Testing saltwater

Tony Tanks · Mar 31, 2023

Has anyone had this problem . I have three INSTANT OCEAN specific gravity meters and one MILWAUKEE REFRACTOMETER .One INSTANT OCEAN is old and the other two are new . Testing the same water , the readings are as follows -- Old INSTANT OCEAN reads 1.022 . New INSTANT OCEAN , One reads 1.027 and the other goes straight to the top . No reading . The MILWAUKEE reads 1.024. Cannot get the same specific gravity reading. Any suggestions .

mjw011689 · Mar 31, 2023

Throw the IO sg meters away. They’re never going to be accurate. Ballpark? Maybe, but your results are showing not even that. If the Milwaukee is calibrated I would 100% trust that without a doubt over the hydrometers.

The fact that hydrometers are still sold in stores when you can get a perfectly accurate refractometer from Amazon for $18 is kinda embarrassing at this point.

Tuan’s Reef · Mar 31, 2023

I remember using the IO hydrometer 30 years ago lol. They aren't that bad and work fine in a pinch. Just make sure there's no bubbles or the readings will be off.

mjw011689 · Mar 31, 2023

Tuan’s Reef said:
I remember using the IO hydrometer 30 years ago lol. They aren't that bad and work fine in a pinch. Just make sure there's no bubbles or the readings will be off.

Same, but at this point there’s no need to. They’re so affected by the most minor buildup on the pivot. Was it cleaned of saltwater properly the time before? Do you have super hard water in your area that even rinsing it leaves a buildup? Even if all the bubbles are taken off, so much can affect those things.