Refractometer for Testing Fire Sprinklers
and Fire Protection

MISCO refractometers are used daily for testing fire sprinkler systems, wildfire retardants, and fire-fighting foam.

Fire Sprinklers –

Just a couple of drops from any sprinkler system is all you need for an instant test of glycerine or glycol freezing point or concentration. The MISCO digital handheld refractometer is a must-have tool for fire sprinkler installation, maintenance, and inspection. Instant, accurate readings allow fire professionals to make correct on-the-spot decisions concerning the amount of propylene glycol or glycerine to add for optimal system protection.

Firefighting Foam –

Because conductivity meters can be adversely affected by water hardness and water quality, the refractometer remains the best field-method for testing low, medium, and high expansion firefighting foams like AFFF and FFFP. The MISCO PA202, programmed with both refractive index and Brix scales, is the ideal refractometer for testing foam concentration or mixture ratios.

Wildfire Retardants –

The MISCO digital handheld refractometer is ideal for lot acceptance, quality assurance, and field quality control of fire-retardant chemicals at air tanker bases. A dual-scale MISCO Palm Abbe custom-programmed with both Brix and the 10440 scales in one refractometer is perfect for testing the concentration or salt content of FIRE-TROL® or PHOS-CHEK®.

Flexible Custom Programming Options

The MISCO digital handheld refractometer can be custom-programmed with up to 5 scales for testing fire sprinklers, firefighting foam, and wildfire retardants. To order:

  1. Browse the refractometer scale options in the following dropdown tab and record the scale numbers you want.
  2. Go to Order Refractometer by Scale# and follow the simple instructions to create your custom programmed refractometer.
Fire Sprinkler

10440VP 0-30 Units

Scale# 308
UoM: 0-30 Unit Arbitrary Scale
Range: 0 to 30
Resolution: 0.1
Precision: 0.1

PG Freeze °C (GEN)

Scale# 909
UoM: Freeze Point °C
Range: 0 to -51
Resolution: 1
Precision: 1

Propylene Glycol % v/v

Scale# 006
UoM: % v/v
Range: 0 to 100
Resolution: 0.1
Precision: 0.1

Propylene Glycol % w/w

Scale# 007
UoM: % w/w
Range: 0 to 100
Resolution: 0.1
Precision: 0.1

Propylene Glycol % w/w (GEN)

Scale# 907
UoM: % w/w
Range: 0 to 100
Resolution: 0.1
Precision: 0.1

Propylene Glycol (D20/20)

Scale# 010
UoM: Specific Gravity (D20/20)
Range: 1.0000 - 1.0460
Resolution: 0.0001
Precision: 0.0001

Propylene Glycol (H2O %v/v)

Scale# 445
UoM: % water v/v
Range: 100 to 0
Resolution: 1
Precision: .1

Propylene Glycol Freeze °C

Scale# 009
UoM: Freeze Point ºC
Range: 0 to -51
Resolution: 1
Precision: 1

Propylene Glycol Freeze °F

Scale# 008
UoM: Freeze Point °F
Range: +32 to -60
Resolution: 1
Precision: 2
Firefighting Foam

10440VP 0-30 Units

Scale# 308
UoM: 0-30 Unit Arbitrary Scale
Range: 0 to 30
Resolution: 0.1
Precision: 0.1

Ref. Index (nD20)

Scale# 001
UoM: Refractive Index (nD20)
Range: 1.3330 to 1.5000
Resolution: 0.0001
Precision: 0.0001
Wildfire Retardant

10440VP 0-30 Units

Scale# 308
UoM: 0-30 Unit Arbitrary Scale
Range: 0 to 30
Resolution: 0.1
Precision: 0.1

Ref. Index (nD20)

Scale# 001
UoM: Refractive Index (nD20)
Range: 1.3330 to 1.5000
Resolution: 0.0001
Precision: 0.0001

Refractometer Platform Choices

Inline-Process Refractometer:

The above scales are also available on any MISCO inline process refractometer or concentration sensors. They are made for continuous concentration measurement of process fluids.

MISCO Handheld Digital Refractometer:

MISCO has the most extensive refractometer scale library on the planet. Don't see what you want? Browse by handheld refractometer model or by refractometer application. Or give us a call. We can help!

From our Q&A Forum

Fire Protection (8)

I need a refractometer to check Glycerin, and possibly propylene glycol. What handheld palm abbe would be best for me? The PA202 or PA203 Will the PA202 measure glycol? Does the pa203 come with pre-installed scales or custom scales for each use? My application is for antifreeze. Fahrenheit readings please. Please advise.

With the right combination of scales, either the Palm Abbe PA202x or PA203 digital refractometer will handle the job of measuring glycerin and propylene glycol antifreeze solutions. Scales are available to read nearly any physical property of glycerin and propylene glycol, including scales for freeze point and concentration or other units of measure such as specific gravity, density, percent by weight or volume, and more.

Do you have any refractometer that can tell whether an unknown liquid is glycol or glycerin?

No, unfortunately a refractometer cannot tell the difference between glycol and glycerin. Although we do have refractometers with both glycol and glycerin scales, you must know which fluid you are testing and test it on the correct scale to get an accurate measurement of concentration or freeze point.

Hello, I am looking to buy a palm abbe for the purpose of testing glycerine based liquids which model would you recommend?

The MISCO Palm Abbe digital refractometer equipped with a glycerin concentration or freezepoint scale is the simplest and most accurate means of testing glycerin/water solutions. Scales are available for measuring glycerin percent by weight or percent by volume, freeze point, density, or specific gravity.

Category: Fire Protection

Hi, will your hand held (both glycerin/ glycol) read below zero. In Utah we are required to provide -0 readings. Please let me know.

The glycerin scale on the Palm Abbe digital refractometer can measure the freeze point of glycerin from +32 to -46 °F. It can read glycerin concentration from 0 to 100%. The propylene glycol scale for this refractometer can measure propylene glycol freeze point from +32 to -60 °F. It can also read propylene glycol concentration from 0 to 100%.

I was searching for a high quality digital refractometer when came across your company website. Basically the refractometer will be used to check the water to foam ratio of a fire fighters water tank (fire engine). I would appreciate if you suggest a suitable model with high precision and I would like to obtain the price and delivery time.

Our Palm Abbe digital handheld refractometer is ideal for measuring firefighting foam concentration. The Palm Abbe PA202 has a refractive index scale with a precision of +/-0.0001 nD20 (refractive index). For more information, please search our site for PA202.

Category: Fire Protection

Need a refractometer that will read glycerin based antifreeze for fire suppression. Firefight GL is the product we use. Thanks.

You can test both glycerin concentration and freeze point with the Palm Abbe digital refractometer. Model PA202-16-18 has scales for glycerin concentration by volume and glycerin freeze point in degrees Fahrenheit. Other models have scales for both glycerin and propylene glycol. Trying searching for “glycerin” in the Palm Abbe product area to find the refractometer with the scales that you need.

Products

Glycerine- Propylene Glycol Refractometer- Glycerine-; Propylene Glycol Scale-Percent Volume-Freeze Point °C– Digital Refractometer

Glycerine Propylene Glycol Refractometer Glycerine Propylene Glycol Scales  Percent Volume  Freeze Point °F  Digital Refractometer

Glycerine Refractometer ; Glycerine Scales Concentration Freeze Point °C – Digital Refractometer

Glycerine Refractometer Glycerine Scales  Concentration Freeze Point °F-Digital Refractometer

Category: Fire Protection

What is the difference between freezepoint and burst point when testing with a refractometer.

Freezepoint is the point that the first ice crystals form in the absence of supercooling. Burst point is the point that the solution freezes solid and bursts the vessel containing it. The burst point is usually 30-50 degrees colder than the freezepoint. Our Glycol & Battery Tester reads the freezepoint of both ethylene and propylene glycol solutions. If you need to know the burst point, take a reading on the Glycol & Battery Tester and use a chart (available from your antifreeze supplier) to cross-reference freezepoint to burst point or percent concentration.

Please kindly furnish me with information and price on a refractometer for testing airport foam solutions for dealing with aircraft fires. The test we do presently is visual. We would like to upgrade, especially now that we have new Rescue and Fire Fighting Trucks that produce AFFF and FFFP foam solutions. We would like our inspectors to be using it to assess the foam solution concentration, quality and performance.

The best method for measuring AFFF and FFFP fire-fighting foam solutions is with the MISCO Palm Abbe PA202 digital refractometer. The PA202 has a scale for refractive index and a precision of +/- 0.0001 refractive index units, making it ideal for field testing firefighting foam.  Our best device for this is our Brix Refractometer – with Refractive Index measurement. 

Category: Fire Protection

FIRE-TROL® is a registered trademark of ICL Performance Products LP
PHOS-CHEK® is a registered trademark of Perimeter Solutions LP