Anton Parr Easy Dens. Is it worth it?

[matt_m]

I still love my Easy Dens, but I've been logging everything to Brewfather. The idea of taking away a product feature after the fact and charging for it doesn’t sit well with me. Probably worth trying a bad review in the app store and an email to them.

I recently ordered a box of Alconox but haven't been able to try it yet.

 

[bracconiere]

following the EasyDens Brew Meister app update, you must buy a $20/yr subscription

hmmm, wonder if a person could program their own third party android tablet app?

 

[Broothru]

It's pretty much a dick move to delete a part of the basic functionality of a device after the sale, and then hold the end user hostage with a $20/year 'subscription'. I haven't read all the fine print in the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA), but I wonder if there's a codicil A-P may be violating with this unilateral money grabbing move?

Whatever angst we as users of the device feel (yes, I love mine!), the simple 'hack' around this ransomware is simple and obvious: paper and pencil brew day records, transcribed into BeerSmith or any other favorite brewing software. Don't most of us do that anyway, or am I the only OCD/anal retentive brewer on this forum?

 

[Broothru]

Drifting back to the O.P., does anyone know if there's a calibration mechanism for the EasyDens? I was cleaning mine a few days ago after use and happened to tap the 'Measure' prompt on my cell phone with distilled water in the tube. It displayed a value of 0.998 SG @ 67F. Not sure what the baseline calibration temperature of the device is for calculations (15C?), but shouldn't the ATC function correct for T delta within +/- 10F? Is their a temperature calibration function that I'm not aware of, or do I just accept a built-in 0.002 SG error which may or may not be linear?

 

[Craiginthecorn]

Perhaps I should have been clearer, but when I wrote "Of course, you can calculate these values using separate tools", I was thinking in my head about Brewfather or BeerSmith. It is not difficult to enter these values into Brewfather. It's the principle of the thing.

It's a great thought about downgrading. I have an old phone with the prior version installed. I can create an APK with it. I just realized that I failed to mention that I use a Google Pixel phone, so it's Android I'm referring to. I can only assume that the problem also exists on iOS.

 

[McMullan]

Drifting back to the O.P., does anyone know if there's a calibration mechanism for the EasyDens? I was cleaning mine a few days ago after use and happened to tap the 'Measure' prompt on my cell phone with distilled water in the tube. It displayed a value of 0.998 SG @ 67F. Not sure what the baseline calibration temperature of the device is for calculations (15C?), but shouldn't the ATC function correct for T delta within +/- 10F? Is their a temperature calibration function that I'm not aware of, or do I just accept a built-in 0.002 SG error which may or may not be linear?

I got that. I think I altered the settings by mistake. I was measuring density instead of SG with temperature during cleaning with warm water

Edit: Just checked and the density reading is supposed to be adjusted for temperature too. So not sure what's going on there I'm using DI water.

 

[Craiginthecorn]

I heard back from Anton Paar support"

Thank you for your request. I can assure you that nothing has changed in this regard in the new app. You can still create 10 batches in the free version too. If you want to delete batches proceed as follows:
-Navigate to "Batches"
-Open the Batch you want to delete
-Tap on the three dots on the right corner
-Select "Delete"

I'll just say that when this pop-up started after the app update, I already had 18 batches. I guessed that perhaps there was a free threshold that I had crossed and tried deleting a couple, but it didn't work. I can now confirm that after getting under ten batches, I was able to create a new one. How cheesy, though? Come on. Anyway, her assurance that nothing has changed is absolutely untrue. The maximum number of batches has either been added or lowered.

 

[stealthfixr]

The EasyDens was one of those purchases that I was pretty sure I would later consider frivolous but three years later it's one of my prized possessions. This is not a device that should preempt more important upgrades such as yeast starter equipment, temp controlled fermentation, or closed transfer/kegging gear. It's more like a tool meant for a brewer that has everything.

Same. I thought I was crazy spending that money on a fancy hydrometer, but the David Heath review was compelling. In use, I love the darned thing, and have found significant 'error' in my other gravity reading devices (floating hydro, refractometer & TILT). I use it three times per batch: once after the mash, after the boil and in the fermenter at batch size, just before kegging. The consistency is perfect--I can take a reading five times and get the exact same reading each time. Easy, quick, uber accurate. I am very glad I bought it.

 

[Craiginthecorn]

In spite of the silly 10-batch limitation in the app, I still agree 100% with everything that @stealthfixr just wrote.