How do you store/protect your hydrometer?

[beergears]

The hydrometer is rather delicate instrument.... how do you store it or protect it from breakage?

 

[Brakeman_Brewing]

In Seabee John's garage.

 

[Yooper]

I stick it back in the tube it came in and put it in my "brewer's drawer" with the chemicals and airlocks.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

The hydrometer is rather delicate instrument.... how do you store it or protect it from breakage?

Decades ago, I protected mine by never, ever, ever using it, and just leaving it on the shelf.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I use it regularly, store it in the sample jar and hope for the best. I'm sure I'll manage to break it eventually though.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I store my spare in the tube it came in the other one it the sample tube. At least they are not expensive, I only broke one so far.

 

[Poindexter]

I leave mine loose on a cupboard shelf with all the rest of the small random brewing tools, bottle brush, sample tube, couple airlocks. I figure knowing the hydrometer is in there, loose and fragile reminds me to treat all that stuff gently.

 

[Bobby_M]

I put it in short piece of vinyl tubing 5/8" ID or whatever fits snug, then it goes into the test tube.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

I finger if it got here in one piece from China, Mexico or wherethehellever in the plastic tube I bought it in, it will survive just fine in my brew closet in said plastic tube.

 

[TheJadedDog]

I just use the tube it came in. I have broken 2 hydrometers in the last year, but they are cheap and if I am already buying a bunch of other stuff my lhbs just gives them to me for free.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Mine stays right in my hydrometer thief. It'd have to slide quite a way to fall out of that. I can run water/cleaner right through it, and dip it right into my spare keg of starsan.

 

[Evan!]

Mine sits in the tube it came in, which in turn sits in the small bucket of star san.

 

[david_42]

I keep them both in the box one of them came in.

 

[abracadabra]

When I first started frequenting this site I read where so many people were breaking them I decided to protect mine by putting it in the orginal tube and leaving it there. Then buy a refractometer so I don't have to worry about the fragile POS.

 

[Shockerengr]

i think mine is in it's tube in a drawer somewhere....don't really know tho because i stopped using it.

I'll use my refractometer sometimes if i'm curious what the OG is, but i haven't checked a FG in a long time. I just wait long enough for fermentation to finish and go by taste, if it's too sweet or too dry, i make adjustments the next time through

I keg though, so I don't have bottle bombs to worry about.

 

[TexLaw]

Decades ago, I protected mine by never, ever, ever using it, and just leaving it on the shelf.

I've used that method, as well. It works pretty well!

Nowadays, I put it in my sample flask and put the tube it came in into the flask and on top of the hydrometer (minus the little lid). The two fit together fairly tightly, so my hydrometer doesn't fall out the the flask.


TL

 

[BeerAg]

I put mine in the tube it came in, and put that in the bottom of my brew day toolbox with the rest of my thermometers / wine theif / airlocks etc.

 

[bradsul]

I keep mine in the tube it came in and that in turn is inside the sample jar.

 

[MikeInCtown]

Mine just sits in the pastic tube it came in and gets moved between buckets with all the other stuff. Once I need to use it -pull out, sanitize, use, rinse, sanitize again, dry and put back into tube. Takes all of a minute or so. It's not like I'm putting a boat away for the winter.

 

[5 Is Not Enough]

2 of them float constantly in a bucket of starsan.
That is until I use the bucket to sanitize other items(bottles...), then I just lay them on a paper towel, do what I gotta do, then back in the sanitizer...

 

[feedthebear]

All mine are "stored" at the municipal landfill. The new refractometer arrived today.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

All mine are "stored" at the municipal landfill. The new refractometer arrived today.

Personally, I think that if I had to pick one, I would almost be more likely to throw out the refractometer at this point... But I guess if I stopped caring about getting FG readings it wouldn't be so bad.

 

[BierMuncher]

Note:

Never...ever hold the thin end of the hydrometer and give it a shake to dry it off.

End Note

 

[carnevoodoo]

Mine is currently among some forks and knives in my dish drainer. Sometimes it lives in my sample tube and sometimes it just hangs out wherever I forget to put it away from. So far it has done well.