Digital Hydrometer

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Ernie Diamond

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Is there such a thing as a digital hydrometer? Can't some brilliant individual come up with a dual hydro/thermo that calculates actual gravity?

Anyone have ideas on this? I can't be the only one sick of using the glass tube.
 
Ernie Diamond said:
Can't some brilliant individual come up with a dual hydro/thermo that calculates actual gravity?
Click to expand...

Oh sure, we just snap our fingers and the technology to make a digital Hygrometer for $100 appears. :p Yea, they are out there but they are not cheap. They go for better than a grand. It seems that the technology of the sensor is expensive.

This unit is $1695.

2575504.jpg


This little bad boy is $2200.

25750_11.jpg


This jobber is $3800.

2575040.jpg
 
From what I can observe of the industrial versions it appears they use a tuning fork configuration. I am not sure if it is drive power to maintain output or resonant frequency shift in response to viscosity. If I could get my hands on the manual it might explain the calibration procedure which would reveal the method used for sensing viscosity changes.
 
Ernie Diamond said:
Is there such a thing as a digital hydrometer? Can't some brilliant individual come up with a dual hydro/thermo that calculates actual gravity?

Anyone have ideas on this? I can't be the only one sick of using the glass tube.
Click to expand...

buy a refractometer, so much nicer
 
Beer bug looks cool however what if u have a blowout. Could be expensive
 
Have you looked at the Tilt? It's substantially cheaper at $130 shipped and you don't need to worry about it plugging up the airlock.
 
Vandulus said:
Have you looked at the Tilt? It's substantially cheaper at $130 shipped and you don't need to worry about it plugging up the airlock.
Click to expand...

Do you know anyone who has one of these Tilt hydrometers? I had looked at a similar device to find out they had gone out of business.

This device, if it works as advertises, provides real time gravity which is nice to monitor when the fermentation is over. I am opposed to opening my fermenter lots of times introducing oxygen and the potential risk of infection. However, strikes me as a device that is a semi-novelty. Maybe for someone who has "everything"?
 
Morrey said:
Do you know anyone who has one of these Tilt hydrometers? I had looked at a similar device to find out they had gone out of business.

This device, if it works as advertises, provides real time gravity which is nice to monitor when the fermentation is over. I am opposed to opening my fermenter lots of times introducing oxygen and the potential risk of infection. However, strikes me as a device that is a semi-novelty. Maybe for someone who has "everything"?
Click to expand...

I'm a happy owner and can confirm that it's not a novelty, but a really useful tool to see how the fermentation is going. FYI that Tilt was formerly called Brewometer, but that rand afoul of another similarly named brewing product. I love not having to take samples any more. Rather than taking just my opinion, check out this thread. Also they have great customer service - my Tilt started going wonky and they replaced it within a week.
 
I have two of the "tilt" hydrometers. Actually I have two of the original Brewometers (they changed their name to Tilt). I have never had a problem with either of them. Calibrated them and they work fine for me. I check my OG with a digital refractometer before I drop one of these into the wort to ferment. The readings are always pretty close to the refractometer. I have my Tilts writing to a google spreadsheet online so it's easy to see when the fermentation has finished. And that can be done from any internet connected device from anywhere.

I have seen some people complaining about experiencing a short battery life with them but I haven't had that problem. I did buy a large package of the batteries from Amazon and have them just in case. Changing the batteries is a simple task.

Hope this helps.
 
In reading through the thread the tilt units appear to not be all that reliable... a lot of replacements have been issued without question... This kinda indicates to me these things are likely fairly low cost hardware wise otherwise they would be losing money or close to it with all the exchanges no?
 
Vandulus said:
I'm a happy owner and can confirm that it's not a novelty, but a really useful tool to see how the fermentation is going. FYI that Tilt was formerly called Brewometer, but that rand afoul of another similarly named brewing product. I love not having to take samples any more. Rather than taking just my opinion, check out this thread. Also they have great customer service - my Tilt started going wonky and they replaced it within a week.
Click to expand...

I value your opinion, and frankly glad you dispelled the idea I had that this was a novelty device. I have always simply left the primary alone for 14 days before opening the lid. If the reading was somewhere in the anticipated FG range, I'd move on ahead with kegging. I did so to avoid opening the fermenter repeatedly regarding O2 exposure, so I really like the idea of this device.

raysmithtx said:
I have two of the "tilt" hydrometers. Actually I have two of the original Brewometers (they changed their name to Tilt). I have never had a problem with either of them. Calibrated them and they work fine for me. I check my OG with a digital refractometer before I drop one of these into the wort to ferment. The readings are always pretty close to the refractometer. I have my Tilts writing to a google spreadsheet online so it's easy to see when the fermentation has finished. And that can be done from any internet connected device from anywhere.

I have seen some people complaining about experiencing a short battery life with them but I haven't had that problem. I did buy a large package of the batteries from Amazon and have them just in case. Changing the batteries is a simple task.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Do you know offhand what battery this unit takes?

Sounds great and I always use a refractometer to take OG. So I'd compare the two, and you say the Tilt offers a way to calibrate it to match the refractometer reading?

I am planning to look at this and likely make an order soon! Thanks!!
 
Morrey said:
I value your opinion, and frankly glad you dispelled the idea I had that this was a novelty device. I have always simply left the primary alone for 14 days before opening the lid. If the reading was somewhere in the anticipated FG range, I'd move on ahead with kegging. I did so to avoid opening the fermenter repeatedly regarding O2 exposure, so I really like the idea of this device.



Do you know offhand what battery this unit takes?

Sounds great and I always use a refractometer to take OG. So I'd compare the two, and you say the Tilt offers a way to calibrate it to match the refractometer reading?

I am planning to look at this and likely make an order soon! Thanks!!
Click to expand...

They take a CR123A battery $13 for six at Amazon. The batteries seem to last 4-6 months with normal usage. The Tilt has a low power sleep mode that helps conserve power when it's not in use.

As to calibration, you can adjust the gravity and temperature "points" in the app to match your refractometer readings.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vandulus said:
They take a CR123A battery $13 for six at Amazon. The batteries seem to last 4-6 months with normal usage. The Tilt has a low power sleep mode that helps conserve power when it's not in use.

As to calibration, you can adjust the gravity and temperature "points" in the app to match your refractometer readings.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I just downloaded the App and it looks like a pretty polished version, nicely professional. Like anything else that is highly specialized, it takes some time to work the bugs out. I think it has been around long enough now to be a pretty safe purchase. All good!!!
 
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Weezy said:
You might be better off in the long run with a digital sugar refractometer.
Click to expand...
I have the Milwaukee MA871. The reason for the Tilt is that I don't have to open the fermentor at all once I seal it up. The Tilt tells me when the gravity hasn't changed in a couple of days so I know it's done. No added risk of infection by opening the fermentor up to take gravity readings.
 
raysmithtx said:
I have the Milwaukee MA871. The reason for the Tilt is that I don't have to open the fermentor at all once I seal it up. The Tilt tells me when the gravity hasn't changed in a couple of days so I know it's done. No added risk of infection by opening the fermentor up to take gravity readings.
Click to expand...

hmm I like the look of that 871 as well. Can you give details on using it, how you like it etc?
 
raysmithtx said:
I have the Milwaukee MA871. The reason for the Tilt is that I don't have to open the fermentor at all once I seal it up. The Tilt tells me when the gravity hasn't changed in a couple of days so I know it's done. No added risk of infection by opening the fermentor up to take gravity readings.
Click to expand...

No disrespect intended but you have >$300 in hydrometer gear but you don't have a conical or even some other fermenter with a sampling port/spigot?
 
Weezy said:
No disrespect intended but you have >$300 in hydrometer gear but you don't have a conical or even some other fermenter with a sampling port/spigot?
Click to expand...

I EBIAB. I have 3 Spiedels for fermenting. They are my third type of fermentors and I'm really happy with them because they are large enough that I really don't have to use blow-off tubes. They all came with spigots but I removed them because I noticed mold growing on/in the spigots occasionally while fermenting. I use low pressure CO2 to push the beer from the fermenter into the kegs so I really have no need for a spigot.

I don't need a sampling port/spigot with the Brewometers.
 
Weezy said:
No disrespect intended but you have >$300 in hydrometer gear but you don't have a conical or even some other fermenter with a sampling port/spigot?
Click to expand...

I pretty well know where you are coming from, but in my situation I am controlling ferm temps (both heat and cool) inside chest freezers with an ATC. I wished I could find a nice SS fermenter to do as you mentioned but to be able to control temps in an outside enclosed area.
 
Morrey said:
I pretty well know where you are coming from, but in my situation I am controlling ferm temps (both heat and cool) inside chest freezers with an ATC. I wished I could find a nice SS fermenter to do as you mentioned but to be able to control temps in an outside enclosed area.
Click to expand...

ss brewbucket?

its what ill be upgrading to as I can fit two inside my standard upright fridge ferm chamber. they are short enough to fit in a chest freezer btw. not a completely true conical, but ill never be harvesting yeast anyway.
 
skraeling said:
ss brewbucket?

its what ill be upgrading to as I can fit two inside my standard upright fridge ferm chamber. they are short enough to fit in a chest freezer btw. not a completely true conical, but ill never be harvesting yeast anyway.
Click to expand...

+1 for the Brew Bucket. If you want to harvest yeast with a Brew Bucket, you can always over build the stater which alleviates much of the need for washing and the yeast should be less stressed. And if you do end up using the Tilt, I can tell you that the Bluetooth signal is strong enough to go through the bucket, fridge door to about 10 or 15 feet.
 

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