refractometers

delboy · Post by **delboy** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:09 pm

After breaking yet another hydrometer at the weekend i think its time i looked into purchasing a decent refractometer, who here uses refracts, what do you think of them, and how much did you pay/are the worth the extra money.
Any particular makes i should look out for?

eskimobob · Post by **eskimobob** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:34 pm

I had a go with Vossy's 0-32% Brix fractometer on the weekend and I am definitely getting one

Check out gainexpress seller on ebay - 14.90 plus postage.

Post by **Aleman** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:47 pm

0-32 Brix will cover your whole brewing range (up to 1.128ish), as I rarely brew above 1.080 I got myself a 0-20 Brix one here who also has 0-32 and 0-10, along with some nice hop scales , a couple of nice microscopes and some ph Meters.

mixbrewery · Post by **mixbrewery** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:48 pm

I got mine from this guy(gainexpress) earlier in the year and a PH meter as well.
You wont get any reduced combined shipped costs.

Still not used the PH meter

But the refract is brill.

Mr blue · Post by **Mr blue** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:10 pm

I use one 0-32% much easier than using a hydrometer, got mine from ebay from seller etradingvan.

delboy · Post by **delboy** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:32 pm

are any of the refractometer sellers from the UK?

Mashman · Post by **Mashman** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:55 pm

I bought mine from here, very quick delivery and, at the time a very good price

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/instrumentsdepot/

delboy · Post by **delboy** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:55 pm

one more question what about import duty, i could not be arsed driving having way across the city again (the malt mill debacle) to pick up a parcel and to pay Gordon brown a few sheikels

delboy · Post by **delboy** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:01 pm

what about this one from the gain express people in hong kong will i pay import on this etc

eskimobob · Post by **eskimobob** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:16 pm

TJB wrote:0-32 Brix will cover your whole brewing range (up to 1.128ish), as I rarely brew above 1.080 I got myself a 0-20 Brix one here who also has 0-32 and 0-10, along with some nice hop scales , a couple of nice microscopes and some ph Meters.

I must admit that I have considered getting a 0-20% Brix one because of the increased resolution. Having said that, on the 0-32% scale you can read to at least 0.2% Brix and probably slightly better - according to BeerSmith, a change of about 0.2% Brix equates to 1 brewing degree so better resolution is probably not required.

Additionally, something seems a bit odd with this seller - the items seem to ship from USA however the text shows signs of being written by someone for who english is not their first language (e.g. "Body made by sturdy aluminum, no Plastic!") - note the 'by' rather than 'of'.

The price (when delivery is included) seems to be more expensive too even for a 0-32% version.

Ho hum

Post by **Aleman** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:39 pm

eskimobob wrote:Additionally, something seems a bit odd with this seller - the items seem to ship from USA however the text shows signs of being written by someone for who english is not their first language (e.g. "Body made by sturdy aluminum, no Plastic!") - note the 'by' rather than 'of'.

The price (when delivery is included) seems to be more expensive too even for a 0-32% version.

The guy is most certainly Chinese, but is based in the US and that is where the items ship from. And to be honest his English grammar is better than a lot of people on the various forums where it s their first language.

Yeah, prices have gone up a bit since I got mine, but If you think that a C&E Hydrometer is 45 quid (With a restricted range) then its still a fair price. I'm still looking at that 0-10 Brix and a Microscope though

Mr blue · Post by **Mr blue** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:56 pm

delboy wrote:what about this one from the gain express people in hong kong will i pay import on this etc

I think your allowed to bring in goods to the value of Ã‚Â£18 before you have to pay any import duty and handling charges, have bought quite a few things from australia costing around Ã‚Â£25 - Ã‚Â£40 and not payed any import tax yet (touch wood

)

mysterio · Post by **mysterio** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:15 am

I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I have one of the Hong Kong refractometers from ebay. To be honest, I don't think they're all they're cracked up to be. I've recently re-bought a hydrometer.

The supposed accuracy of refractometers isn't great IMO, the line can often be quite blurry especially before/during the boil when there is a lot of break material and hop detritus floating about. Also, the readings are only useful if the wort is very well stirred; this might sound obvious but i've found it necessary to take several readings throughout the boil to make sure the gravity is correct. Add to this that there seems to me no straight formula to convert Brix to SG, i've had differing translations from Beersmith, Promash and brewing websites. Another thing is I think they're useless for final gravity readings. Despite the formulas that are out there i've found they give completely different results to the hydro.

Also, maybe it's just me but the plastic slide on my refractometer snapped from the screw hinge within weeks of buying, so IMO they're no more robust than a hydrometer.

steve_flack · Post by **steve_flack** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:21 am

mysterio wrote: The supposed accuracy of refractometers isn't great IMO, the line can often be quite blurry especially before/during the boil when there is a lot of break material and hop detritus floating about.

I've found this also

Also, the readings are only useful if the wort is very well stirred

Much the same as a hydrometer

Add to this that there seems to me no straight formula to convert Brix to SG, i've had differing translations from Beersmith, Promash and brewing websites

Not really - just means someone has got it wrong.

Another thing is I think they're useless for final gravity readings.

The thing is they don't measure density/gravity - they measure refraction of light by sugar. When you ferment a beer you make alcohol which is less dense than water. The solution then becomes of sugars in water/alcohol. The refractometer ignores the solvent so consequently you need to know the original OG to be able to work out the FG using a refractometer as only then will you know the amount of alcohol and hence the density.

Also, maybe it's just me but the plastic slide on my refractometer snapped from the screw hinge within weeks of buying, so IMO they're no more robust than a hydrometer.

That's just you

Personally I have a 0-32 and I will be getting a 0-16 or 0-10 soon as I find for lower gravity beers the 0-32 one has too poor a resolution - particularly after fermentation.

Refractometers are not perfect but are for me a lot more useful than waiting 15 minutes for a sample jar to cool down. I take about 3 or 4 readings at a time and take the consensus of them to try and reduce any errors. Let's face it, these HK ones are bloody cheap and for the money pretty good. If you want a really good refractometer you should expect to pay a lot more.

mysterio · Post by **mysterio** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:01 am

Not really - just means someone has got it wrong.

Yeah... but who!

The thing is they don't measure density/gravity

I know all that, i'm just pointing out that if you're buying a refractometer to replace a hydrometer, this is something to bare in mind.

I still use the refractometer every time I brew but the margin for error is just the same as a hydro IMO, if not greater - especially with the 0-32 ones as you point out.

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