Cheap refractometers

[Zakrabbit]

I have one on order from seller 'Magicaled', ebay no. 14250800005, accepted offer of �£3.60 (first offer, should have chanced much lower since you get to try 3 times!)

Most definitely a Chinese seller, but shown as a UK dispatch, had a posted notice on 23rd (day I ordered) which has a Royal Mail tracking number! I havent tried it on RMs website yet to see if its genuine!

EDIT - just checked RM - its a genuine tracking number, marked as received by RM today (27th) and as 48h parcel. By all accounts then I should get it by the weekend!

 

[nigelnorris]

I have one on order from seller 'Magicaled', ebay no. 14250800005, accepted offer of ��£3.60 (first offer, should have chanced much lower since you get to try 3 times!)

I'm liking the sound of that, I'll give £2.50 a go and work up from there..

 

[nigelnorris]

Mind you quantity is showing as almost sold out now so not much chance of nabbing a leftover on the cheap.

 

[Saisonator]

Jeez it's penny's lads...

 

[nigelnorris]

I'm liking the sound of that, I'll give �£2.50 a go and work up from there..

Offer accepted!

 

[MmmBeer]

Had my offer of �£3.50 accepted.

Anyone receive theirs yet?

 

[H12rpo]

Just had my £3 offer accepted
Yours faithfully,
Mr tightarse

 

[Hoddy]

I went for £3.99 and it’s in the post today. To be fair, I’m happy if it works at that price so an extra £1 less isn’t any great shakes. Let’s see how accurate it actually is.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BeerCat]

Got mine today, have calibrated it and matches my other one. Have to say the OG scale is so small its easier for me to read the brix and convert it. It came with a case a pipette and a small screwdriver.

 

[Piperbrew]

Got mine today, have calibrated it and matches my other one. Have to say the OG scale is so small its easier for me to read the brix and convert it. It came with a case a pipette and a small screwdriver.

Have to agree, is a tad difficult to read but the quality is superb for the price.

 

[BeerCat]

Have to agree, is a tad difficult to read but the quality is superb for the price.

Definitely. The first i bought was about £14. This looks the same apart from the badge.

 

[Zakrabbit]

I received 'one' of mine today (you may have noticed a 'deleted' post of mine, where I had originally put all the wrong details, as i'd also ordered one for very high sugar levels! (I shouldnt post at this time on a nightshift...)

This is the RHB-90ATC 58-90brix tri-scale model

Its marked as having come from Southall, by RM 48h. Padded carrying pouch, adjustment driver, pipette and lens cloth. Feels quite solidly made, easy to read in daylight even for me with bottle bottom specs. The cover plate I think could be a little firmer, and the eyepiece fogs after a short time, but thats I suppose the cold air and my hot breath on it! Glossy double sided single sheet instructions in real English, which includes a list of models and their ranges (seems theres some LED illuminated versions as well!)

Not tested it with a sugar solution yet but will do later. But for £2.50 posted im impressed so far!

Ive also a cheap pH meter to test shortly... Im a sucker for scientific gadgets (especially spectrometers!!!)

 

[stevey]

Wow that was quick. Just received mine. Looks good.:smile:

 

[Zakrabbit]

OK so the 0-32% / SG model RSG-100ATC has now arrived. Same postal origin and service as before, so its clear that the Chinese sellers are using a drop-shipping warehouse in the UK for these.

Calibration was out by about 3% Brix, have calibrated it with distilled water as per instructions to 0%/1.000, the set screw is rather stiff at this point but in many ways thats a good thing as it makes the calibration accurate without overshooting if your steady on the screwdriver. A quick test with some random teaspoons of sugar in a half pint of water showed the measurements do change as expected (however, i'll make up some specific Brix 'standards' later and check)

I would say that after moving the eyepiece around a bit, I dont believe that these have any actual focus adjustment (basically turning the eyepiece starts to unscrew it)

But for £3.60 including 48h RM shipping, its got to be one of the best value tools out there!

Just three seasons to wait and I can use it to check my fruits sugar content as well!

 

[Zakrabbit]

Just tested it with a 30%Brix solution, and got a 29% reading.

Im happy with that, as the 1% error was almost certainly down to the measurement tolerance of my equipment making the solution up - I know for certain that I went over on the water concentration by a couple of grams! I knocked the 'standard' up in the kitchen on a digital scale- hardly a lab grade analytical balance!

 

[Leon103]

Mine arrived today. Where can you easily get distilled water

 

[Bigcol49]

Mine arrived today. Where can you easily get distilled water

Hi!
Look for de-ionised water - it's the same thing.
Halfords
Tesco

 

[Zakrabbit]

Mine arrived today. Where can you easily get distilled water

Make your own! You only need a few drops - put an empty glass beside your kettle, and hold another empty glass (I use a pint glass) upside down over the spout as it boils :thumb:

might not be exactly analytical grade but its close enough. Just make sure the glasses are clean

 

[Leon103]

Make your own! You only need a few drops - put an empty glass beside your kettle, and hold another empty glass (I use a pint glass) upside down over the spout as it boils :thumb:

might not be exactly analytical grade but its close enough. Just make sure the glasses are clean

So catching the steam drops.

Good idea

 

[sdt7618]

Mine came today, catching steam tomorrow...lol