Refractometer

I've searched around the forum but can't find any relevant posts. Can you guys/gals weigh in on the refractometers you have? I'm looking to buy one and want to know how precise the ~$50 ones are. I don't want to buy one just for the sake of it. My main reason for wanting one is for pulling samples during mashing/sparging to really dial in my system.

Most of us buy the $35 from ebay and they are plenty accurate. Those are the same ones the brewing sites are selling for $50

IrregularPulse said:

Most of us buy the $35 from ebay and they are plenty accurate. Those are the same ones the brewing sites are selling for $50

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ok, good to know. i wasn't sure if they were the same or not.

this seems like a good deal, correct?

BrewNinja1 posted this link a while back and I bought one....
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-0-32-ATC-Br...351?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33537bebef

..... and here is a link for conversion
http://www.onebeer.net/refractometer.shtml

My recent beers have started at 15 and finished around 8. They shipped really quick, too.

mrk305 said:

BrewNinja1 posted this link a while back and I bought one....
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-0-32-ATC-Br...351?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33537bebef

..... and here is a link for conversion
http://www.onebeer.net/refractometer.shtml

My recent beers have started at 15 and finished around 8. They shipped really quick, too.

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Awesome! Thanks for this.

jwible204 said:

this seems like a good deal, correct?

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25 + 10 for shipping = $35 shipped from ebay

0-32° Brix is what you want. Go for it.

jwible204 said:

Awesome! Thanks for this.

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Hey, that's why we are on here

Make sure the one you get has ATC.

Make sure you know what you are going to use it for. If you plan on replacing your hydrometer with it, think again. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong.

BendBrewer said:

Make sure you know what you are going to use it for. If you plan on replacing your hydrometer with it, think again. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong.

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my primary use is going to be for getting readings during the mash/sparge and after the boil. i'll still use the hydrometer post-fermentation.

Yeah I guess that is what I will use mine for. Santa brought me one this year and I only used it on two beers. One, a Porter that was fermenting and another Pale that I brewed that day.

The Porter reading was 10 points off. The Pale reading was right on the money. This got me to reading up on why and I found that the refractometer is only kind of a measure of sugars in solution. Once you throw lactose and/or dextrine into something you might as well use an anal thermometer to get a reading. I was a little disappointed to find this out after the fact.

Or again, maybe I am doing it wrong.

got mine off ebay as well, and mine has the scale that shows Plato on one side and SG on the other side of scale so no chart comparing needed.

jwible204 said:

I've searched around the forum but can't find any relevant posts. Can you guys/gals weigh in on the refractometers you have? I'm looking to buy one and want to know how precise the ~$50 ones are. I don't want to buy one just for the sake of it. My main reason for wanting one is for pulling samples during mashing/sparging to really dial in my system.

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I would not think of a refractometer as being precise. The scale is much too small to read with a high level of precision. If you want precision, use a hydrometer.

However a refractometer is a fantastic tool for taking quick snap shots of your wort prior to fermentation. It's real talent is the ability to quickly test very hot samples. It's fantastic for taking readings of the mash and boil. This is something a hydrometer will struggle with.

I also recomend the cheap ones off ebay. This is the one I have

I bought this one when it was on sale a couple of months ago. Love the fact I don't have to convert anything and it reads dead on compared to my hydrometer.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12574

That looks like the exact same one I got from ebay for less than $40 to my door. It has the Wort scale on it as well.

Hammy71 said:

I bought this one when it was on sale a couple of months ago. Love the fact I don't have to convert anything and it reads dead on compared to my hydrometer.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12574

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Hammy71 said:

I bought this one when it was on sale a couple of months ago. Love the fact I don't have to convert anything and it reads dead on compared to my hydrometer.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12574

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BEWARE the gravity readings will only work pre-fermentation. Post ferment you must adjust the readings for the alcohol. To make the adjustments, I think you'd need to know the pre gravity reading.

I've tried and tried to get mine calibrated to read fermented beer. Unsuccessfully.

The only time I use mine is when the wort is hot, i.e., post boil, and during boil. Once the wort is cooled, it's hydro only for me.

passedpawn said:

I've tried and tried to get mine calibrated to read fermented beer. Unsuccessfully.

The only time I use mine is when the wort is hot, i.e., post boil, and during boil. Once the wort is cooled, it's hydro only for me.

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Same here. I bought it knowing that and therefore I'm happy. Refractometer for OG and hydrometer for FG.

There is a conversion tool in Beersmith for using a refractometer with fermenting and finished beer. It requires that you know the OG in order to do the conversion.

I believe there are also some online calculators that will also do the conversion.

Have you guys tried the "refractometer" tool in BeerSmith to correct fermented readings (I assume other software has that too, but not sure)? I've had pretty good luck with it, within a couple points anyway. You plug in your OG and the fermented beer gravity and it gives you the SG. I double check my FGs with a hydrometer, but that refractometer tool is pretty helpful for checking the status.

EDIT: ha, what maida said!

there is also a spreadsheet morebeer that allows you to use the refractometer during the entire fermentation. Do a search on here you will find many threads on it.