Milwaukee MA877 Not Calibrating

[shimps1]

How do I fix this? Or this is a return situation? Calibrate with provided 000 fluid, test with provided 1.025 fluid, result is 1.029... That's no good. Test again with Hanna 35PPT calibration fluid, 25 PPT... Even worse.

 

[UncommonSense]

As I understand it, these Milwaukee units are notoriously inaccurate… they are not well loved around here!

If it was mine, I’d return it!

 

[shimps1]

As I understand it, these Milwaukee units are notoriously inaccurate… they are not well loved around here!

If it was mine, I’d return it!

Really? I thought they were the gold standard? I have both a standard eye tube refractometer, and a Hanna salinity checker, and both of them give different results as well. Both are more accurate than the Milwaukee. I have never had this much trouble getting a standard reading for salinity. What's the go to these days? Back to the $20 swing arm ones?

 

[UncommonSense]

Really? I thought they were the gold standard? I have both a standard eye tube refractometer, and a Hanna salinity checker, and both of them give different results as well. Both are more accurate than the Milwaukee. I have never had this much trouble getting a standard reading for salinity. What's the go to these days? Back to the $20 swing arm ones?

I believe the issue lies within the accuracy range of the Milwaukee being too wide to be trustworthy…

The go-to these days is a completely mechanical Tropic Marin sea water float hydrometer, double checked with DIY calibration fluid mixed to a known value by weight! — other salinity checkers can then be referenced and calibrated off your hydrometer!

 

[Waters]

My Milwaukee is fantastic.....always spot on. If anything looks different than I am expecting I check against one of my refractometers and they always match. I just calibrate with RO/Di water.

 

[UncommonSense]

Here’s further reading on the Milwaukee salinity checker, and why 35ppt salinity calibration solution is more reliable than distilled water for marine salinity measuring tools…

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/high-quality-refractometer-recommendations.1151096/page-3#post-14240804

 

[Gnop1950]

My Milwaukee is fantastic.....always spot on. If anything looks different than I am expecting I check against one of my refractometers and they always match. I just calibrate with RO/Di water.

Same here, it's only been a couple of months, my Milwaukee has been spot on. I pretty much zero it before every use and test it with a known 1.025 solution (the one provided with the device). If the OPs is that far off I'd return it.

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

Can’t go wrong with a Tropic Marin Hydrometer

 

[KStatefan]

How do I fix this? Or this is a return situation? Calibrate with provided 000 fluid, test with provided 1.025 fluid, result is 1.029... That's no good. Test again with Hanna 35PPT calibration fluid, 25 PPT... Even worse.

The Hanna 35PPT calibration fluid is not a refractometer fluid

 

[zbrusko]

The Tropic Marin Hydrometer confirmed for me that my Milwaukee was spot on, and my supposed 1.025 solution was the issue.

 

[JP Reef]

I have had my Milwaukee for well over 10 years and it has always been spot on. Calibrate with ro/di and then Randy's calibrated sample to verify. I also have the TM hydrometer as a backup, but haven't used it in a long time.

 

[BryanM]

How do I fix this? Or this is a return situation? Calibrate with provided 000 fluid, test with provided 1.025 fluid, result is 1.029... That's no good. Test again with Hanna 35PPT calibration fluid, 25 PPT... Even worse.

I hate mine, two tests back to back with different results.

I dumped it for a Tropic Marin hydrometer.