Measuring alcohol... it seems off

[TJ Booker]

So i started a 5 gallon batch of mead about a month ago. I added a lot of honey (im still really new to this) and was sitting at 1.8 for my original reading.

I just took another reading, and now im sitting at 1.45

I followed a formula on a page i will link to find the gravity, but it went something like this

Original reading and subtract your final reading. Take this number and divide it by .00736 and it will give you your alcohol content...

So i did 1.8-1.45=.35 .35/.00736=47.55

So is my mead sitting at 47% abv?

 

[TallDan]

Your measurements must be incorrect. 1.45 is about the gravity of pure honey, so there's no way your original gravity was 1.8.

It's possible that your measurements were 1.080 and 1.045 and you're somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5-4.75% ABV

 

[TJ Booker]

Your measurements must be incorrect. 1.45 is about the gravity of pure honey, so there's no way your original gravity was 1.8.

It's possible that your measurements were 1.080 and 1.045 and you're somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5-4.75% ABV

OH! You are right! I wasn't paying close enough attention. Thank you so much!

So this guy probably has a while to go....

 

[MaxTheSpy]

So i started a 5 gallon batch of mead about a month ago. I added a lot of honey (im still really new to this) and was sitting at 1.8 for my original reading.

I just took another reading, and now im sitting at 1.45

I followed a formula on a page i will link to find the gravity, but it went something like this

Original reading and subtract your final reading. Take this number and divide it by .00736 and it will give you your alcohol content...

So i did 1.8-1.45=.35 .35/.00736=47.55

So is my mead sitting at 47% abv?

Im not quite sure about your calculations but the one that I know is true and correct and been using for years is the following:
ABV = (OG - FG) * 131.25.


Might be a little more simple than the one you are using.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Don't feel bad, those I'm still reading those guages 2-3 times to make sure I'm not dropping a zero.

 

[MaxTheSpy]

Don't feel bad, those I'm still reading those guages 2-3 times to make sure I'm not dropping a zero.

*cough* use tilt *cough*