Hydrometer use/misuse?

[Megapint]

I have never used ahydrometer in brewing before. I gave it a shot today, on the day that i would normally put in some hops for this brew. I have tested this hydrometer and it measures 0.000 at 20 celcius with distilled water.



























































































































































































































































I filled a tube with the brew, which was initially at 12 degreesquickly brought it to about 20 Celcius, required for the hydrometer. Placed hydrometer in the liquid, and spun it. Measured about 1.010. I ducked off to do a bit of research, came back in about 5 minutes and it dropped to 1.007. I took out the hydrometer and left the liquid in the tube. Maybe about 15 minutes later, i dropped the hydrometer in there and it started out at abou 1.008 and over about 20 seconds went well above 1.030.































I am not sure why the SG goes up by so much as the brew sits there? Any thoughts?































I am going to assume tHat out is about 1.010 to 1.008 in reality. It feels about righ because i brewed this one a little colder than i normally brew it, so maybe about 48 hours extra woukd be on the plans anyway. For years, i have just worked on the instructions that come with the starter kit, and made some minor corrections based on the temperature I brew at. It is brewed in a fridge, but i sometimes have to use a different yeast that requires a different temperature.















Now that i have the hydrometer, it would be ideal if i use it correctly. The change from 1.007 to 1.030+ just by leaving it 30 minutes was not expected.







































































































































































































































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A

 

[TwogunRocky]

Did you fall asleep on the return key?
Your post is 6 miles long containing mostly air.

 

[PCABrewing]

I have never used ahydrometer in brewing before. I gave it a shot today, on the day that i would normally put in some hops for this brew. I have tested this hydrometer and it measures 0.000 at 20 celcius with distilled water.



























































































































































































































































I filled a tube with the brew, which was initially at 12 degreesquickly brought it to about 20 Celcius, required for the hydrometer. Placed hydrometer in the liquid, and spun it. Measured about 1.010. I ducked off to do a bit of research, came back in about 5 minutes and it dropped to 1.007. I took out the hydrometer and left the liquid in the tube. Maybe about 15 minutes later, i dropped the hydrometer in there and it started out at abou 1.008 and over about 20 seconds went well above 1.030.































I am not sure why the SG goes up by so much as the brew sits there? Any thoughts?































I am going to assume tHat out is about 1.010 to 1.008 in reality. It feels about righ because i brewed this one a little colder than i normally brew it, so maybe about 48 hours extra woukd be on the plans anyway. For years, i have just worked on the instructions that come with the starter kit, and made some minor corrections based on the temperature I brew at. It is brewed in a fridge, but i sometimes have to use a different yeast that requires a different temperature.















Now that i have the hydrometer, it would be ideal if i use it correctly. The change from 1.007 to 1.030+ just by leaving it 30 minutes was not expected.







































































































































































































































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A

I second the "fell asleep" question, I'm guessing you tried to embed pictures.

As for the hydrometer reading, are you sure the instrument was floating AND floating free, not touching the sides of the tube?

 

[hotbeer]

Pictures would help.

As best I can tell from what sentences where scattered throughout all the whitespace is that you may have just read the readings wrong. It's easy to get confused when new to reading the hydrometer whether the big number is tenths or hundredth's and whether the graduations are hundredth's or thousandth's.

At any rate, something is wrong. You need to figure out what.

First thing is calibration temp. Do you know that your hydrometer is calibrated at 60°F ? Or is it supposed to be 68°F

Though that's isn't going to be but a point or so of difference which is immaterial for beer making... IMO.

 

[fljim]

If you are trying to take get a gravity reading based on your volume BEFORE boil, I would highly recommend using a refractometer. Much easier.

Also, I agree with hotbeer. The temperature can drastically affect the reading. Find your manual for the hydrometer and ensure that the liquid you're testing is the temperature they recommend.