Refractor reading

[Callumbo]

Hi guys

I just bought myself a refractor from the Amazon. Its got brix reading and sg readings on the glass. I had some evian water to put a few drops on it and set it to read 0. First off its not a particularly sharp blue line and more of a blue mist. It is also reading 1.023ish when my glass hydrometer is reading 1.014.

Im testing it on my stout that is going to be bottled tomorrow. It's been in the FV for a month do I don't think it's the hydrometer giving false readings. It's also an automatic temperature calculating model.

This one to be precise https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016OG1M14/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Anybody got any tips on this? I don't really want to have to send it back

 

[Hoddy]

I have one of those and with the blurry line it makes a real difference on the strength of light you look at.

Also it does take some time to get used to reading it accurately as possible.

But I guess you paid about £25 for it. Professional ones are allot more expensive.........

I'll leave you to come up with your conclusion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yeastinfection]

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66314

check this out, when you understand it....you can explain it to me :grin:

 

[Callumbo]

Aaaargh this just got really confusing. My readings this past week have been 1.015 on my hydrometer. So as I said previously I was going to bottle tomorrow. However the refractometer is giving me readings of 1.023 consistently. I even checked this on a brix calculator. I then just went and checked my hydrometer in 20c water and it's reading 0.996-7. Oh crumbs. I am so confused, anybody got any advice on this baffling information

 

[Callumbo]

Hang on. Did some reading and the fg has to calculated based on the original brix reading. The device only reads true for og. You have to have the og to calculate the correct fg. So my readings are all out of whack but it's been a month in the FV so screw it. Im bottling

 

[JapanBrew]

Hang on. Did some reading and the fg has to calculated based on the original brix reading. The device only reads true for og. You have to have the og to calculate the correct fg. So my readings are all out of whack but it's been a month in the FV so screw it. Im bottling

Yes. Now that alcohol is in the wort, the reading will not work. You have to use a calculator to figure it out. The GOP though about refractometer is the little amount of beer you need to check. But where it really comes in handy is brewing. You can keep checking the sugar while your sparging.

 

[donnyos]

Blue mist? Sorry to state obvious but does twisting the eyepiece not focus numbers and level more precisely and holding up to bright light will help!?
Both hydrometer and refractometer measure differently in fermented beer than unfermeneted wort too as is mentioned earlier.
Cheap hydrometers and refractometers with wide scales can be inaccurate so I bought a very slim neck small scale hydrometer SC2746 that covers 1.000 to 1.050 and I trust totally. Like others I use refractometers only for OG and spare runoff and trust the nice hydrometer for FG.
Not knowing your recipe or temperature profile I would just go ahead and bottle!

 

[Brewmarc]

Hi guys

I just bought myself a refractor from the Amazon. Its got brix reading and sg readings on the glass. I had some evian water to put a few drops on it and set it to read 0

back[/QUOTE

You really need to calibrate a refractometer with distilled water for complete accuracy,.
Evian water is mineral water with minerals in it which will cause an inaccurate reading.

As said you should also be able to focus by twisting the eye piece.

 

[Callumbo]

Cheers for the advice guys. The blue mist has cleared and it's a lot more level now. Ill have to set it again with some distilled water. I definitely think I was a bit naive in my understanding of a refractor. However now I know more im pretty glad with my purchase

 

[donnyos]

Instead of distilled water I just boiled kettle and as it finishes boil, open lid and take some droplets of condensed steam onto refractometer from the now open lid. Zero cost, a calibration of 0 and a nice cup of tea to follow. What's not to like !?

 

[Brewmarc]

One other point just for interest.
It's already been mentioned here, a refractometer only measures sugar content in liquid , not fermented beer e.g. F.G. Which contains alcohol.
Refractometer readings for unfermented beer should actually be measured in Plato not Brix which is of negligible difference for homebrewing purposes. Brix is actually used in wine making. Each measurement unit takes into account particulate matter effecting light refraction.

 

[JapanBrew]

Cheers for the advice guys. The blue mist has cleared and it's a lot more level now. Ill have to set it again with some distilled water. I definitely think I was a bit naive in my understanding of a refractor. However now I know more im pretty glad with my purchase

Don't worry. Seems like you got it the first week with your refractometer. I have a thread called "tool" were I was floored because for months I was reading it wrong and just assuming my yeast didn't do it's job or I got too many unfermentables in my beer. Two feelings took over me: 1. (Big slap to my head) duh! And embarrassed about pretending to be brew smart.
2. Super happy like I found the meaning of life! Well, it's beer, pretty darn close.

 

[Callumbo]

Don't worry. Seems like you got it the first week with your refractometer. I have a thread called "tool" were I was floored because for months I was reading it wrong and just assuming my yeast didn't do it's job or I got too many unfermentables in my beer. Two feelings took over me: 1. (Big slap to my head) duh! And embarrassed about pretending to be brew smart.
2. Super happy like I found the meaning of life! Well, it's beer, pretty darn close.

Cheers for the reply. Im glad I'm not the only one who stumbled when I bought one :lol: Haha. Im looking forward to using this now I know how to use it properly. :thumb:

 

[peebee]

Refractometers are always a source of bewilderment and disbelief. I'm sure the best policy is to use one device (refractometer or hydrometer) and put the other device in a drawer where you wont use it.

Also ignore any second scale on a refractometer. Brix is fine, SG is out of its place (its a scale for liquid density, not light refraction). A conversion tool is essential for changing Brix to SG, and will compensate for calculated alcohol content when fermentation starts. Note that as alcohol increases, density lowers (hydrometers under-reads) whereas the refractory index increases (refractometers over-read - a lot!).

As fermentation progresses the large amount of yeast suspended scatters light, so the line in a refractometer becomes unclear as light gets bent all ways. But this is a minor inconvenience as at this time readings are only "progress" indicators and not really that critical.

Refractometers will always be a compromise because Brix measures the refraction of sucrose solution (wort is mainly a solution of maltose). But the convenience of refractometers well compensates for the lack of broken hydrometers. And as I always point out ... looking into a refractometer looks dead cool!



(EDIT: Before anyone picks me up on it: The Brix scale is based on a sucrose solution - that does not mean the scale can only be used for sucrose. And a hydrometer does not under read, but a reading of 100g sugar in water containing 10% alcohol will read lower than 100g sugar in pure water. Trivial, but I don't want to be responsible for causing more misunderstanding).

 

[JapanBrew]

As fermentation progresses the large amount of yeast suspended scatters light, so the line in a refractometer becomes unclear as light gets bent all ways. But this is a minor inconvenience as at this time readings are only "progress" indicators and not really that critical.

Yes. I just look for falling numbers. When it stops, then I use Beer Smith to calculate the final brix.

 

[yeastinfection]

As above. I'll use my for fermentation checks. But a hydrometer for fg.