Anyone recommend a REFRACTOMETER?

[brewingnewbie]

been pricing out refractometer online and in catalogs to use to check runnings (chilling wort samples for hydrometer is getting old).

would like automatic temp comp. ATC

anyone recommend a certain model, brand, place to buy?
would a $80 model with the same features work as well as a $150 model?

[velez03]

Try foxx equiment or crosby and baker

[JoeV]

St. Pats of Texas sells them at a reasonable price. As far as I understand it they are made for wine making and only have scales in Brix (percent sucrose). Since wort is not a sucrose solution you need to do some correlation with your hydrometer to compensate. For example a 1.040 SG solution of sucrose would actually have a different refractive index from a 1.040 SG solution of wort and hence the difference in readings.