Refractometers - worth having?

[steambrew]

A good choice we use the same one every day in the cider industry you may lament the tables as they need to be kept dry

[Jim]

From memory, you will need some distilled water to zero the thing, a boiling kettle or pot will provide the drip required.

Good tip, thanks. And thanks also for all the advice and info from everyone on this thread.

[scuppeteer]

To be honest I've never bothered with charts, you can dump it in wort around 60C and take a reading. If you don't get one with SG scale as well you just times the brix reading by 4. They are very accurate. Tap water is good enough to check the accuracy, never had any tap water that had sugar in it!

Might ask Santa to bring me one as well this year.

[boingy]

I've never calibrated mine. It agrees with my cheap uncalibrated hydro. They both make beer.

[jaroporter]

i'd make sure you check it quite a few times against the hydrometer. i got one with both scales and they're so small it was not only hard to read but i struggled to get a consistent adjustment value. it could likely be i have a dodgy chinese copy of that one though.. i rarely take hotside readings now, and even then it's usually only for interest rather than adjustment so i can afford to wait. i wanted it really to make it easier to draw a sample from a small batch (1-2 gallons) and take regular readings without wasting too much beer each time..

[darkonnis]

I zero mine every time before use. It's never far out, if you care about measuring to 0.001 SG then a refractometer probably isn't for you. If you just want a rough n ready measurement then they're perfect. I use mien more than the hydro these days

[fisherman]

Great tool, Gives you confidence against tannins and puckering tastes. I use mine every brew so simple to use .Merry Christmas JIm.

[Aleman]

I don't think much to the dual scale hydrometers, the divisions are too close together, in a single Brix scale one, the odd divisions are on one side and the even divisions are on the other, much easier to read, especially if you get a 20% Brix one (~1.080).

Although for real ease you can't beat a Digital one . . . I've had the chance to compare this with a genuine Hanna one . . . case is the same size, shape etc (Hanna is white) and both are made in Romania, hardly definitive I know, but I'd bet they are made in the same factory. . . . only downside is the need to calibrate with steam distilled water . . .which was supplied with the one I bought

[andyCo]

Been thinking of adding one to my ever growing brewing kit , another bit of shinny with a cool black grip ....
My taking on one from the opions is this thread is that very good for all readings prior to fermentation but once the wort in the fv its back to a hydrometer?

Andy

[50quidsoundboy]

Been thinking of adding one to my ever growing brewing kit , another bit of shinny with a cool black grip ....
My taking on one from the opions is this thread is that very good for all readings prior to fermentation but once the wort in the fv its back to a hydrometer?

Andy

that's the rule i go with. at the point where i run off into the FV i usually check the refractometer reading against my hydrometer, just to be sure, but that's just a habit i've developed.

[Aleman]

I always check the refractometer with the hydrometer . . . it builds up a body of data to allow me to determine the 'correction factor' used in the formulae. This helps particularly when using the refractometer with fermenting wort.

Oh and the sample is bigger for a hydrometer :cheers:

[ciderhead]

I don't think much to the dual scale hydrometers, the divisions are too close together, in a single Brix scale one, the odd divisions are on one side and the even divisions are on the other, much easier to read, especially if you get a 20% Brix one (~1.080).

Absolutely right, also the relationship is not linear, best buy what pros use, brix only and do the calc
Sean Terill has done some great work in this area
http://seanterrill.com/2011/04/07/refra ... g-results/
and I use his current calculation
http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refra ... alculator/

Digital ooh noice

[Jim]

Well, the new toy has arrived and I've had a little play with it.

I calibrated it with just tap water (will do a more accurate calibration with distilled later) and tested a bit of sugar solution mixed up in a cup, which was apparently just a hair under 1.020. Obviously I'll do some more thorough checks so that I know how accurate it is compared with my hydro, but to be honest I've no reason to trust that any more than the refractometer because neither have been tested against any reference standards.

I find it very easy to read, certainly far easier than using a cheap hydrometer (the only kind I've ever used); no bubbles, foam or meniscus to worry about. I'm almost at the point of kicking myself for not getting one sooner.

[Aleman]

Not to have a downer on your new toy Jim, and I wish I had get involved in this earlier than I did . . . bear in mind I use them and trust them more than I do hydrometers . . . but

This exchange is from Sean Terrill's Website.

I heard a podcast you did with James Spencer wherein you remarked that refractometers on the market thatinclude a specific gravity scale are flawed in that the temperature correction was not applied to the scale. That was several years ago; is that still the case? If so, is there some way of getting a more accurate result? Or should I just rely on Brix to be safe? (I have been using a refractometer that I purchased from Northern Brewer that has a specific gravity scale).

I think that podcast aired in August or September of last year, actually. At any rate, as far as I know there are still no accurate SG-graduated refractometers on the market. For a quick check, look at what SG corresponds to 25°Bx. It should be about 1.106. If it’s more like 1.100, they used the “multiply by four” rule, and the SG scale won’t be accurate above about 1.050. By the way, this is a completely separate issue from temperature compensation – when I talk about hydrometer and refractometer readings, always assume that any temperature correction needed for your instruments has already been applied.

[Jim]

Not to have a downer on your new toy Jim, and I wish I had get involved in this earlier than I did . . . bear in mind I use them and trust them more than I do hydrometers . . . but

This exchange is from Sean Terrill's Website.

I heard a podcast you did with James Spencer wherein you remarked that refractometers on the market thatinclude a specific gravity scale are flawed in that the temperature correction was not applied to the scale. That was several years ago; is that still the case? If so, is there some way of getting a more accurate result? Or should I just rely on Brix to be safe? (I have been using a refractometer that I purchased from Northern Brewer that has a specific gravity scale).

[quote"Sean Terrill"]I think that podcast aired in August or September of last year, actually. At any rate, as far as I know there are still no accurate SG-graduated refractometers on the market. For a quick check, look at what SG corresponds to 25°Bx. It should be about 1.106. If it’s more like 1.100, they used the “multiply by four” rule, and the SG scale won’t be accurate above about 1.050. By the way, this is a completely separate issue from temperature compensation – when I talk about hydrometer and refractometer readings, always assume that any temperature correction needed for your instruments has already been applied.

[/quote]

I hear what your saying, but I really only ever use my hydro as a rough indication so I feel it's still fit for purpose. Plus I rarely make anything over 1.050 anyway, and I can always use the Brix scale if I do.