Brake Fluid Moister Tester
 

Wal Mart has this item priced right, and with free shipping. Pelican wants 40+ for the same tester. Ordered mine today!


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Brake-Fluid-Moisture-Tester-Auto-Car-Truck-Diagnostic-Testing/169181238

So I tried using one of those and can't say they seem particularly accurate. Just to test it I poured a little brake fluid in a cup and then started adding water to it, I had to have quite a bit of water mixed in before it read it I think brake fluid is not particularly conductive as water is so it measures resistance and that's how they work

Why?
 

Why?

It's simple insurance to flush and fill brake fluid... not to mention easily enough done DIY. A quart/liter costs < $20 and change should be done at minimum per manufacturer schedule (typically 2 years for normal road use). Of course more frequency needed with high performance driving.

Seems like an unnecessary 'solution' to the known problem of brake fluid being hygroscopic but it's your $.

Good luck :)

Although a lot of fluid is much more than $20 /liter, I agree that changing it regularly if tracking the car is a good idea.

Motul 600 is a good reasonably priced higher performance fluid, around $35/liter

Even cheaper on Flea Bay.
In theory you could use a sensitive Multimeter if someone would tell us the correct setting.It is just a conductivity measurement

Correct, many higher end fluids are more expensive but most DOT 4 fluids are ~ $20 (ATE Typ 200 is typically $13-18/liter on eBay/Amazon and that is plenty quality for HPDEs).

To further my point, anyone doing anything remotely close to performance driving I guarantee will not putz with this device and will instead just change the fluid.

:)

Advance Auto in my area has the ATE Blue 1 liter Dot 4 for 14.95.

Correction: I was told on the phone by a new clerk. After stopping by the store, the mgr said, we do not carry ATE fluid. I thought it was to good to be true since the Blue fluid has been discontinued. However they carry the Pentosin Brake Fluid which is yellow in color.

Thats not the correct way to test the water into the Hydraulic fluid mix.

The fluid has to hdroscopicaly bond with the water which will take some time.

put like 4 drops of water in a cup of fluid, wait a a few days to a week and then check with the meter.

Strange, we tested one against a $145 moisture content tester, using samples from several vehicles, and found the OTC unit to reasonably accurate.

Not trying to start a war...
Disclaimer: I change the brake fluid in my Box every 2 years.

Last week, we purchased a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport for my wife. 2L turbo (about same HP as my 2000 Box S!).

I was leafing though the 614 page owner manual last night and when I got to the maintenance section, services were included through 150K miles. At no point was there a mention of brake fluid flush. Lot of service points included checking brake fluid level.

I know that the two cars and their potential use is quite different but both use DOT 3 Brake fluid.

It's interesting that one manufacturer is so different. Given my motive bleeder, and my intent to hopefully use this vehicle for 10+ years, it will receive brake fluid flushes at the same interval as the Box.

Just ordered one myself...

Need to point out that the one sold by Pelican is OTC branded whereas the one sold through Walmart (by Tool Space) is Neiko branded. I'm more apt to trust a tool from OTC than the other brand, but for that price difference I'll take a chance. The photos of both testers look identical.

I don't really need a tester - I change my fluid every 2 years (or more frequently) regardless - but I just like tools. :)

Got my tester yesterday and tested the brake fluid in my Boxster. The tester shows a green light which means the tester is ready for a test. A yellow light came on when in the fluid, which indicates less than 1% of moister in the fluid. The tester says 1 to 2% is OK, at 3 % it should be changed. At 4% of water the fluid must be changed urgently! Danger!. LOL! I know many will say regardless change the fluid every two years, and we all know that. It's time for mine to be changed and the fluid is sitting on the bench with my Motive pump. The pumps the ticket!!!! I might add, a reputable Indie in Jax FL uses the same tester when doing PPI's. I plan to test the fluid that I bleed from each caliper.

Received mine yesterday as well. Super fast free shipping and it looks like exactly like the pictures.

Will get a chance to use it in the next week or so...

Looks like an excellent tool to have for doing a pre-purchase inspection of *any* used car.

A indie in Jax FL uses the same tool when doing a PPI.