Hydrometer reading question

[bernardsmith]

Refrac ? But yeah i know to take a reading in the begining now but should i do that before or after pitching the yeast ? Wait the refrac do you mean that other meter ? I heard those don't work very well was i told wrong ?

A refractometer is useful for reading the sugar content of fruit, and not useful for measuring the sugar content of a solution that includes alcohol unless you have access to a complex calculator that can compensate for the alcohol. Refractometers use the way light bends when it passes through water to determine how much of some other matter is dissolved in the water (juice is, for all intents and purposes, water + sugar) After you pitch yeast into juice then you have some alcohol and light bends quite differently as it passes through alcohol.
If you are growing fruit and you want to know if they are at the peak of ripeness (because you know how much sugar should be present in the fruit) a refractometer is perfect. If you are a home wine maker looking to know approximately how much sugar you have left in a wine you are fermenting an hydrometer is all you need.

 

[Dan O]

This may help to clear up any confusion about taking readings

https://www.brewmart.co.uk/how-to-use-a-hydrometer1/

 

[marc1]

Remember to read any liquid at the meniscus.

Not all hydrometers are calibrated this way. You need to read the directions for that hydrometer, or test it in water and see where it reads 0.000. My hydrometer was made to be read at the top of the meniscus.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/read-my-hydrometer-plz.691646/#post-9093602

 

[Kenpachi Z]

Of course, via math. Google "abv calculator brewers friend" and hack in your starting gravity and your final gravity. The calculator will give you a good estimation. For higher abv brews, above about 9%, you might want to use the alternative formula. Should be pretty straightforward!

Awesome ! Thanks

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Any grad

Not all hydrometers are calibrated this way. You need to read the directions for that hydrometer, or test it in water and see where it reads 0.000. My hydrometer was made to be read at the top of the meniscus.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/read-my-hydrometer-plz.691646/#post-9093602

I'd like to see that hydrometer.

 

[marc1]

Any grad


I'd like to see that hydrometer.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

And what makes you believe you should read " My hydrometer was made to be read at the top of the meniscus. "? All volumes are read at the bottom slope of the meniscus.

 

[balrog]

Yeah, unfortunately that hydrometer merely needs an adjustment as the paper inside was not glued at the right place to measure properly 1.000, bottom meniscus, when in distilled water, at the hydrometer's calibration temp.

Even fancy expanded scale hydrometers (aka ones for old folk's eyes like mine) can be off, and that is why kids, we **ALWAYS** calibrate our tools. And every so often, check them.

 

[marc1]

Yeah, unfortunately that hydrometer merely needs an adjustment as the paper inside was not glued at the right place to measure properly 1.000, bottom meniscus, when in distilled water, at the hydrometer's calibration temp.

Even fancy expanded scale hydrometers (aka ones for old folk's eyes like mine) can be off, and that is why kids, we **ALWAYS** calibrate our tools. And every so often, check them.

If you read the link I provided, the instructions for the hydrometer say to read from the top. That's how it was calibrated from the factory.

 

[balrog]

Ok then.