Well, well, well!

I was checked my SG/OG and it was WAY off. So I knew everything was right so I just said, "Oh well" and sealed up the fermentor. Then I mixed the 2nd batch and got an even lower reading. Like 1.060 when it should have been upwards of 1.080. I had another hydrometer so I used that one and low and behold, that one read 1.084! The first one was a full .024 off! Un real!

So always have a spare! Hydro #1 is now in the trash.

BTW: This was for wine, not beer. But I have used this one for beer from time to time like every 10th batch and always thought it came out low.

In the interest of making sure you got the right numbers, you can't say that one was off just because the other gave you what you wanted to get. Maybe the one giving you what you want is the one that is off and your SG actually is low. You should calibrate your hydrometer with water before coming to any solid conclusions. Just my two cents.

nukebrewer said:

In the interest of making sure you got the right numbers, you can't say that one was off just because the other gave you what you wanted to get. Maybe the one giving you what you want is the one that is off and your SG actually is low. You should calibrate your hydrometer with water before coming to any solid conclusions. Just my two cents.

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True dat! But in this case it is a wine kit and there is little to do accept pour it in a bucket. I will take your advice however and verify it for accuracy. Should read 1.000 in distilled water right?

Correct, at 60F (typically). And unless you have insanely hard water, you don't even have to use distilled.

Slipgate said:

True dat! But in this case it is a wine kit and there is little to do accept pour it in a bucket.

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While I agree with this statement, it's still not entirely foolproof. You've probably seen the multitude of threads from extract/partial boil brewers who get low OG from their kit because they didn't mix their top off water in correctly. Same thing here and because you didn't mention how well it was stirred, then I have to count it as a possibility.