Refractometers...........

[NorthernWiner]

Here's a company in the UK that sells Oechsle refractometers. £54.63 (+ tax & shipping).

Actually this one has Brix and Oe:

http://www.industrial-needs.com/technical-data/refractometer-PCE-Oe.htm

[Cellar_Rat]

very very happy with mine.

Makes sugar addition easy to.

This is much quicker and cleaner than using a hydrometer.

You can read projected alcohol % info in the eyepiece of most refractometers.

Brix x 0.59 = % alcohol
So.
22 brix x .59 = 12.98% alcohol

Take a reading of the must after crushing. Or take a reading form a grape the night before? That way you could make up any sugar in readiness the night before.

Fact. 1˚ Brix = 1% sugar (ie 10 grams of sugar per litre)

Required Sugar – Actual Sugar = Needed Sugar
So.
N * 10 * litres = grams of sugar to be added in total

For example.
Required (say 22˚ ) – Actual (say 15˚) = N
Therefore N = 7
7 x 10 = grams of sugar required to meet shortfall PER LITER
In this example 70 grams per litre

Bosh - this and a cement mixer (see previous) make adding sugar dead easy.

PS - that was harder to write than I though - hopes it makes sense.

Brian

[David]

They work with all fruit....all you need is one drop of juice and it tells you the sugar content...

But as that's the sugar content of the juice, not the fruit (bearing in mind first post is about sloes), surely any potential ABV readings are only any good if the fruit is going to be pressed, so no use for sloes, plums, etc. (other than monitoring ripeness), only for grapes, apples & pears, etc.?

[fatbloke]

But as that's the sugar content of the juice, not the fruit (bearing in mind first post is about sloes), surely any potential ABV readings are only any good if the fruit is going to be pressed, so no use for sloes, plums, etc. (other than monitoring ripeness), only for grapes, apples & pears, etc.?

Well it does seem that that's exactly what the professional growers use them for i.e. peak sugar content in the juice, hence the juice being squeezed onto the mirror/prism.

Sloes? well think about it. It's that "old wives tale" about not picking sloes before the first frost. That's because they're going to be at their peak sugar content immediately afterwards - they've stopped growing, they've stopped converting sugars etc etc so that'd be the time to pick them, at peak ripeness....

[fshfindr]

Steve, that will give you an accurate SG for juice as long as there is no alc in it. The alc throws off the refractometer.

[NorthernWiner]

Steve, that will give you an accurate SG for juice as long as there is no alc in it. The alc throws off the refractometer.

I'm aware of that. However, I have a spreadsheet that corrects for the difference.

[granda]

@fatbloke did you eventually buy one and which one as im looking at getting one and im as confused as you are or where

[fatbloke]

@fatbloke did you eventually buy one and which one as im looking at getting one and im as confused as you are or where

No, not yet. I've been prowling ebay for one that has the Oe scale and brix - but the nearest I've found is one that has Oe, brix and "Austrian"(???) scale. Obviously I know nothing of the third part and if need be will throw the money at Brouwland for the one that does Oe/Brix as I'd prefer it to be as clear as possible and don't really want a third scale/calibration as it might prove confusing.

Hence me still looking for the one with both scales. It's easy to convert the Oe to SG and having brix as well will help with various things (mead making means dealing with them "new fangled Yankee fellah's" and as Steve already pointed out, "they" tend to talk brix......)

regards

jtfb

[lockwood1956]

here is one....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brix-Refractometer-0-32-ATC-Fruit-Juice-Wine-CNC-Sugar_W0QQitemZ190383148279QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioElectronicsVideo_Video_TelevisionSetTopBoxes?hash=item2c53b84cf7

[lockwood1956]

or......

from hong kong

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Refractometer-for-Grape-Wine-Alcohol-0-25-Brix-0-40_W0QQitemZ330414539616QQcmdZViewItemQQptZHome_Brew?hash=item4cee3dc360

their feedback is good

[NorthernWiner]

No, not yet. I've been prowling ebay for one that has the Oe scale and brix - but the nearest I've found is one that has Oe, brix and "Austrian"(???) scale.

John, I posted a link to one earlier in the thread that had both Oe and Brix, and they have a UK office...

http://www.industrial-needs.com/technical-data/refractometer-PCE-Oe.htm

Not eBay, but...