Buying a Refractometer

[nobyipa]

Been thinking for a while now and have decided to buy a Refractometer.
If anyone has 1 they want to sell PM me.

Are there any makes models to stay clear of etc?

Any suggestions to a good cheap one will be a appreciated.

other wise i was thinking of this one of Amazon for £24 delivered its on prime and i can have it by Monday if i choose, just trying to find out if its any good first.

SainSmart® Refractometer for Measuring Sugar Content for Beer or Wine

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SainSmart-Refra ... ractometer

Does anybody have one of these and are they any good?
Thanks

 

[oldbloke]

Looks more or less like mine, most at that price are made in China, probably all by the same factory. Mine's a RHW25BrixATC and is indeed by SunSmart.
Mine seems to give more sensible ABV estimates than my hydrometer, more in accord with my known-sugars calculations. I spoze I'm just bad at reading hydrometers.
Can't say exactly where mine came from or what it cost as t'missus got it for me as a gift, but somewhere between 10 and 30 quid I guess.
ATC worth having. Separate Brix and ABV scales worth having.
If you're going to do sillystrong wine anytime, make sure the scale goes high enough - mine goes to 40Brix which is around 25%ABV.

 

[JimmyB78]

I bought this one recently

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DTOPCDY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Only used it once but it gave an accurate reading when I compared to a hydrometer reading.

It's a shorter scale than the one you posted which makes a little easier to read the og on. Thought the scale doesn't go as high if you we're planning high abv stuff.

 

[bobsbeer]

I got a Chinese one and after initial calibration it seems easy to use and accurate. Mine came with a case and small pipette. But you only need a drop on the glass. Even though it seems accurate I still use both. :lol: