Is my hydrometer broken??

[abrewnoob]

Hey I've been having different readings with my hydro so someone suggested to drop it into some water and see if it was faulty. This is a pic I took in slightly colder then room temp tap water. Is it reading correctly?
Thanks everyone!

View attachment 1450057128226.jpg

 

[MarkKF]

You need to look at it from the water level not above looking down. But it does look close to 1.000

 

[seabrew8]

Hydrometers can be compared/calibrated simply with drinkable water. And 1.00 is the standard, referenced from the density of H20.

 

[abrewnoob]

Awesome thanks for that

 

[bernardsmith]

hydrometers are in fact calibrated to read the density of water (specific gravity) at 1.000 at a specific temperature. As the temperature drops the density of the water gets heavier. Your hydrometer may indicate the temperature it was calibrated for. It could be 60F or 68F. If the liquid is colder than the calibrated temp or warmer the reading will not be accurate.

 

[martyjhuebs]

Buy a refractometer... it'll solve half your problems. As far as final gravity, make sure the temperature is correct and use distilled water.