Hydrometer vs Refractometer

[TheMotherConfessor]

Hi everyone. I'm very new to brewing.

I find a Hydrometer a hassle. Lots of sterilising, turkey basting the cider out, getting the liquid at the right temp for the Hydrometer and insuring it doesn't touch the sides of the test tube. Plus every time I check the SG I'm using a fair bit of liquid and if I let it sit out for too long I have been throwing it away.

In the UK a Hydrometer is £5-10 and a refractometer is £20-40. Money is no object to my brew kit, but accuracy and ease of use are.

So...

Hydrometer vs Refractometer.

 

[UberHasselhoff]

Refractometers are great when there's no alcohol present.

EDIT: Bit hasty on the post button. You CAN use it for FG, it's just a little more tricky / dependent on your refrac.

 

[youngdh]

Refractometer was one of the best investments I made and a real time saver for the reasons OP noted. You can also use it for FG with alcohol present. Brewersfriend.com has a calculator to adjust for alcohol.

 

[TheMotherConfessor]

So how simple is it to calculate the correct SG with a Refractometer and the calculator? Do I need to know the final outcome of abv? Sorry if that's a silly question.

 

[youngdh]

So how simple is it to calculate the correct SG with a Refractometer and the calculator? Do I need to know the final outcome of abv? Sorry if that's a silly question.

Here's the refractometer conversion calculator at brewersfriend.com: http://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

All you need is OG into fermenter and FG measured in Brix with alcohol present. The calculator then makes the correction for you.