Hydrometer help

First time using a hydrometer I hit OG right after brewing. After 7 days of vigorous fermentation that slowly tapered off I racked to secondary as per the instructions. Once in secondary I took another reading but got 0. The hydrometer literally sunk up to the tape that holds the string on the end. Is this normal? Will the FG change this week?

What was the OG? If you are reading 0 now then that either means one of two things....your hydro is broken, or there is no sugar left in your brew. I think the first option is likely the situation.

OG was +/- 1.05 a week ago. I made a yeast starter and it cooked vigorously for 4 days then slowly for 3 more. The beer tastes great.

BansheeRider said:

What was the OG? If you are reading 0 now then that either means one of two things....your hydro is broken, or there is no sugar left in your brew. I think the first option is likely the situation.

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Agree. I would assume its broken. I use hydrometers at work, actually had one do something pretty similar the other day. Knew the chemical should be at roughly 1.110, reading was at about 1.200. Tested with a new hydro, it was 1.110. Broken hydros suck if you can't get another one quickly. I'm planning on buying a few more soon, just to have in back stock. I suggest this for everyone.

Thanks for the replies. It must be broken. Probably dropped it or my kids got hold of it. Anyway the beer looks and tastes great. AHS Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout clone kit.

Chaco_the_dog said:

Thanks for the replies. It must be broken. Probably dropped it or my kids got hold of it. Anyway the beer looks and tastes great. AHS Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout clone kit.

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Drop it in some distilled water and see what it reads.

Dropped in tap water and it did the same, dropped well below 1.000. Actually below 990.

Chaco_the_dog said:

First time using a hydrometer I hit OG right after brewing. After 7 days of vigorous fermentation that slowly tapered off I racked to secondary as per the instructions. Once in secondary I took another reading but got 0. The hydrometer literally sunk up to the tape that holds the string on the end. Is this normal? Will the FG change this week?

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Did you add the tape to the hydrometer or was it made that way? Seems that may add weight and cause it to throw off the reading.

Take whatever tape it is off as it appears to be screwing up your readings

I was wondering about the string he mentioned also.

Wow.

Yes, changing the weight of the hydrometer with tape and string will throw the reading off. If you want to simulate this, push down on the top of the hydrometer while its floating. Kind of changes the reading, doesn't it.

Good points. It's actually about 12 inches of sewing thread held on by a piece of tape. A friend loaned it to me who's brewed with it for years. Also it took a good reading last week, so I don't think that's the problem.

Chaco_the_dog said:

Good points. It's actually about 12 inches of sewing thread held on by a piece of tape. A friend loaned it to me who's brewed with it for years. Also it took a good reading last week, so I don't think that's the problem.

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If it's not screwing up your reading, that's even weirder. Hydrometers work by very precisely comparing weight and displacement. If you attach tape and thread to it, both of which have weight, it should be affecting your reading.

If you placed it in distilled water and it read below 1.000 then it is obviously off and it is very possible the paper inside came loose and moved so either re calibrate it where it currently is or purchase a new one

If the tape and string are not original to the hydrometer, your OG measurement was off as well. From the sound of it, your OG was higher than you think by same amount that your tap water reading is off.

To correct your readings, measure tap water and whatever the value (X) is, add the difference (1-X) to your OG and FG readings. If you are off the actual markings, you'll have to take your best guess.

Out of curiosity, I added about an inch of tape to mine to see what would happen and that sunk it an extra .004 in tap water. If I measured a brew and got 1.050, it would really be 1.054, and so on.

Chaco_the_dog said:

Good points. It's actually about 12 inches of sewing thread held on by a piece of tape. A friend loaned it to me who's brewed with it for years. Also it took a good reading last week, so I don't think that's the problem.

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Troll alert!

LovesIPA said:

Troll alert!

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Sorry I don't get it