Review of Milwaukee MA871 Digital Refractometer

[Adeering]

S I recently use some extra money to buy THIS as I hate hydrometers (too much fluid and possibility for contamination) and while I like my refractometer I never felt like I was reading it as accurate as it could as the scale changed with time (due to temp and the sample drying out). So I invested in this digital one which I got on sale for only $100 vs the $150 its going for now.

I absolutely love this thing. I keep one of THESE filled with distilled water and just do a quick calibration (takes two seconds) wipe the lens and put the sample on and it reads the sample instantly. I have been getting the same numbers with various readings so it seems accurate. Once I get the reading I clean off the sample and use a little more distilled water to wash the lens and its good to go. No fuse and it uses a couple drops of wort so not wasting beer

All in all if you are upgrading from a hydrometer I would consider going the extra $65 and get a digital one or if you have some extra spending money.

 

[beernardo]

Glad to hear it. I get the same feeling with my 'analog' refractometer. I've seen the same thing with the sample drying out, particularly if I use a hot sample of wort. I've generally filled an eyedropper and then waited for it to cool before putting a drop on the lens. I've added this to my CamelCamelCamel watchlist, in case I do decide to upgrade.

Of course, the skeptic in me wonders that if the machine is off by the same amount, you'll get the same reading every time, so that's not a real test of reliability...

 

[tjpfeister]

You calibrate the device to 0.0% brix with distilled water. The accuracy at a second point can be checked with a known concentrate solution. The instructions recommend 25g of sugar dissolved into 75g of water to read 25.0% Brix.

Despite the Auto-off quirk, I am really digging this machine for all the same reasons others mentioned above. Only other thing I might mention to potential buyers is the temp compensation is not perfect. The thermal mass of the metal ring is much greater than your sample drop, so boiling wort needs a minute to hit thermal equilibrium (as the temp sensor will continue to measure the average temperature of the ring, not the small sample in the center).

It's a great tool if you don't mind spending a little jack... Currently $120 on Amazon

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[nebulous]

Thanks for this review, ive been very interested in this since I broke my good hydrometer. Now I just need some spare cash

 

[Powermange]

There is also a product from the same manufacturer called MA885 which gives specific gravity directly. Looks interesting but very little info out in the brewing community. Much more on the MA871. Not sure why? I also wonder how accurate theese will be on wort since from what I understand they are based on succrose/water not wort. Misco makes wort specific ones but are priced differently.

 

[dmcman73]

S I recently use some extra money to buy THIS as I hate hydrometers (too much fluid and possibility for contamination) and while I like my refractometer I never felt like I was reading it as accurate as it could as the scale changed with time (due to temp and the sample drying out). So I invested in this digital one which I got on sale for only $100 vs the $150 its going for now.

I absolutely love this thing. I keep one of THESE filled with distilled water and just do a quick calibration (takes two seconds) wipe the lens and put the sample on and it reads the sample instantly. I have been getting the same numbers with various readings so it seems accurate. Once I get the reading I clean off the sample and use a little more distilled water to wash the lens and its good to go. No fuse and it uses a couple drops of wort so not wasting beer

All in all if you are upgrading from a hydrometer I would consider going the extra $65 and get a digital one or if you have some extra spending money.

I have the same bottle filled with distilled water as well, been using it for 2 years now and very handy to place a few drops onto the Refractometer.

I also use that bottle with the distilled water to clean the probes on my Ph meter before placing it into the storage solution.

 

[LBussy]

The one thing I am always concerned about with refractometers is the difference in the refractive indices between the different sugars. It's not a lot but it's there. I wonder if it's enough to make a difference if we use a refractometer intended to be used for fructose for our beers?

 

[dmcman73]

The one thing I am always concerned about with refractometers is the difference in the refractive indices between the different sugars. It's not a lot but it's there. I wonder if it's enough to make a difference if we use a refractometer intended to be used for fructose for our beers?

I used to worry about that as well so for a little while, whenever I used my refractometer I also used my Hydro to verify until I was comfortable with it.

I've made light beers all the way up to Stouts and the measurement between the hydro and refractometer may have been off by .0001 a few times.

I use the Brewzor Calculator app on my Android phone, it has a Refractometer calculator to convert Brix to OG. There is a Unfermented wort (prior to pitching) and Fermenting Wort setting in the calculator to compensate the sugars. There is also a finished beer and calibration setting in there as well. I don't use the "Finished beer" setting since the Fermenting wort has always been dead on with my Hydro readings. I've used the Calibration setting where you take a Hydro reading (unfermented wort) then a Refractometer reading and enter those values into the calibration screen and it will calibrate the calculations to it.