Cheap refractometer

[Belmont]

Hey guys. I've been looking to add a refractometer to my brewery for a while and was wondering if anyone could tell me what the difference between this one that I found for $25 and the one that the homebrew shops sell for $60. Just to pre-empt the smart@sses out there, yes I know of the $35 difference.

http://cgi.ebay.com/0-32-Brix-Beer-Refractometer-Wine-Specific-Gravity-Wort-/190405231924?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c55094534

 

[Revvy]

Looks similar to the ones that Austin Homebrew had a great sale on for about the same price in November. Tons of us bought them. I think it's the Though I'm not sure.

 

[camiller]

Looks good, nice to have the SG scale as well as brix (which mine doesn't have). I bought mine on ebay awhile back for $14.99 + $8 S&H Don

This one would save you $4 compared to the one you linked. Ships from California instead of Hong Kong. No SG scale, Ends in 3-4 hours as I write.

This is the cheapest one I can currently find on ebay. From Hong Kong, $17.80 + $9.5 S&H, no SG scale, only 48 feedbacks though.

 

[rico567]

The one on eBay in the OP looks pretty much identical to the one I bought last year when I started AG brewing. It was about the same price, works great. It's in Brix, but I don't care about that....I just multiply X 4 in my head, gets me as close as I need to be.

 

[bob1852]

my guess is the Hong Kong refracto's price is cheaper than LHBS because of inventory. They've got a ****load of them.

I bought one similar on ebay a year or so ago for the same price, and it works great

 

[ajf]

Looks very similar to mine, except I don't have an SG scale. Apart from the grain mill, it was the best investment I've made in brewing. Saved me a small fortune in replacing broken hydrometers.

-a.

 

[BrewNinja1]

$30 from california...3 year warranty...same one that Northern Brewer sells for about double the price. I got one about a year ago from this company. Super fast shipping and works great! (same company camiller linked to, but a longer auction)

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-0-32-ATC-Br...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ad9e6290c

 

[a10t2]

I'm wondering how they came up with the °Brix-SG conversion. It looks like 30°Bx corresponds to ~1.117, but it should be 1.130, or 1.125 with a wort correction applied.

It seems like they may just have gone with "divide by 1.04, multiply by 4" in which case it isn't really accurate over maybe 15°Bx. Hopefully someone can set me straight.

Beyond that, I ordered my refractometer on eBay. I don't think it was the same seller, but I had no problems at all.

 

[BrewNinja1]

Well the fact that its only good for SG, and not FG makes it somewhat a gimmick if you ask me. Might as well just use brix and do the conversions when you need them.