Picked up a Milwaukee Digital Refractometer this weekend

[b4tn]

Doing a water change this weekend I managed to drop my standard ebay special refractometer 5 feet down on concrete and snapped it in half. I wanted to buy something better and easier to use (I have a hard time seeing the line in the view finder) and saw a lot of good reviews for this
http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-MA887-Refractometer-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B007Z4ITWU

So far I love it! So easy to calibrate and use. Instant results, and definitive plus that it shows the water temperature as well. I always tried to keep my salinity at 1.026 with the standard refractometer to the best of my vision capability. I tested 3 times with the Milwaukee, water temp was 79.5, and salinity was 1.025. Everything is currently happy so I will probably just leave it as is.

Any others using one of these? Any tips, tricks, do's, dont's. etc..?

 

[Highgrade]

I love mine. Just don't like the temp feature. Not very accurate in my opinion.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I love mine. Just don't like the temp feature. Not very accurate in my opinion.

Agreed. Otherwise, I love mine!

Very useful when mixing saltwater or performing quick salinity comparisons. Saves lots of time!

 

[hybridazn]

One of the best pieces of equipment to own! I love mine

 

[dbl]

Agree with all the above. Love it mine...so much easier to use in my opinion.

 

[b4tn]

What I noticed is that the temp plate is cold or same temp as ambient in my case 69 degrees in the house. When you drop the water on the plate it instantly gets cooled. What I tried and seemed to work out well was I warmed the plate up to body temp using my hand. When the sample was dropped on I got a more accurate measurement. I'm not sure if it matters or not but I feel better when the temp matches the tank temp when hitting the read button.

 

[Highgrade]

What I noticed is that the temp plate is cold or same temp as ambient in my case 69 degrees in the house. When you drop the water on the plate it instantly gets cooled. What I tried and seemed to work out well was I warmed the plate up to body temp using my hand. When the sample was dropped on I got a more accurate measurement. I'm not sure if it matters or not but I feel better when the temp matches the tank temp when hitting the read button.

Most likely is the case with the ambient temp. My temps are monitored by a controller and I have several digital cooking thermometers I use when calibrating for temps along with mixing SW. Overall it would be a cool feature if the temp worked properly on the Milwaukee but since its a small fraction of water on the unit there is too much room for change in temp with that little of water.