Milwaukee Instruments MA887 Seawater Refractomer is useful, accurate and affordable

By on Oct 02, 2012

A handy refractometer is an essential piece of equipment for any hobbyist and if you are looking for a great tool to take the guesswork out of measuring you salinity, you have to take a look at the Milwaukee Instruments MA887 Seawater Refractomer. This imposing looking piece of equipment is extremely accurate, simple to use and most of all — affordable.

The Milwaukee Instruments MA887 measures in three different scales: salinity (ppt), specific gravity and practical salinity unit (PSU). Running off a single 9V DC battery, the MA887 is accurate within 0.0001 on the specific gravity scale. The premise is simple, add a few drops of water into the optical measuring pan and hit “read” and within a second or two you have your reading.

As for calibrating the unit, all you need to do is place a few drops of distilled water on the pan and hit “zero” to calibrate it. The unit comes with a two year warranty and retails for around $120 and if you throw in the case, runs around $140. Considering an inexpensive visual refractometer start around $40, this is quite a bargain. Now if they only made this unit in a smaller size for the aquarist….we’re just saying.

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  • Justin Farabaugh

    nice to see something at a reasonable price for a change

  • http://www.reefbuilders.com/ Brian Blank

    I did a double take when they told me the price. A nice piece of equipment for sure.

  • Gardiner Reynolds

    Just got one off amazon supply for $93.

  • IWannaGoFast

    we have one at our shop, had it for a few years now actually. It’s super easy to use and makes testing customer’s water parameters much easier

  • CaliReefer

    I guess I am in the minority that thinks this cost way to much for what it does. A refractometer only cost around $18 on ebay. I don’t doubt it is a solid piece of equipment (Milwaukee is a very solid/reliable company), I just think $ would be better spent on other items before something like this.

  • http://www.facebook.com/richfavinger Richard Favinger Jr

    Why is this being reporting as if it’s something “new”? I’ve had mine for months. And was looking into buying one for some time… It’s a very handy tool, especially for some one like me with vision trouble. – How ever I do not have a case, any one know wear to get one?

  • http://www.reefbuilders.com/ Brian Blank

    I don’t recall writing that this product is new per se. Over our travels we do find older products we may not have seen or covered in the past and if we see value to the industry we will write about it. As far the case, try the Milwaukee website — they should carry them.

  • Phanboy

    Is this just a rebadge of the Hanna refractometer? It works well and is easy to calibrate. The only issue i’ve found is that the temp compensation doesn’t give accurate results. I have to wait until my sample reaches the same temperature as the collection well before attempting a measurement.

  • David Grim

    I have had one of these for almost two years. Love it. Your posting of the accuracy of the MA887 is incorrect. It is not 0.0001 on the SG scale. I wish it were. It is 0.002. Stated here on the Milwaukee Instruments website: http://www.milwaukeetesters.com/MA887.html

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ben-Johnson/537490127 Ben Johnson

    I’ve been using the original Hanna version for almost 2 years now for my company. It is great to be able to read it simply and quickly. You MUST always rinse the well out with freshwater after you take your reading. If you don’t do this, the little amount of salt left in the well will dry and give you false readings. Also, zero it frequently. As a matter of fact, I zero it every time I use it. It is very easy to anyways…….Keep those wells rinsed!

  • Phanboy

    Yes, rinsing the well is very important!

  • http://www.facebook.com/sam.powell.7 Sam Powell

    I have had one for a bit over a year. No measurement, simple and accurate.

  • Sunlight_Supply_Inc

    The case is new however the device is not. The case in the photo from MACNA was the prototype brought to display at the show.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mathieu-Gagné/659241296 Mathieu Gagné

    Mine was right on spot with a 1.026 calibration solution, but still better to always calibrate the accuracy of your unit with a calibration solution.

  • Steven
  • Jeremy Williams

    Nice write up. That is a decent price for a digital refractometer. I will definitely be buying one of these.

  • Kyle

    Have been running one of these for about 6months now and it’s brilliant :) well worth the money.