Hydrometer Quality

[idover]

In some hypothetical world, a hypothetical inattentive brewer has two hydrometers and breaks the newer one. So, the hypothetical brew uses his old hypothetical hydrometer for the next three batches. The hypothetical numbers baffle him after kegging one, racking the second, and pitching the third. He looks at the hypothetical hydrometer and discovers that not only does it have condensation inside, but in distilled water at 73F it reads 0.994.

Would this brewer just toss the hydrometer, and is there any way to adjust the numbers for the two hypothetical batches that have yet to be kegged?

Also, assume that the hypothetical brewer recently aquired a refractometer that is calibrated.

EDIT: I am most curious if the adjustment can be linear. I would assume that it would be safe to simply shift the numbers up by six points at most. The original temperature was 78F, so I can't imagine more than one point difference with a linear adjustment. Hypothetically, of course.

Thanks!

 

[smokinghole]

I would advise the hypothetical brewer to throw out the hypothetical hydrometer. Then buy a set, then don't break them. These are lab certified with great resolution. I gave up on homebrew shop hydrometers because they basically suck in comparison, and these aren't any more expensive.

http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/H...avity_0_0005_Divisions_Plain_Form/EW-08298-65

http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/H...avity_0_0005_Divisions_Plain_Form/EW-08298-67

 

[idover]

That hypothetical brewer would probably thank you for pointing him to those.

 

[amandabab]

this hypothetical brewer has given up on the idea that $6.99 homebrewing shop
hydrometers are precision instruments and has been buying from the company linked above for years with excellent results(and other lab glass places).

 

[onthekeg]

I have some hydrometers, but I also have a couple refractometers that I use and pretty much never dust off the hydro's and remove them from the box.
Hypothetically of course.

 

[DavidR]

Those aren't any more expensive? Are you kidding me? $8 for a typical hydrometer at my local shop. Those are nearly 3x as much, and probably break just as easy. Yeah, probably more accurate, though.

 

[amandabab]

good quality measuring tools cost more than cheap junk, but you buy them once and its better than struggling with constant inaccuracies.

 

[goosegrease]

After reading recent postings on hydrometers, I decided to test my 15 year old classic! I picked up some distilled water cooled it to 59 f plunked my hydro in and it read 1.0. Does this mean it will be accurate for the entire scale?

 

[amandabab]

After reading recent postings on hydrometers, I decided to test my 15 year old classic! I picked up some distilled water cooled it to 59 f plunked my hydro in and it read 1.0. Does this mean it will be accurate for the entire scale?

it means it tests right in water at 60, but what else can you test for without known calibrated test fluid. It's probably perfect across the range. a 15year old hydrometer is probably a lot more accurate than some of the cheap ones being sold today.

 

[quick5pnt0]

good quality measuring tools cost more than cheap junk, but you buy them once and its better than struggling with constant inaccuracies.

You only buy once if you don't break it five minutes after buying it...which is very likely with a hydrometer. Besides that the additional accuracy isn't really needed for our needs IMHO.

 

[l3asturd]

Here's the one I use, it's awesome. So easy to read. If your plan on going over 1.070 you should consider the set. This one goes from 1.000 to 1.070
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GKPUIW/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details

 

[idover]

But how would a hydrometer have condensation inside? There were no cracks anywhere that I could tell. Of course, the answer may simply be that it came from the factory that way.

My concern with this would be that it's the weight of the condensation that's pulling the numbers low, not that the scale has slidden in the tube.

I do have a refractometer now and have used it once with wort. Much easier to use for sure, but I want to have a quality hydrometer just to feel safe and snuggly when I'm dealing with yeast-infected wort.

Thanks

 

[cockybitz]

After reading recent postings on hydrometers, I decided to test my 15 year old classic! I picked up some distilled water cooled it to 59 f plunked my hydro in and it read 1.0. Does this mean it will be accurate for the entire scale?

Assuming the scale is correct, yes. 1.0 is 1.0, and water is 1.0-- something twice as dense as water remains twice as dense as a 1.0 hydrometer.

 

[smokinghole]

Those aren't any more expensive? Are you kidding me? $8 for a typical hydrometer at my local shop. Those are nearly 3x as much, and probably break just as easy. Yeah, probably more accurate, though.

I am sorry I wasn't looking at the cheap hydrometers. I compared these against hydros with a similar range at Austin Homebrew which are comparable in price. I stopped buying the cheapies a very long time ago. I've been using a different once which was easier to read and more accurate but not as easy to read as the ones I linked. Sure they're $20 but what's $12? I'd rather know what I'm doing and I need the precision because how I bottle condition some of my brett beers. I need to know fairly precisely how much extract is remaining to figure for further attenuation in the bottle because I don't subscribe to the whole "you must bulk age brett beers until your ball hair turns grey" mentality (assuming your ball hair isn't already grey). This way I can bottle them with the appropriate priming sugar and allow the brett to make up the remainder of carbonation through further attenuation in the bottle. It's a great system and its been working beautifully for me.

So if someone want's some precision and easy to read graduations the ones I linked to rock. If your hydros break frequently due to your carelessness or kids, or a dog, then keep buying the $8 hydros. Sure they're close enough for most people but they're not close enough for me. With a resolution on the hydrometer at only .002 gives you a +/- of about 0.3% abv. That .002 could make a difference between a nice highly carbed saison and a bottle bomb for me.