Hydrometer: the best of the best

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Hank_McGee

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Hey, as of right now I have a decent brewery essentials precision hydrometer set. Although I am looking for the absolute best of the best, done a bit of research. But, I want to hear everyone's personal experience with their hydrometers. Commercial breweries specifically. Looking forward to hear your thoughts!
Cheers!:mug:
 
Hydrometers are wildly inaccurate and are only used for rough estimations where precise measurement is not critical. Precise measurement is handled with refractometers.

Sure, they make hydrometers with different ranges, which does make them easier to read but even the tight range hydrometers are wildly inaccurate when it comes to measuring fermented liquids. The reason? Carbon dioxide bubbles. A liquid will need to be COMPLETELY off-gassed before a hydrometer can even think about making a somewhere near accurate measurement.

But then again, there are people who buy ten thousand dollar speaker cables because they claim they have bionic ears and can tell the difference.
 
I am a newer learning brewer how much can my hydrometer be off on the final gravity? On water it reads correct at 70 degrees . Can it be off 2 points or more? I am assuming a beer fresh from the fermenter not legged or bottled.
 
ChelisHubby said:
I am a newer learning brewer how much can my hydrometer be off on the final gravity? On water it reads correct at 70 degrees . Can it be off 2 points or more? I am assuming a beer fresh from the fermenter not legged or bottled.
Click to expand...

If you can't get it to float in the dead center of a 100ml graduated cylinder, then the reading is about 4-10 points high. Reason for not floating dead center is gas bubbles clinging to the bottom of the hydrometer and pushing it sideways.
 
Well I guess I am good then I check the beer in boil pot and the bottling bucket.:D
 
podz said:
Hydrometers are wildly inaccurate and are only used for rough estimations where precise measurement is not critical. Precise measurement is handled with refractometers.

Sure, they make hydrometers with different ranges, which does make them easier to read but even the tight range hydrometers are wildly inaccurate when it comes to measuring fermented liquids. The reason? Carbon dioxide bubbles. A liquid will need to be COMPLETELY off-gassed before a hydrometer can even think about making a somewhere near accurate measurement.

But then again, there are people who buy ten thousand dollar speaker cables because they claim they have bionic ears and can tell the difference.
Click to expand...

Refractometers are just about useless for measuring in the presence of alcohol. Even using correction calculators the result is not very accurate.

My ideal hydrometer is a very inexpensive, but accurate one. They just break too easily.
 
podz said:
If you can't get it to float in the dead center of a 100ml graduated cylinder, then the reading is about 4-10 points high. Reason for not floating dead center is gas bubbles clinging to the bottom of the hydrometer and pushing it sideways.
Click to expand...

This sounds like an exaggeration, my wine thief allows little clearance for the hydrometer inside it and my readings dont seem off at all. I spin the hydrometer and let it settle down a couple times and it consistently goes to the same number
 

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