Taking the Refractometer Plunge--Help Me Select One

[devils4ever]

I decided to take the refractometer plunge so I can better monitor mash gravity, end of sparge gravity, pre-boil gravity, etc.

I did some looking around the Internet and came up with these 3 possible contenders:
Ade Advanced Optics (4.4 stars): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008562GD0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Smarthome SH (5.0 stars): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0791GFF59/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
iTavah (4.3 stars): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZFXT7S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

All are about the same price (within a few dollars). The Smarthome SH refractometer has 5.0 stars, but only 6 reviewers making it less reliable.

Has anyone used one or more of these devices? Can anyone recommend one over the others?

Thanks!

 

[mdscole]

I have the itavah. It zeros perfectly. I still need to compare it with my standard hydrometer. It's really easy to use for wort. For fermented stuff, not so much. I haven't found an obvious converter to account for the ethanol.

 

[dmtaylor]

The SG scales are totally wrong. You're better off not kidding yourself and just get the option with Brix only.

For FG or anytime when alcohol is present, you'll need to use a calculator like this one:

http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/

Note: I myself and others have found that the correction factor might be closer to 0.99-1.00, as opposed to the default of 1.04. Compare your OG readings against a hydrometer a few times until you learn the correction factor for your own refractometer. Each one has a correction factor that might be slightly different in a range anywhere from like 0.95 to 1.10.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Dmtaylor is right, if you look at the brewers friend online calculator 20 brixs is 1.083 SG. The picture that they show has the scale for 20 brix at around 1.087.

 

[devils4ever]

I went with the Ade Advanced Optics refractometer and used it for the first time today. I calibrated it to read 0 with water.

I measured my wort with both the refractometer and my hydrometer. I got Brix 15.0 and 1.058 with my hydrometer. This is a little off. I used Beersmith to do the calculations. I see there is a Calibrate button there. Do I need to use this to correct my readings?

 

[doug293cz]

No, you don't want to adjust the calibration to match the hydro reading of your wort. Refractometers are calibrated against pure sucrose solutions, and wort actually contains very little sucrose. What you want to do is keep track of how your SG calculated from Brix compares to SG measured with a hydrometer, so that you can determine the wort correction factor for your refractometer (it varies from instrument to instrument.) The wort correction factor is then put into the program you use to convert Brix to SG.

Brew on

 

[CodeSection]

@devils4ever, is the body of your refractometer made out of metal like aluminum, or is it just plastic painted to look like aluminum?

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, over the last five years I've only used my hydrometer to periodically check my refractometer calibration...

Cheers!