Ok Convince Me I Need A Refractometer

[chadjaja]

Since going AG the hydrometer has become invaluable. My last beer which was a saison that fermented for 5 weeks I reckon I took about 2 litres of samples and drank most of them happily

Im looking at getting a refractometer to make pre boil, post boil and readings easier and less wastage even if it really is a small amount.

Firstly the first few samples usually contain a bit of hop debri and trub, what effect does this have on any reading?
Secondly there is a stack of units for sale on eBay at all sorts of prices but most specs seem to be the same despite some being touted just as wine and spirits units. Anyone with one of the cheaper Asian units?

Also how small an increment can I get with the brix readings on one? The increments seem pretty large and only the smaller scale for beer. Could I for eg see the diff between 1014 and 1016?

I'm just itching for a new piece of equipment
If it aint broke......upgrade it! LOL

 

[mika]

Mine was from America I'm pretty sure, wasn't hugely expensive, but not super cheap either.
The difference in cost usually just comes down to how easy the scale is to read. I've seen cheaper ones that I think are quite difficult to read. Mine has 0.2Brix marked increments and they're far enough apart that you can guesstimate down to 0.1Brix increments, definitely adequate for brewing.
Ideally I think you want one that will do at least 20 Brix and for some reason 32 Brix is in my head.
Invaluable for pre-boil gravity's, but I can never get my pre-boil and post-boil gravity's to line up, so I use only it for checking gravity at the end of the process. I also Batch sparge, so no need to check my runnings. If I check gravity at the end of the boil, depending on the beer colour, I do seem to get quite a difference between the hydro and refrac. I take the reading post chilling (immersion chiller) so I don't think temp is an issue. I always try to collect a clean sample, but the refrac must be affected by suspended solids in the wort, simply due to how it works.
I don't use/trust the refrac for fermenting gravities, so still need a Hydro for FG's anyway.
Having owned and used one in my process, if it broke I'd be thinking about it before I rushed out to buy another one.
YMMV.

 

[Screwtop]

Options:

1. Buy cheap near enough test equipment.

2. Buy slightly more expensive good quality test equipment.

We're not talking Sheep Stations here difference of $20 or so FFS. Hydrometers, well you break em often enough to not be able to justify more expensive options.
As for - will they do this and that, will this or that affect readings. Heard it all before...................a shitload of brewers and winemakers use them, yeah! All test equipment have their foibles, like having to spin the hydrometer in the test tube when testing fermenting wort. You become experienced at using your test equipment the same as using your brewing equipment.

Buy one with a good scale, ATC has it's limits, takes 5 min sitting in the pipette to cool two drops of wort before a test. Dual scale is good if you can't multiply by 4. Only good for unfermented wort though, conversion is required for fermenting wort.

Screwy

 

[newguy]

I went through 10+ hydrometers before I finally wised up and bought a hydrometer. Sure they're not terribly accurate for measuring FG but I honestly don't care about that anymore - I can taste the difference between a 1.015 and 1.010 FG beer. For everything else they're worth their weight in gold.

Scale - quite easily discernable @ 0.2 brix. Can reasonably interpolate 0.1.

Debris - gently stir your wort in the kettle and only withdraw the spoon when there is no crud in the immediate vicinity. No crud gets on the lens this way. Bubbles are more of an issue - they make the line blurry or cause multiple clear lines.

Tough - way more so than a hydrometer.

Temperature - not really an issue. You're dropping less than a ml on a large (cool) glass surface - it cools nearly instantaneously.

 

[Josh]

Ease of use. Grab a pipette of hot wort, let it cool for a minute and whack it on the plate. Lid down and away you go. I'd be careful to let it cool down in enclosed environments (in the pipette, under the lid) so you don't lose any liquid to evaporation which would affect your reading.

There's charts and web pages which will aid in working out your FG. Really not that hard.

I still take a pot of fermenting beer to do my gravity readings... for QC purposes.

 

[Wolfy]

Since going AG the hydrometer has become invaluable. My last beer which was a saison that fermented for 5 weeks I reckon I took about 2 litres of samples and drank most of them happily

Im looking at getting a refractometer to make pre boil, post boil and readings easier and less wastage even if it really is a small amount.

Firstly the first few samples usually contain a bit of hop debri and trub, what effect does this have on any reading?
Secondly there is a stack of units for sale on eBay at all sorts of prices but most specs seem to be the same despite some being touted just as wine and spirits units. Anyone with one of the cheaper Asian units?

Sounds like you've already convinced yourself, and nothing more needs to be said really.

Do a search and you'll find a detailed thread about the ebay-refractometers and find that there are a number of people here (myself included) happily using one.

 

[brettprevans]

Once you've broken 3 hydrometers a refrac is looking cheap.

So much more use and ease to use than a hydro. Seriuoslt great peice of kit. Great investment. Do it. There a few places to get cheaper ones. Brewer Pete has a thread. I got mine from CB in the end.

Just do it. Once u use it for the first time you will be thanful

 

[Siborg]

I'm in the same boat. I broke my hydro, bought a new shitty one, and am considering buying a new hydro. I saw some refracts for $30-40 on ebay and I'm seriously considering getting one. With FGs, can't you just use a correction table? I don't see this as a problem really, as with hydro's you have to make corrections for pre-boil at certain temps. As long as you have em handy, whats the hassle?

Anything, besides already mentioned, that I should watch out for when buying a cheap refract?

 

[Barley Belly]

View attachment refractbeer1.xlsx

I use this with my refractomter for FG's

 

[chappo1970]

Just man up and buy one ya Sook! We all know you have already bought it .

Chap Chap

 

[Siborg]

View attachment 36923

I use this with my refractomter for FG's

Cool. Now I just need a refract!

 

[devo]

A refractomter is invaluable to my brewing process but I only use a hydrometer during fermentation.

 

[beers]

A refractomter is invaluable to my brewing process but I only use a hydrometer during fermentation.

+1
Hydrometer's are also good for dark worts.

 

[brettprevans]

+1
Hydrometer's are also good for dark worts.

Since when does wort colour have an impact on refrac accuracy? ESP in such small quantities.....

 

[beersom]

I am going to go against the grain and say that you don't need one.
A refrac is a handy tool but NOWHERE near as important as your hydrometer.
I use a hydrometer everyday at work but only use my refrac for a couple of quick readings during run off. If i lost my hydrometers I would be screwed.... If I lost my refracs - I would survive.
Having said that..... they are kinda cool and are a very affordable bit of bling.
But they are NOWHERE near as important and versatile as a hydrometer.

 

[raven19]

You will love having this little toy.

Beats taking a 200ml + sample every time you want to check gravities.

I bought mine via Evilbay. But sponsors also have good units.

Mine cost under $50 iirc, no issues thus far - except for when some wort got into the unit via the light hole. I would avoid the unit with built in light for this reason alone.

 

[absinthe]

I am going to go against the grain and say that you don't need one.
A refrac is a handy tool but NOWHERE near as important as your hydrometer.
I use a hydrometer everyday at work but only use my refrac for a couple of quick readings during run off. If i lost my hydrometers I would be screwed.... If I lost my refracs - I would survive.
Having said that..... they are kinda cool and are a very affordable bit of bling.
But they are NOWHERE near as important and versatile as a hydrometer.

i think this is right and wrong.. i have found the hydro much more accurate and easier when doing an FG BUT, i still love mine, its great for readings on the run during an AG pre/post boil etc, and its also good to keep an eye on the ferment, but when i think its done i start back with the hydro and i also take my SG with a hydro much more accurate

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Once you've broken 3 hydrometers a refrac is looking cheap.

Ha! I like I like! Im on my 2nd Hydrometer at the mo, Bloody 2YO Kids :angry:

 

[mika]

Since when does wort colour have an impact on refrac accuracy? ESP in such small quantities.....

It's a known issue..

Wort Calibration

Measurements of the specific gravity of wort using a refractometer will not agree with the measurements of gravity using a hydrometer. Brix refractometers are meant to measure the percentage of sugar in a pure sucrose solution. Since wort is not simply sugar and water, you need to make a small correction because of the non-sugar components of the wort. The correction factor is different for different breweries. Beers that are very dark or have a very high starting gravity may also require a different correction factor.

Source

 

[Siborg]

So is the take home lesson here to not rely on the refractometer by itself? Keep a hydrometer handy?