tester

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Jeffro59

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I'm still hunting for the quick and skinny on how to use the Hanna pH tester...I bought one, have seen the articles in this forum, but still don't have a real good idea about what I do when I test the must.

I am also reading Jack Keller's web for more information, but I am a bit confused.

I have calibrated my new tester.

Once inserted into a must sample, let's say I get a reading of 7.9 on the read out. What does the 7.9 tell me that I need to do to my blackberry must insofar as using any acid blend to adjust a 5-gallon batch?

If the meter gives me a lower, more acidic reading, say 6.5, what do I do to make the must more balanced?

Looking for the layman's explanation to help me get over this initial learning curve...your guidance is greatly appreciated!
 
You want your must to be about 3.4. That is a general number. So if it reads significantly higher than that, you want to add some type of acid. Generally acid blend for fruits and mostly tartaric for grapes.

There is another, equally important number, total acidity or TA. To measure it, you get 15ml of your must and then add ml of (I'm drawing a blank, maybe NaOH) to the must and bring the PH to 8.2. The ml you add is the %TA. So if you add 4 ml, it is 0.4%. The TA test kit tells you what you want for various types of wine.

The PH also determines how much SO2 you need to SC to protect your wine. Higher PH means more K-meta.
 
That's what I was looking for! I have a blackberry must I'll add yeast to tomorrow night, and the must did came right at 3.4, so that's a good start.

I don't have sodium hydroxide, but will get some tomorrow and see what happens with TA.

Thanks for making it a little easier!
 

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