CL Refractometer - not mine, but I bought one - $12

I emailed a guy from the following ad on Craigslist, he emailed me back and said he would ship it for $17 total

Well, I was kind of weary so I insisted that I come to his shop to pick it up, when I got there, it was a "Sell your stuff on ebay" type of store, the guy was really nice and he said he had a bunch of these and he bought them from a place that was going out of business, so he has a bunch of 25% and 32% ones (I bought a 32%)

Anyway, I don't know much about refractometers, if anyone has any insight I would appreciate it


http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/tls/1954547559.html

Where is his place?

It's Main Street Auctions on 14 Mile, just west of 75

Do they seem cheap or quality?

Like I said, I've never used one before, they do seem like they are quality, but for $12, there isn't much to lose

if this helps, he said they are selling them on ebay for $30

I guess it looks like someone is getting a new refractometer tomorrow.

haha, let me know what you think of it, whether it's a deal or if I just wasted $12

Will do. I already have a refractometer. I will be able to compare the two. I''l be in touch.

I'm interested in hearing the results as well. Thanks.

A refractometer is a pretty simple piece of equipment. There's no reason to spend $70+ to get one. I got mine shipped from hong kong for about this much on ebay a while ago and it works great!

i'd like an update on this.

25%, what does that translate to SG?

Just ordered a 32% from him. Replied super fast and hope to get it in a few days. Ended up costing $18 to my door with first class postage. I've blown more $$$ on less if it doesn't work but a great buy if it works well and holds up. Cheers!

Are you using the % symbol as abbreviation for brix? If so the rule of thumb is multiply by four, so 25 brix ~= 1.100

I PM'd PTisch (since he has some experience with Refractometers) a few days ago about the one he picked up and he said that they seem legit, but he wouldn't know for sure until he has a chance to actually test it.


Let me know if anyone else has had a chance to try one out!

One of the brewclubs in Michigan (the one that is an offshoot of the Richmond worthogs, that Paul started) bought a few of them. Evidently they are all they promise to be.

I posted it on my facebook. MustangJ was going to swing by on the way to work today to get one.

One question I couldn't find answered on the CL was whether they were ATC (automatic temp correcting) like the one I got from AHS last year.

They are NOT ATC. They are calibrated to the standard 20C.

I picked up two: a 0-25% and a 28-62%. The 28-62 has a thermometer built into the lens cover telling you the temperature of the sample to allow for easier correction.

MustangJ went there this afternoon and bought the last of the 32% ones.

Revvy said:

One of the brewclubs in Michigan (the one that is an offshoot of the Richmond worthogs, that Paul started) bought a few of them. Evidently they are all they promise to be.

I posted it on my facebook. MustangJ was going to swing by on the way to work today to get one.

One question I couldn't find answered on the CL was whether they were ATC (automatic temp correcting) like the one I got from AHS last year.

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That's good to hear

Revvy said:

MustangJ went there this afternoon and bought the last of the 32% ones.

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whew, I'm glad I bought one yesterday...

so, non-ATC, it should come with a chart? Do I just use air temp since it's just a droplet?

motobrewer said:

whew, I'm glad I bought one yesterday...

so, non-ATC, it should come with a chart? Do I just use air temp since it's just a droplet?

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I've never used a non-atc one. SO I'm really not sure. I wonder if bobby m would know.

I bought one of these a few days ago. I meant to ask for he 32% version, but forgot and instead got the 25% one, which is fine really.

That said, the 25% one has only a reading for alcohol %, no brix chart. Is there some easy formula for conversion? Thanks!

Just got mine yesterday, the 0-25 scale. Brand new, no apparent defects. I will be brewing this weekend so I will let everyone know the quality.

% is Brix

i just got mine. looks/feels like a really nice used unit. reads 0 in distilled water, so I guess that's a good start, lol.

dumb question: what's the difference between the ones he sells? 0-25%, 32% what do these signify?

the amount of sugar that it can measure. He is all out of 32% ones.

well i used mine last night. works great! what a steal.

I'm often confused about ATC and non ATC. At one point I thought it meant that it compensated for the sample temperature but I recall being corrected on that. I think ATC actually corrects for ambient temps as it is assumed that the tiny sample will quickly reach equilibrium with the temp of the device, which is likely at ambient temp. Hell if I know, I broke my refractometer two brews ago and need a new one. Grrr.

Bobby_M said:

I'm often confused about ATC and non ATC. At one point I thought it meant that it compensated for the sample temperature but I recall being corrected on that. I think ATC actually corrects for ambient temps as it is assumed that the tiny sample will quickly reach equilibrium with the temp of the device, which is likely at ambient temp. Hell if I know, I broke my refractometer two brews ago and need a new one. Grrr.

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Okay breaking hydrometers I can understand, we've all done that. But how in the heck does one go about breaking a refractometer? And are we going to need to start a thread to keep track of that like we have hydromters?

I hope not. I lazily tend to dip the front nose of it into a bucket of water to clean the wort off. They are supposed to be sealed up but not so much in reality. It got wet inside and won't read anything.

Bobby_M said:

I hope not. I lazily tend to dip the front nose of it into a bucket of water to clean the wort off. They are supposed to be sealed up but not so much in reality. It got wet inside and won't read anything.

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You know, I've seen people do that. I think I've even done it once unthinkingly. That is something that we have to be conscious about.

I try to just use the pipette to rinse the screen.

I do plan to be much more careful with the next one.

Anybody have a chance to try one of these out yet?

I know mustangj has brewed at least once since e got his, he said it worked great.

Brewed with it last night. Works great, but it does not have automatic temp calibration. I never used a refractometer before, so it must have been interesting seeing my buddy and I fumbling around like idiots with it

Got this email from the guy two days ago:

"Here's the current list of what I have left of the refractometers. All of the 0-25 and 0-28's are sold.

(2) 28-62% These have thermometers on them so they might be ATC.
(3) 1.435-1.520 RI I have no idea what this means or what the range actually is.
(2) 0-18%
(2) 0-10%

These are going to be $10 plus $6.00 shipping. If you want one please send your payment to [email protected] and indicate what it's for."