Hydrometer SOS...

[Moezart]

Hello everyone!!!
I dropped my hydrometer and it chattered into pieces!!! Ah I hate my life right now, not because it is such a rare item... well! kind of because where I live it is impossible to find.
I contacted my local laboratory equipement suppliers and what they have is an alcohol meter but no hydrometers.

Until I travel, I do not have access to a hydrometer. Is there any other method or device that I could use instead lf the hydrometer? Or is it possible to use the alcohol meter to measure potential alcohol?

Thank u so much for all the help.

 

[Miraculix]

Order one (Better two, for obvious reasons) online?

 

[Moezart]

Order one (Better two, for obvious reasons) online?

That is another problem too. In this stupid country i can't order online...

 

[Miraculix]

That is another problem too. In this stupid country i can't order online...

Uh, that's a tough one then. Sorry, cannot be much of help. Maybe you could create a sugar solution with a known gravity by using a precise scale, then weigh a known volume of the control solution and afterwards the same volume filled worth wort. With the weight difference you should be able to calculate the actual gravity of ...... Moment..... You could actually just use a known and precise volume and a precise scale. Measure the weight of the wort inside the volume and you can easily divide it to get the actual gravity of the wort.

 

[Moezart]

Uh, that's a tough one then. Sorry, cannot be much of help. Maybe you could create a sugar solution with a known gravity by using a precise scale, then weigh a known volume of the control solution and afterwards the same volume filled worth wort. With the weight difference you should be able to calculate the actual gravity of ...... Moment..... You could actually just use a known and precise volume and a precise scale. Measure the weight of the wort inside the volume and you can easily divide it to get the actual gravity of the wort.

Nice!!!! I think I'll give that a shot. Thank you!

 

[Miraculix]

Nice!!!! I think I'll give that a shot. Thank you!

I might actually do the same to see if my hydrometer works correctly. Bought a second one, both show the same value for plain water but the higher the gravity, the bigger the difference gets... Question now is, which one is correct???

 

[Moezart]

I might actually do the same to see if my hydrometer works correctly. Bought a second one, both show the same value for plain water but the higher the gravity, the bigger the difference gets... Question now is, which one is correct???

Great input, thanks a lot!

 

[Velnerj]

You could try this:

https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Hydrometer

 

[bucketnative]

Do you have an accurate scale and a volumetric pipette or graduated cylinder?

1 mL water = 1 g by definition... so by weighing a know volume of your wort/beer you can get the specific gravity.

 

[eric19312]

@Velnerj 's post above looks promising. More so than trying to accurately measure two things (weight and volume of sample) with enough precision to report out SG.

But for now you should know lots of people brew without hydrometer readings at all. Not me. I like collecting data. But lots of people and many of them make excellent beer. If you are looking to avoid bottling too soon and over carbonating or creating bottle bombs you could just leave the beer alone in your primary fermentor for a few days longer than you would expect. Most average strength ales will be done in a week or so. If you give them 2-3 weeks in primary your chance of bottling too early is really low.

 

[Moezart]

@Velnerj 's post above looks promising. More so than trying to accurately measure two things (weight and volume of sample) with enough precision to report out SG.

But for now you should know lots of people brew without hydrometer readings at all. Not me. I like collecting data. But lots of people and many of them make excellent beer. If you are looking to avoid bottling too soon and over carbonating or creating bottle bombs you could just leave the beer alone in your primary fermentor for a few days longer than you would expect. Most average strength ales will be done in a week or so. If you give them 2-3 weeks in primary your chance of bottling too early is really low.

Thank you, Eric!

 

[Moezart]

@Velnerj 's post above looks promising. More so than trying to accurately measure two things (weight and volume of sample) with enough precision to report out SG.

But for now you should know lots of people brew without hydrometer readings at all. Not me. I like collecting data. But lots of people and many of them make excellent beer. If you are looking to avoid bottling too soon and over carbonating or creating bottle bombs you could just leave the beer alone in your primary fermentor for a few days longer than you would expect. Most average strength ales will be done in a week or so. If you give them 2-3 weeks in primary your chance of bottling too early is really low.

I love your input!!! Really!
As we speak, my English ale is on its 13th day in primary so I am kind of feeling comfortable to cold crash it for a few days then bottle it.. what do you think?

 

[ncbrewer]

As we speak, my English ale is on its 13th day in primary so I am kind of feeling comfortable to cold crash it for a few days then bottle it.. what do you think?

"Do you feel lucky, punk?" (Clint Eastwood of course)

 

[FloppyKnockers]

That is another problem too. In this stupid country i can't order online...

I'll be the first to ask...What stupid country are you in? North Korea?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Another option would be to have somebody ship you one. Is that allowed?

 

[eric19312]

I love your input!!! Really!
As we speak, my English ale is on its 13th day in primary so I am kind of feeling comfortable to cold crash it for a few days then bottle it.. what do you think?

Here are some things to consider.
- when did you last see steady airlock activity? If you were seeing it steady up to day 6 then it slowed from days 7-9 and haven't seen anything other than occasional bubbles last 3 days you may be in the clear. If you never saw airlock activity you might not have a great seal on your fermentor. Beer is probably fine but can't use that as indicator of "doneness"
- what does the beer look like (if you are fermenting in clear vessel). English ale yeast does a great job dropping out of suspension without need for cold crash when it is done. If your beer looked kinda murky on day 8 but now looks clear like iced tea on day 13 you are probably good.
- how big was this beer? Lower gravity beers go pretty fast. If your expecting less than 6% ABV as in many british ales you are probably in good shape. If your british ale is more like a 10% barley wine it could need longer.
- how healthy was your yeast? A well treated pack of dry yeast in a standard bitter... You are done. A sketchy smack pack of liquid yeast that was expired and might not of been kept cold during that long storage and took 4 days to get going in your 14% extra-super-imperial-strong-british-old-stock-ale? Might need more time.

Hope this helps. Am curious about a country where it is ok to buy an alcohol proofing hydrometer but you can't get one for beer...

 

[kh54s10]

I'd be interested to know what country these days does not have some internet? If you can get online you should be able to order somehow. From another country?

 

[Moezart]

Here are some things to consider.
- when did you last see steady airlock activity? If you were seeing it steady up to day 6 then it slowed from days 7-9 and haven't seen anything other than occasional bubbles last 3 days you may be in the clear. If you never saw airlock activity you might not have a great seal on your fermentor. Beer is probably fine but can't use that as indicator of "doneness"
- what does the beer look like (if you are fermenting in clear vessel). English ale yeast does a great job dropping out of suspension without need for cold crash when it is done. If your beer looked kinda murky on day 8 but now looks clear like iced tea on day 13 you are probably good.
- how big was this beer? Lower gravity beers go pretty fast. If your expecting less than 6% ABV as in many british ales you are probably in good shape. If your british ale is more like a 10% barley wine it could need longer.
- how healthy was your yeast? A well treated pack of dry yeast in a standard bitter... You are done. A sketchy smack pack of liquid yeast that was expired and might not of been kept cold during that long storage and took 4 days to get going in your 14% extra-super-imperial-strong-british-old-stock-ale? Might need more time.

Hope this helps. Am curious about a country where it is ok to buy an alcohol proofing hydrometer but you can't get one for beer...

Hey Eric. Thanks for taking the time.
To answer your questions:
This is my 5th brew using a plastic bucket fermenter, and I have never seen any airlock activity. All the beers turned out fine so far.

I used US 04 YEAST, and I am expecting less than 6% ABV
Since i cannot see through the fermenter i cannot tell if it is murky or not, but i have used Irish moss. That is why i wanted to cold crash it just to be on the safe side.
About my country, it is Tunisia. You could order online but only if you are an expat with his VISA or MASTERCARD, then you could get stuff ordered and shipped. But for us Tunisians with our local banks' cards we don't have that luxury yet... some weird economic protectionism non-sense...
We don't even have the culture of home brewing anyway... i think i am the only home brewer in this country!!!

Again thanks a lot Eric!

 

[Moezart]

I'd be interested to know what country these days does not have some internet? If you can get online you should be able to order somehow. From another country?

About my country, it is Tunisia. You could order online but only if you are an expat with his VISA or MASTERCARD, then you could get stuff ordered and shipped. But for us Tunisians with our local banks' cards we don't have that luxury yet... some weird economic protectionism non-sense... We don't even have the culture of home brewing anyway... i think i am the only home brewer in this country!!!

 

[ba-brewer]

when you get a new hydrometer buy a refractometer too. You need a calculator once fermentation starts but at least you have a more robust back up. Less waste when checking for terminal gravity and useful to check mash conversion.

 

[MaxStout]

How about good, old-school mail-order? Find what you want online, email them and ask if they will accept a check, money order, etc., sent through the mail. Perhaps there is a supply company in the EU that will ship to you. Shipping costs may be a little high, but at least you would get what you want. Order a couple hydrometers, just in case you break another one (as many of us have already!).

 

[kh54s10]

See if you can access something like PayPal. There are different ways you can pay them including direct withdrawals from a checking or savings account. You might also be able to load up and account by prepaying then a purchase would be deducted from your account balance.

 

[divrack]

Hydrometers are an overrated item in my opinion. They are like making constant phone calls to your mechanic to check how the work on the car is coming on. You feel like it's helping somehow and it's nice to think you know what's happening but in reality it's better to just trust that everything is going to be fine. Any time I bother to use one I'm pretty much where I expected to be, and terminal gravity is terminal gravity. If you don't like it there isn't much you can do by knowing what it is.
Sours maybe it's good to have one but even then it's just an added excuse to need with it and possibly **** it up for no reason.
My problem is smashing thermometers. Now that is an essential item.

 

[divrack]

Hello everyone!!!
I dropped my hydrometer and it chattered into pieces!!! Ah I hate my life right now, not because it is such a rare item... well! kind of because where I live it is impossible to find.
I contacted my local laboratory equipement suppliers and what they have is an alcohol meter but no hydrometers.

Until I travel, I do not have access to a hydrometer. Is there any other method or device that I could use instead lf the hydrometer? Or is it possible to use the alcohol meter to measure potential alcohol?

Thank u so much for all the help.

I'm curious where you live that has a lab supply shop but no internet delivery.
Are you in the olden days?

 

[Moezart]

It is frustrating, i know.

Im just gonna wait till i travel next time to get my fill on Yeast.l, hopastbottle caps... hydrometer...

 

[Moezart]

Hydrometers are an overrated item in my opinion. They are like making constant phone calls to your mechanic to check how the work on the car is coming on. You feel like it's helping somehow and it's nice to think you know what's happening but in reality it's better to just trust that everything is going to be fine. Any time I bother to use one I'm pretty much where I expected to be, and terminal gravity is terminal gravity. If you don't like it there isn't much you can do by knowing what it is.
Sours maybe it's good to have one but even then it's just an added excuse to need with it and possibly fudge it up for no reason.
My problem is smashing thermometers. Now that is an essential item.

I agree!

 

[Moezart]

I'm curious where you live that has a lab supply shop but no internet delivery.
Are you in the olden days?

About my country, it is Tunisia. You could order online but only if you are an expat with his VISA or MASTERCARD, then you could get stuff ordered and shipped. But for us Tunisians with our local banks' cards we don't have that luxury yet... some weird economic protectionism non-sense... We don't even have the culture of home brewing anyway... i think i am the only home brewer in this country!!!

 

[divrack]

Or, you are the best Homebrewer in the country...
I guess you could do a money order to get the stuff sent, but that's a bit complicated I guess.

 

[Moezart]

Or, you are the best Homebrewer in the country...
I guess you could do a money order to get the stuff sent, but that's a bit complicated I guess.

Lol. I guess i am the only home brewer here that makes me the best one!

 

[kh54s10]

Hydrometers are an overrated item in my opinion. They are like making constant phone calls to your mechanic to check how the work on the car is coming on. You feel like it's helping somehow and it's nice to think you know what's happening but in reality it's better to just trust that everything is going to be fine. Any time I bother to use one I'm pretty much where I expected to be, and terminal gravity is terminal gravity. If you don't like it there isn't much you can do by knowing what it is.
Sours maybe it's good to have one but even then it's just an added excuse to need with it and possibly fudge it up for no reason.
My problem is smashing thermometers. Now that is an essential item.

Until you have a problem fermentation, don't or can't take a reading, and create bottle bombs.