hanna salinity checker vs. milwaukee

SeeFu · Oct 13, 2019

Is there any benefit to spending the additional $40 on the milwaukee vs. the hanna?

foxt · Oct 13, 2019

I have no experience with the Hanna. I own the Milwaukee. FWIW, it quit on me within the warranty period but Milwaukee never responded to my requests for support.

My opinion at this point is that you don't really need either. A good refractometer that you calibrate before each use is "good enough" for our purposes.

X-37B · Oct 13, 2019

I use a refractometer and calibrate it every time I use it.
However I have found that my instant ocean swingarm is close enough that I hardly use the refractometer anymore. Maybe once a month but the swing arm is always the same.
Tip is rinse it out with di water after every use and let it dry upside down.
Has not let me down yet.

Crabby48 · Oct 13, 2019

I have both. Never touch the Milwaukee. Milwaukee Always test .001 .002 lower. Others have had same results. Hanna is quick and easy. Milwaukee requires cleaning test well between test

I was comparing to Hanna handheld. I forgot they have the one like Milwaukee. Sorry

fcmatt · Oct 13, 2019

Refractometer with 2 calibration solutions that are not stupid old for the win.

I wasted my money on one years ago. Electronic one. Stupid purchase. Sitting in my basement. I forget the brand name. They still sell them.

Edited to add... not saying anyone is stupid for buying one. It was just a bad purchase in my opinion for me. Over the years I have personally learned I do not need every toy made in this hobby.

Reefman71 · Dec 23, 2019

The Hannah is 2 point below. It’s a lot more mobile but it’s not as accurate as the Milwaukee just add two points when using the Hannah

SeeFu said:
Is there any benefit to spending the additional $40 on the milwaukee vs. the hanna?

Topreefer92 · Dec 23, 2019

The hanna salinity checker is not accurate, I had to calibrate it after every use. I have a thread on here about it. I bought a milwakee and that has been dead on. I sent my original one back to hanna and they gave me a brand new one that sits on a shelf collecting dust. Buy the milwaukee and dont go through what I did.

homer1475 · Dec 23, 2019

Topreefer92 said:
The hanna salinity checker is not accurate, I had to calibrate it after every use. I have a thread on here about it. I bought a milwakee and that has been dead on. I sent my original one back to hanna and they gave me a brand new one that sits on a shelf collecting dust. Buy the milwaukee and dont go through what I did.

And I'm just the opposite. My Milwaukee sits on the shelf collecting dust. The hanna is just way to easy to use and is always dead on with my calibrated refractometer when I check once a month.

Reefman71 · Dec 23, 2019

Who knows! My buddy has a refractometer that matches exactly with my Milwaukee, at least it did two years ago. I’m going to borrow it and test it against the Hannah and see what kind of result i get. I see more posts about the Hannah being off by 2 more than anything on the Milwaukee.

Topreefer92 · Dec 23, 2019

homer1475 said:
And I'm just the opposite. My Milwaukee sits on the shelf collecting dust. The hanna is just way to easy to use and is always dead on with my calibrated refractometer when I check once a month.

Haha that is awesome, by all means I should have included in my post that it really is the luck of the draw with consumer products now adays. So we both have both of them, always good to have a backup!

homer1475 · Dec 23, 2019

I would agree.

I've read just as many dislike threads as I have "it just works" threads in regards to the hanna. I truly believe it's just the luck of the draw with consumer products.

b4tn · Dec 23, 2019

I have been using the Milwaukee for several years and love the simplicity but I question the accuracy sometimes. On more than one occasion I have calibrated it like I do prior to each test and it was showing my tank to be dangerously high. I calibrated it again and all read fine. I actually just ordered a refractometer to have as a backup.