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How to Calibrate a Refractometer for Honey Moisture Content

Substances distort light when it passes through. A straw in a glass of water is a great example of how even clear water distorts light. This property is called refraction and is the basis for a refractometer. The meter measures the amount of refraction as light passes through a sample. The amount of refraction shows how much solid and fluid is present in the sample. Honey producers use a refractometer to measure the amount of water in honey. Honey with a low moisture contest is far more desirable. It means a higher concentration of sugar.

Things You'll Need

Refractometer
Distilled water
Light source

Instructions

- 1
  Open the daylight plate of the refractometer. This is a glass plate on the opposite end of the refractometer from the eyepiece. The plate covers a prism.
- 2
  Place two or three drops of distilled water on the plate. Close the daylight plate. The water should form a solid sheet on the prism. Allow the water to stand for a minute so that the water assumes the same temperature as the refractometer.
- 3
  Lift the refractometer. Look through the eyepiece at a light source.
- 4
  Look at the circular field of view. The upper part will be blue and the lower part will be white. In the center of the field, there will be lines of gradation. This is the Brix scale of refraction.
- 5
  Locate the calibration screw on the top of the refractometer. This should be close to the end with the prism, since the screw changes the prism's angle of refraction.
- 6
  Twist the screw in both directions until the line where the white portion of the field meets the blue portion is exactly at zero.
- 7
  Open the daylight plate and clean the water off the plate and the prism before measuring any other samples.

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