well after a week of fermenting i did a check on gravity and i am getting 2 different results, hydro is telling me it is at 1.013 and refracto is saying 1.025 i wonder which is right, i also wonder why two different readings? thanks in advance.
Taste it. You should notice the difference in sweetness vs. dryness.
The refractometer has to be adjusted for the alchohol where the hydrometer doesn't.
i have the atc brew fractometer, so which one is correct?? or how do i adjust?
well after a week of fermenting i did a check on gravity and i am getting 2 different results, hydro is telling me it is at 1.013 and refracto is saying 1.025 i wonder which is right, i also wonder why two different readings? thanks in advance.
Once there is alcohol in a solution, the refractometer is inaccurate. There are conversion tables on the internet or in brewing software, but my experience is that they are never really accurate.
A refractometer is great for pre-fermentation readings, and a hydrometer is great for post fermentation readings. The hydrometer would be correct in this instance, since it's post fermentation.
A hydrometer measures specific gravity directly, while a refractometer infers it from the refractive index of the solution, making the assumption that the major component of the solution is sugar. When that is not the case (as in alcohol-containing solutions) a refractometer is not accurate.
There are a lot of different equations and calculators that will give you an ESTIMATE of gravity from a post-fermentation refractometer reading. Some are better than others; my favorite is here:
http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/
But these are just estimates, and will likely be off of the true gravity by a few points. A good low-gravity hydrometer (one that reads from 0.990 to 1.020) is the most accurate way to go.
i have the atc brew fractometer, so which one is correct?? or how do i adjust?
When I googled Brew fractometer the one I saw listed measured in Brix. From your 1st post you gave a measurement in SG. I'm going to guess that you did the conversion yourself to show 1.025
What were your readings in Brix Starting and ending.
I'm going to guess that with 75% attenuation, your initial reading was 12.2Brix with a final of 6.4brix. Converted to SG that would be a 1.048 start with a 1.012 finish.
Am I close?
BTW after taking many comparative readings I don't bother using the hydrometer anymore.
You can get a dual scale refractometer that shows both readings side by side.
thats the one i am using... my og was 1.053 or about 13.5 brix when i measure a week later i am grtting 1.025 or 6.2 brix... hydro says 1.012 so we are close.
Using a conversion with your Brix readings shows a 1.007 Final. That gave you 86% attenuation. What yeast did you use US-05?
i used wlp001 california ale, made a 2L starter with stir plate.
That's above the expected attenuation for that yeast, but.... anything can happen. What I often see when people read either a Hydrometer or Refractometer, is that they want to hit their goals, so they might see a higher OG than someone impartial might, and may see a slightly lower FG if needed. I'm not saying that this may have happened in your case, but it does happen with both measuring devices.
i just checked my hydrometer again and its at 1.010 down from og of 1.053 the refrac seems to stay at 1.025
I'm getting a little confused. When you shuffle between refractometer readings in Specific Gravity, or Brix. What scale do you have on your refractometer? If you have a scale that reads in SG, you are never going to get an accurate reading. If you have a dual scale SG/Brix completly ignore the SG reading. What did you use for your OG reading of 1.053?
for the og i used the refrac sg scale, the refrac has sg/brix
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