Brix Refractometer with ATC - Hobein Digital Handheld Refractometer for Beer Wine Brewing, Dual Scale-Specific Gravity 1.000-1.130 and Brix 0-32%, Hydrometer in Wine Making and Beer Brewing

Works perfectly, easy to use. I must say, after doing some research, all of these devices from the least expensive to the most expensive appear to be made in the same prison camp. The only difference on the device I have noticed is the scale. This device has a very nice scale which is easy to read. It also give the temperature AND concentration. I did a controlled test with water and 50/50 coolant and the unit was spot on accurate. Not sure how accurate you need but it was nice to get the validation. One other thing that is nice is the case. Some of these units come in a soft bag, others no case. This one has a nice hard case with 3 pipettes. This is a good value in my opinion. Pay attention to the temperature of the device and coolant. These are made to operate at room temperature. If the device or coolant is a little hotter or cooler if will throw you off by a few percent (if that matters to you). The worst reading you get from this in my opinion will be better than the best reading you get from a floating ball measure.

After seeing other brewers I respect greatly use refractometers during their brewing process, I decided to pick one up. The amount of extra info gained by using this is very helpful. I was able to know when my sparge was becoming less efficient and it’s already given me more insight into my brewing. This refractomer comes in a hard case and is packed in a nice foam cutout to protect it. There is a dropper, tool for calibration, and a microfiber cloth. It worked exactly as described and the automatic temperature control was great to have during the process. I compared it with my hydrometer before pitching yeast and the readings were accurate. For the price, the amount of information you can get from your brewing process using this tool can not be beat.

Instructions that came with it (hidden under the foam padding) were for the wrong device (measuring salinity instead of water content). Had to look up the right instructions for calibration. Comes with a cleaning cloth, 3 pippettes and a calibrating screwdriver. Does not come with calibration solution but Extra Virgin Olive Oil and known good honey both tested at the expected numbers, so the device came properly calibrated. Tested some honey straight off the honeycomb and came up with 16% (capped) and 17% (uncapped). Very easy to use, but I'd clean it a few times before you consider licking the honey off the plastic.

Easy to use and works great, but you MUST calibrate it before you use it. (Hint, use extra virgin olive oil as a calibration oil (71.5 brix). Initially, I had a hard time focusing it, until I realized that the rubber cover was turning , but not the focusing ring! This is a must for determining if your honey is ready for extraction

Instructions provided were not correct for this item but were for a different device.

My beesWould always fill their comb but wouldn’t cap it. Year after year I was frustrated because I thought it had to be capped to extract it. Thankfully my mentor recommended this little device to help test moisture content and I was able to successfully extract this year. Highly recommend. It was a little difficult for me to get the line and the numbers in focus but overall its easy to use and takes the guesswork out.

We were happy to get this and use it this year when we made maple syrup. It works well, but the directions that came with it were awful. We had to do a little research to understand the scale we saw when looking into the refractometer. The paper directions that came with it did not match the view we saw when looking through the viewer, But, once we figured that out, it worked quite well.

I was very disappointed when I received this instrument and got weird readings, when compared to my trusty hydrometer. Then I learned that a refractometer cannot directly read specific gravity of wort after fermentation. When I found a calculator for making the conversion, I found that the refractometer is very accurate. It is well made and easy to use. The seller was very understanding when I reported my troubles and refunded my purchase price even though the Amazon return window was closed. When I discovered that the problem was user error and not instrument error, I tried to send the seller his money again, but he refused, saying that he took responsibility for not being able to solve my problem. I recommend this instrument and this seller without reservation.