How often do you have to re-calibrate your refractometer?

kh54s10 · May 2, 2012

On my last brew day I checked and re-calibrated my refractometer before starting the mash. (I adjust it before every brew) I then thought my OG was low at 1.046 instead of the predicted 1.053 so I checked and it was off again. I re-calibrated and took another sample and got 1.052. Quite a difference.

Is it normal to have to re-calibrate this often?

ne0t0ky0 · May 2, 2012

I'm in a warmer climate so I tend to recalibrate with distilled water before every reading. Only takes a few seconds and gives me confidence in the reading.

Calichusetts · May 3, 2012

I do it every two weeks or so, depending on how much I brew. Suprisingly, I've never really had to make any adjustments which is nice, maybe a tiny turn or so

crunchydoc · May 4, 2012

Often it will vary by the amount you have mentioned between readings just based on temperature. You can often take readings from the same pipette 5 minutes apart and get the kind of variance mentioned above.
but distilled water at room temp should be done periodically to calibrate.

brewpal · May 5, 2012

Due to changing temps throughout the day in the garage, I calibrate before nearly every reading. As mentioned previously, it only takes a few seconds.

How often do you have to re-calibrate your refractometer?

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How often do you have to re-calibrate your refractometer?

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