Shorter hydrometer

[William Wallace]

Does anyone know of shorter hydrometers? The 10" 250ml ones take a lot of mead from the carboy and exposes it to oxygen so I don't want to dump it back after the reading but after 2 readings, I'm down by almost a bottle. Does anyone have any thoughts or tips on this?

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Well, for what it’s worth, I use a Tilt after taking an initial OG in the fermenter for calibration. After that, I don’t draw any samples or open the lid at all. I do a closed transfer to my keg.

 

[ba-brewer]

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...drometers-Refractometers/Glass-Hydrometer-Jar

this one says it 200mL which a little smaller than 250mL. I have one and it only needs about 4oz to float my generic hydrometer.

edit: I use a refractometer which only needs a few mL of beer to check gravity while fermenting, then do a final check with a hydrometer when I package.

 

[fluketamer]

My ispindel that I recently purchased is a total game changer for 55$. I really don’t understand why this isn’t standard. It’s almost plug and play I can’t do anything tech but I set mine up in 5 mins. It won’t fit in a carboy neck but that’s the only downside. I hate narrow neck fermenters anyway. Why struggle to clean them. When there’s a million other vessels to ferment in.

I take an initial gravity with a 20$ refractometer. Drop in spindle. And then never have to touch my precious beer again. No o2 ingress . no volume loss.
It’s so worth the $ .

The only other problem is I find myself staring at the app all day and dreaming of my brew.

 

[Graham H]

I use a Brew Tapper triple scale hydrometer with one of these graduated cylinders.

https://a.co/d/fnmuiCS

Takes less than 100mL per sample for OG/FG. Like @ba-brewer i use a refractometer for my intermediate SG measurements.

 

[Raptor99]

My ispindel that I recently purchased is a total game changer for 55$.

I had never heard of the ispindel, but it sounds interesting. I did a search, and it seems that ispindel might not be available in the U.S. due to patent laws. Do you know if it is available in the the U.S.?

 

[fluketamer]

im in U.S. so yes it is.
lol
one of the members here sells them thats how i got mine
hes the best .
lowest price and ships in a few days.

but i think they are limited availabiltiy cause he has to build them.

also available on ebay and etsy but i figure if theres a member here its safer.

dont hesitate you wont be dissatisfied
the only problem is i think you have to pay for an app service if you use more than one of them. still only 20$ per year for two i think on brewfather

i use brewspy which gives you one free transmission

i think ubidots gives you more than one but its very techy.

i messaged you the contact

heres my vikings blood mead already at 5 percent abv
its fun to watch it ferment

 

[Raptor99]

im in U.S. so yes it is.
lol
one of the members here sells them thats how i got mine
hes the best .
lowest price and ships in a few days.

but i think they are limited availabiltiy cause he has to build them.

also available on ebay and etsy but i figure if theres a member here its safer.

dont hesitate you wont be dissatisfied
the only problem is i think you have to pay for an app service if you use more than one of them. still only 20$ per year for two i think on brewfather

i use brewspy which gives you one free transmission

i think ubidots gives you more than one but its very techy.

i messaged you the contact


View attachment 841287

heres my vikings blood mead already at 5 percent abv
its fun to watch it ferment

Thanks! I will look into this. I do SNA on my meads, and it seems better to add nutrients based on the SG change rather than time. The time for fermentation varies depending on temperature, etc.

I do my primary fermentation in a bucket and stir twice daily. Does this get in the way of stirring? Do you remove it before stirring and then put it back? I'm just trying to imagine how this works.

 

[MaxStout]

Use a refractometer. You only need a few drops. You'll have to use a correction factor, due to the alcohol, but it should give you a fairly accurate reading.

 

[fluketamer]

Thanks! I will look into this. I do SNA on my meads, and it seems better to add nutrients based on the SG change rather than time. The time for fermentation varies depending on temperature, etc.

I do my primary fermentation in a bucket and stir twice daily. Does this get in the way of stirring? Do you remove it before stirring and then put it back? I'm just trying to imagine how this works.

stir away its pretty forgiving. it may give you one or two false readings after stirring but it will get back on track after that. you can set the reporting interval time so two readings is only about 1.5 mins if you want . so it doest make a difference. i dont understand why more arent using them. its is totally an unecessary toy. definatley not needed or essential. i brewed for years without hydrometer or refractomter but its nice to know brew is going along smoothly without having to check for bubbles in airlock. and if you have leak then you can still see how its going without the bubbles.

i think the best use of ispindel would be timing dry hop addition. but i dont dry hop much

max is totally right about the refractometer also btw. but its less fun