Hydrometers

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

5WTFLYBUM

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2013
Messages
85
Reaction score
5
Does any body have a marine aquarium hydrometer and a brewing hydrometer that can compare them and tell me if they are the same? I have an expensive one for my reef tank and am wondering if it is calibrated the same or not. If so I could sterilize and use it until I can get a brew hydrometer.
 
If the hydrometer you have has a scale that includes .098 through 1.120 and increments of .002 or smaller, it'll work just fine. That covers for the most part the spectrum of beers that any normal homebrewer is likely to brew.
 
Okay I finally got a good answer from a reliable source. The answer is no. My niece's husband is a physicist and home brewer. He said that they are calibrated diferently. So I was near the "local" home brew store, they are two hours away. I got a hydrometer and test tube.
 
An aquarium hydrometer should still be able to be used for brewing. Most brewing hydrometers are calibrated for 60°F while most aquarium hydrometers are calibrated at 75 or 77°F. You just have to use a temperature correction calculator based on the calibration temp, which rules out most of the ones found on brewing sites or in brewing software. The main reason brewers don't use aquarium hydrometers is that their scales typically don't go to high enough SG's for most beers. The ones I've seen only go up to 1.030 or 1.035.
 
Back
Top