I am confused if both tools give the same measurement what is the point of 1 vs the other?
Beerthoven said:A refractometer is not for fly spargers only.
I'm a batch sparger and I use a refractometer to measure my pre-boil wort gravity. If I totally missed my target pre-boil gravity I can do something about it before the boil gets underway. With a hydro sample, I'd have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for the sample to cool. I also use it to measure OG post-boil.
Why let a hydro sample cool? Don't you just correct the reading for temperature?Beerthoven said:A refractometer is not for fly spargers only.
I'm a batch sparger and I use a refractometer to measure my pre-boil wort gravity. If I totally missed my target pre-boil gravity I can do something about it before the boil gets underway. With a hydro sample, I'd have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for the sample to cool. I also use it to measure OG post-boil.
Bearcat Brewmeister said:Why let a hydro sample cool? Don't you just correct the reading for temperature?
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:Hydrometers are less accurate the farther away from the calabrated temp.
Sherpa, is your refractomter auto temp compensating? (ambient air temp, not wort)
Exactly. Neither is going to be 100% accurate once you get too far from its optimal temperature (60F for hydro, 68-86F for refractometer). By the time it goes through my hose at fly sparge speed to where I collect (at least on a 35F brew day), the temperature is usually around 140F.Schlenkerla said:Even ATC Refractometers have an upper limit. For accuracy you still need to cool to 85F.
A range between 68-86ºF (20-
30ºC) is the most common for
temperature compensated (TC)
or automatic temperature compensation
(ATC) refractometers.
http://cemerced.ucdavis.edu/files/40177.pdf
bradsul said:The refractometer can only be used pre-fermentation as it is only for measuring dissolved sugars in water. There are formulas for correcting post-fermentation but most guys say they are really inaccurate.
For the AG brewer a refractometer is a great way to take fast gravity readings during sparging, I don't think there's much point in one for an extract brewer.
Schlenkerla said:Even ATC Refractometers have an upper limit. For accuracy you still need to cool to 85F.
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:Sigh.. It's the temperature of the Refractometer NOT the wort. That drop of wort is not going to put a dent in the refractometer temperature, so you calibrate based on the ambient temperature, as long as the refractometer has been in the same enviroment to match the ambient air temperature. (unlike a hydrometer)
And for the record. If you Properly calibrate A: your refractometer, B: your software, you will get an accurate reading on fermenting and fermented beer.
Sherpa FE said:Which of course, now begs the questions;
1) What is the best way to calibrate the Refractometer?
2) What do I need to calibrate inside of BeerSmith to make it correct???
Bearcat Brewmeister said:Why let a hydro sample cool? Don't you just correct the reading for temperature?
Enter your email address to join: