CYCLOPS INSTRUMENTS Antifreeze Premium Refractometer for Automotive Antifreeze System, AdBlue, DEF, Battery Acid, and Windshield Washer Fluid | Measures Freezing Point Temperature and Concentration

This instrument relies directly upon the optical properties of some common automotive fluids to reveal meaningful information. For me, the big questions were: Whats the charge state of the battery? At what temperature does the [antifreeze|washer fluid] risk freezing? A couple of drops of fluid on the instrument gave me instant, actionable answers. Prefect.

Its nice to have this type of tool for the rare instances that I require one. This refractometer comes packaged in a plastic case that contains the tool, a fluid dropper, a screwdriver and some instructions all protected in a foam interior. The tool itself is very lightweight but seems well made. The optic is clear and the scale for the fluids are labeled for coolant, battery acid, washer solvent and DEF fluid. The quality and price of this tool makes it worthy of 5 stars.

Im a big fan of these for vehicle antifreeze and battery electrolyte. I never measured DEF, just poured it in the DEF tank. This device can pay for itself in a winter on windshield washer antifreeze alone! This can be used to dilute a -30F rated windshield washer solution if only protection in the teens or 20s is needed. Can save 50% or more. Certain brand antifreeze containers can have cryptic instructions on them and its hard to differentiate between antifreeze that is already diluted or the concentrate. This solves that problem. The temperature charts between ethylene glycol and polypropylene are technically slightly different depending on the point on the temperature scale, but they are so close that if one were to make a mistake reading the graph, the impact would likely not be all that great. I used to use the battery electrolyte testers with the floating balls. What a mess!! Use this refractometer instead!! A drop or two from each cell is all it takes to determine if your flooded battery is in good shape. Its better than a voltage measurement. Be sure to let the battery rest for 6 to 24 hours unless specific gravity during equalization is being checked on deep cycle batteries. The price at $15 for this is decent. This is good enough. Be careful not to bump or drop these. They are fragile!

This little instrument can quickly and accurately measure the freezing point of antifreeze and windshield washer fluid as well as the condition of battery fluid. It should be noted that in the case of antifreeze it doesn’t indicate whether its other engine protective properties are still active or not, just the freeze point. The instructions included with this product are minimal and even somewhat misleading in how to use it for automotive applications, but the instrument itself clearly indicates those measurements … after you search on YouTube (or other information sources) for how to use it. Any user new to the use of a refractometer is probably better off ignoring the included information and going straight to other more informative sources.