Acid measurement using the titration kit

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Acid measurement using the titration kit

Postby wyo wino » Sat Oct 24, 2009 2:22 pm

You can purchase an acid titration kit for about $7. Or you can just buy the supplies and make up a kit for about the same price. I have found that most of the things in the kits are items I end up throwing away anyway. You need the below items.

1. Hypodermic. Mine is 12 cc. You don't need the needle.
2. A small container with a lid and the 15 cc level marked on it. Mine is glass and I etched a line and marked it at the 15 cc level
3. Sodium hydroxide.
4. Phenolphthalein. A colorant.

Add wine to the container to the 15cc level. Add 3 to 5 drops of phenolphthalein. Close the lid and agitate to mix. Add the sodium hydroxide 1cc at a time until you get a color change. Swirl the container to mix each time you add 1 cc of sodium hydroxide. If you added 6 cc of sodium hydroxide to get a color change then your wine is .6% acid. In fact .6% acid is a good acid to be looking for. If you are making a dark red wine the color change is almost impossible to see. A very simple solution to the problem. After you add the wine to the 15 cc level add some distilled water. Doesn't matter how much, it won't change the outcome. I add 15 to 30 cc of distilled water. Just so you don't overflow the container when you start adding the sodium hydroxide.

You can get the hypodermic at a drug store, or feed store if you are in the country. I bought a apothecary jar from a health food store. I add a picture of the apothecary jar if it loads properly. You basically want a jar that holds about 75 to 100 cc of liquid with a lid.
acid measurement jar.JPG
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Re: Acid measurement using the titration kit

Postby gman714 » Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:54 pm

What are the specs. you use.
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Re: Acid measurement using the titration kit

Postby wyo wino » Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:33 pm

The!chart!below!lists!the!ideal!acid!levels!for!most!types!of!wines.!
!
! Fruit!Wines! 0.60%!
Red!Grape!Wines! 0.65%!
White!Grape!Wines! 0.75%!
Sherries! 0.50%!

The above are just guide lines of what you are looking for. Over the years if I find a great commercial wine I like I check the acid. I have found many commercial wines are about .55% to .60% acid.
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Re: Acid measurement using the titration kit

Postby And1129 » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:12 am

There's no way I would buy a kit to do a titration, I have all the lab gear. A question though, what is the concentration of sodium hydroxide solution in the kit you use? I'm assuming it's a solution already included. I have lots of solid sodium hydroxide (NaOH), so I would just need to make up a solution of that as well. If you can tell me what the concentration is, I will know what molarity to use rather than finding it expermentally and overshooting.
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