Hydrometer foul up

I recently measured the SG of the white wine kit i am making and the hydrometer indicated that it was ready for secondary after five days (less than .996- it actually read less than .990) I went ahead and racked it into the carboy where it proceeded to look like a bottle of champagne right after opening. This seemed odd so i measured the hydrometer in water and got the same reading as i did when i measured the wine. The question is what kind of damage have i done? and where can i get a reliable hydrometer- this is the second one after only five kits. thanks

Well, if it's reading less than .990 in 68 deg. water (and theres no air bubbles on it or anything) then is it possible you have really hard water? I dunno, maybe I'm grasping at straws here, have you checked it in some store bought distilled water or anything like that?

As far as the wine kit goes, you'll have to hope that someone with more experience than I have will offer an opinion. In general I'd say, as long as you've maintained good sanitation, you'll end up with something that is, at the very least, drinkable and most likely still pretty good.

Where have you been buying the hydrometers? I was talking to the owner of my LHBS and she said that small hairline cracks in hydrometers will cause them to read incorrectly. They test all theirs when they get them in. Is it possible that the ones you have been buying are cracked and you can't tell?

If you bought it from your LHBS, you should take it back and let them put it in water and see if they can figure out what is going on. If you end up buying another one, check it in water before you leave the store.