Did my first brew session lastnight

I brewed a PG IPA kit from Brewer's Best and had a great time with it. My O.G. after cooling to approxamately 75F was only 1.042 but I had a tough time reading it in the bucket. I followed the recipie exactly, and the wort tasted darn good once chilled! I also used city tap water for my make-up water which I don't think I should have done. It was very well aireated coming out of the faucet. Could the water / aireation have contributed to my low O.G.?

I'd really like a wort chiller, and a sight glass for my hydrometer. Wish me luck!

If it is an extract kit & you used the correct amount of water, the only possibility is poor mixing. Since all of the extract is actually in the fermenter, you'll get the correct ABV.

72 if im correct is not the standard temp for an accurate hydrometer reading. I believe mine is 60 and you add something to the order of .002 to every 10 degrees above 60.