So does anyone know where i might be able to buy a hydrometer from? My LHBS is closed today and i broke mine yesterday. I have the day off from work so i am going to brew another batch. I havent been able to find a place that sells them near me. does anyone know of what chain store might sell them? thanks for any help.
need hydrometer!!!
- Thread starter seckert
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I have brewed a few batches without a hydro, start to finish. If you can't find one today, I would suggest you just go ahead without it. Especially if doing extract you don't need one until your testing to see if its fermented out yet. I would just go ahead and brew, buy the hydro during the week so you can test for fermentation completion.
Just my suggestion anyway. Goodluck!
Just my suggestion anyway. Goodluck!
I only use my hydrometer once during my brew day. I never take gravity reading of my pre boil wort so if you went that route you could take a sample (in a covered sanatized container) and check the gravity when you can get your new hydrometer.
Eric
Eric
seckert
Well-Known Member
i know you "can" do it without as i had no choice yesterday when i dropped mine...lol I put it in the bucket and it is bubbling away all happy in the fermentation chamber. I just would like the peace of mind of knowing that i am close to my OG. I never even bothered using one when i do extract since you have no control over it anyway...lol If i am not able to get one i will probably brew anyway and just hope my process is good enough to get me close...
I would recommend investing in a refractometer for any pre-fermentation gravity readings. They're quicker, require a smaller sample, easier to read, and most importantly they are harder to break. They are also very accurate. Something to think about after this ordeal.
See if you have a lab supply in your area,they'd have it. The drug stores around here used to sell lab stuff untill the home drug makers discovered them. Now it's illegal here. Or search for lhbs's around your area you may not have known about.
seckert
Well-Known Member
i have been thinking about getting a refractometer, but i just cant get over the price...lol of course you are right about the size of the sample being much smaller! I did a search of lhbs and there is only one that is within an hour...
the lab suppliers are not for personal buying i found out today as well. probably due to the drug makers that you refered to.
the lab suppliers are not for personal buying i found out today as well. probably due to the drug makers that you refered to.
Well,then go to the lhbs that's open. Ya do whatcha gotta do,doesn't mean that you gotta like it. That's what pop taught us. Too bad about the lab supply. I used to get test tubes,flasks,etc cheap at Discount Drug Mart back on the OG.
seckert
Well-Known Member
if the lhbs was open then i would go there! lol the one that is possibly open is an hour plus away. not gonna drive 2 hours to get something, besides by the time i do that the day would be shot, just going to brew and save a sample for when my new one comes. already have it ordered on NB
Does anyone know what the scale on aquarium hydrometers is?
Seems to me that's what my BIL used to check the salinity of his salt water aquarium with.
They use those and even refractometers in serious fish owning. I just don't know what the range on those are. Probably only a narrow range though.
Yeah,pretty narrow range as I remember. Been a while since he showed me. He raised salt water fish & I bred fresh/brackish water fish. Main concern with me was changing 1/4-1/3 of the water in the aquariums with spring water every other week. He could go to pet smart or other aquarium shop & check them out...
Yes they sell them.....
I think I asked that question TWICE already in this thread....
Call a pet store and ask them, or do a google search and look to see what the online info says.
If I remember correctly, they are a small range. Most don't go above 1.035 or so. Would be fine for finding the FG but not so much an OG.
i have been thinking about getting a refractometer, but i just cant get over the price...lol of course you are right about the size of the sample being much smaller! I did a search of lhbs and there is only one that is within an hour...
You can get a refractometer for something like $15-20.
seckert
Well-Known Member
point me in the direction of the refractometer for that price. the ones i have seen have been 45ish...
Are you brewing allgrain or extract? If it's extract just brew and go by what the recipe says. If you're topping off to the correct final volume then your beer will be what the recipe says.
seckert
Well-Known Member
Im all grain. when i do extract i dont even take any readings. i bought a hydrometer when i first started then realized that there was no need to even use it. so i put it away until i started all grain...
Shoot. Unless you have your efficiency dialed in, you're hosed...Jflongo has a good idea, where I used to live there was a liquor store that had an aisle of homebrew supplies. It was great for just such a situation, or running out of bottle caps at 10pm on a Sunday night.
seckert
Well-Known Member
i have never seen them sell that stuff at a liquor store here in FL. I always have a ton of bottle caps as i have had that happen before. this is the first hydrometer i have broken though...im just gonna brew it since i normally am pretty close to the OG anyway...unless something crazy happens it will be all good. Just have to finish a couple things before i get started.
There are about 4 liquor stores with 20 minutes of where I live, only 1/4 sell home brew items, you may just want to call then ones by your house and ask.
Also, I have broken 3 of the small hydrometers, now I have 2 of the larger ones just incase one breaks. It's always good to have 2
I will probably be investing in a refractometer this spring as well.seckert
Well-Known Member
none of the ones around me have them...i just hope my brew comes out. i had to brew today because my father in law is coming in a little bit over a month and he puts a hurting on my pipeline, well we both do when he is in town! 
so i brewed one batch yesterday and im doing one today. if i didnt get them done this weekend then they wouldnt be ready. i agree that having an extra on hand is a good idea and if i learned nothing else from this it is that i always want an extra!
so i brewed one batch yesterday and im doing one today. if i didnt get them done this weekend then they wouldnt be ready. i agree that having an extra on hand is a good idea and if i learned nothing else from this it is that i always want an extra!Ebay. They are about $30 on Amazon. Got mine off of Ebay and it is dead on with the hydrometer. I don't use it any more since I brew extract and don't take OG readings anymore.
