What the Milwaukee MA871 Measures and How Precisely
Brix is a refractive index reading expressed as a percentage of dissolved solids, and a digital instrument removes the two weaknesses of an optical one. There is no eyepiece to interpret and no ambient light to argue with. The range runs from nought to eighty-five percent, which covers everything from a dilute sap sample to a syrup. Resolution is a tenth of a percent Brix and accuracy is plus or minus 0.2%. A yellow LED provides the light and the prism is flint glass set into a stainless steel well. That combination is built to be wiped clean between samples rather than protected from them. Measurement takes about a second and a half from two or three drops, which is a hundred microlitres. Two buttons run the whole instrument. Calibration is a single point against distilled or deionised water.
Temperature Compensation, Rating and Reading Sap Honestly
Refractive index moves with temperature, so an uncompensated reading taken in a cold room and a warm one will not match. This unit compensates automatically between ten and forty degrees Celsius, which is fifty to a hundred and four Fahrenheit. Temperature shows alongside the reading. The enclosure is IP65, meaning dust tight and protected against water jets, which matters for an instrument that gets used with wet hands. A nine volt battery is included and gives around five thousand hours with automatic shutoff. The instrument measures 192 by 102 by 67 mm and weighs 0.42 kg. One caution about using Brix on plant sap rather than on juice. The figure moves with time of day, leaf age, position on the plant and how recently the crop was watered. It is a comparison tool rather than an absolute measurement, so fix a protocol and compare a plant against itself.
Key Features
- Range: Nought to eighty-five percent Brix
- Resolution: A tenth of a percent Brix, and a tenth of a degree
- Accuracy: Plus or minus two tenths of a percent Brix
- Sample size: Two or three drops, which is a hundred microlitres
- Speed: A reading in about a second and a half
- Optics: A yellow LED with a flint glass prism in a stainless well
- Compensation: Automatic between ten and forty degrees Celsius
- Protection: IP65, so dust tight and resistant to water jets
- Power: One nine volt battery, included, lasting about five thousand hours
- Using it well: Sap Brix is a comparison tool, so fix a sampling protocol
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| SKU | MIMA871 |
| Brand | Milwaukee |
| Model | MA871 |
| Brix range | 0 to 85 percent |
| Resolution | 0.1 percent Brix; 0.1 C and 0.1 F |
| Accuracy | Plus or minus 0.2 percent Brix; 0.3 C and 0.5 F |
| Light source | Yellow LED |
| Prism | Flint glass, in a stainless steel sample well |
| Measurement time | About 1.5 seconds |
| Sample size | 2 to 3 drops, around 100 microlitres |
| Temperature compensation | Automatic, 10 to 40 C or 50 to 104 F |
| Calibration | Single point, with distilled or deionised water |
| Display | Dual level LCD |
| Enclosure rating | IP65 |
| Battery | 1 x 9 V, included, about 5,000 hours with auto shutoff |
| Dimensions | 192 x 102 x 67 mm |
| Weight | 0.42 kg, or 0.66 kg packaged |
| Barcode | 810666006335 |