Help with buying PH papers

[Chunk1234]

Just putting my next order with hop and grape together and want to get some PH papers. Little confused as to which to get. I've read GW and he states that you should aim for a mash PH between 5.1 and 5.5. The PH papers on hop and grape don't span this range though. They cover 3.8 to 5.5 and 5.2 to 6.8:

http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/catalog/ca ... ES20124240

Surely you need something like 4.5 to 6.5? Any advice on which I should get, or if there is a better place to get them? I know I live in an area with very hard water, if that's relevant.

Thanks.

[Chunk1234]

Why ?

You are only interested in 1 ph, 5.3 (or whether you are within a point or two of this target). The actual ph though doesn't tell you a lot about what you need to do in terms of what or how much you should add or take away from your water so even if the ph of the mash is 5.6 and you are using 3.8-5.5 papers, the paper may not identify the exact ph but it will still tell you you are too high and that is sufficient.

Will it though? If it's off the scale, it wont tell me if it's too high or too low, it could be either. That's my point.

I've read through GW and he states that if your PH comes up below 5.1, add less treatment, if it's above 5.5 then add less. This suggests that the actual PH does tell you something about what you need to do (unlike your comment above). Bit confused to be honest.

[Chunk1234]

If it's off the scale at the high end the indicator patch either wont register or it will turn a colour of blue not comparable with the bluest comparison patches (the 5.5 patch), in which case you know it is higher than 5.5.
If it's too low it will be a brighter and more vivid yellow than the most yellow of the comparison patches (the 3.8 patch), in which case you will know it's lower than 3.8.

If you are following the water treatment proceedure in GWs book it wont be an issue. The 3.8-5.5 strips are what you want but it's your money and your descision.

Thanks for the help. Your logic makes sense. (I think yoru logic works for either of the strips, so I can't go wrong really). I'll give it a shot and see how it works out.

Cheers.