Refractometer - wrong type

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trustyrusty

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Hi There, I bought a Refractometer - the one you look through to read through read percentage, however bought for a car . "Automotive Antifreeze Refractometer Car Urea Fluid Tester Battery Freezing ATC Detector Handheld Electrolyte Hydrometer" did not realise..
but to me they all look the same - extremely simple apparatus, I was wondering if I could change the sticker inside to match for alcohol or at least look at a diagram to get an idea, should be the same?

thanks
 
Refractometers measure gravity, not alcohol.

And from what I remember, once alcohol is present, they don’t read accurately.

So basically a refractometer is good for brew day, but once fermentation has started, a hydrometer is the tool to use to measure gravity from then on.
 
Refractometers measure gravity, not alcohol.

And from what I remember, once alcohol is present, they don’t read accurately.

So basically a refractometer is good for brew day, but once fermentation has started, a hydrometer is the tool to use to measure gravity from then on.
Thanks
 
Refractometers measure gravity, not alcohol.

And from what I remember, once alcohol is present, they don’t read accurately.
There are calculators that calculate the gravity from refractometers when alcohol is present. I did side by side tests between calculated refractometer value and hydrometer value for a number of years and found little difference. Hence now only use a refractometer for all gravity readings.
 

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