Anybody have one? I've got the paper strips but my red/green color blindness makes it hard to tell a difference between 2-4 ph. My wife helps, but I'm thinking a digital meter would be a worthwhile investment.

I’ve been around one at the fertilizer plant it’s pretty fast I’d say they last a long time the probes get replaced every now and then.

blue lab makes digital meters

I have one for wine making. The reason I havent used it much is you have to maintain and calibrate the thing. So keep that in mind.

I actually have two cheap ones at the moment. I like having two because I can make sure they agree. I think they tend to more accurate than ph paper but yes you have to check the calibration often.

Are you using short range papers? A quick search found these, but something that goes down to 2.0 would be better. https://www.fishersci.com/us/en/browse/90151081/ph-paper-and-other-test-strips?filter=dimpHRange_dim_ss%3A3%20to%205.5 Bigger color difference in short range makes it easier to differentiate. Good meters are not cheap, if you want to try a meter look for the disposables at pet supplies, they use them in fish tanks.

This is something that is often overlooked. I've ruined a couple of them by just allowing them to dry out. You really have to pay attention to maintaining them.

Thanks all. I was looking at the variety of paper strip tests and there is a roll for kombucha that is tailored towards acids (0-6 ph). The colors are a bit more straight forward. The strips I have now are 0-13, way too many colors for me even on a good day.

Skinner, do you have the cheap ones made for testing water?

Yeah, you can get them on Ebay for around ten bucks.

I figure if I get an expensive one, I'll be sure to break it...but they do sometimes go wonky and I have to buy another.