Turkey baster too short?

[free2brew]

I got myself a dedicated, sanitized, turkey baster for taking hydrometer samples from my 6.5 gal primary. Unfortunately, I found that the thing is too short to reach the top of the liquid. My batch is 5 gallons, not 5.5, but I'm wondering if anyone else has run across this problem? I had to tip the darn thing to get close enough to take a sample. Is a wine thief any longer?

Thanks!

- Chris

 

[Beerthoven]

Yes, a wine thief is much longer than a turkey baster. It will go all the way to the bottom of the carboy if you're not careful. Its worth the money.

 

[Speedfreaks101]

I bought a wine thief today and used it this evening and yes it is much longer. It is VERY easy to use and I would highly suggest getting one. They come in glass and plastic. The fellow at the brewshop said if the % of alcohol was to high then the plastic version could actually crack. We chatted about my current batch and he said it was safe for the plastic version (he was out of the glass version) since it is only going to be about 7%ABV.



Off subject:
I also picked up a Auto Siphon for racking the beer over. I had never seen one before (I am rather green at this) so I bought one. I look at it this way: anything that can reduce the chance for contamination is worth it.

 

[bradsul]

...I also picked up a Auto Siphon for racking the beer over. I had never seen one before (I am rather green at this) so I bought one...

Between the auto-syphon and a wine thief you are pretty much set, convenience-wise.

 

[Beerthoven]

... I also picked up a Auto Siphon for racking the beer over. I had never seen one before (I am rather green at this) so I bought one. I look at it this way: anything that can reduce the chance for contamination is worth it.

Autosiphons are great. Everyone should have one.

 

[malkore]

i swear by both of those. I even have the newer mini-siphon, for 1 gallon test batches and my 2.5gal carboys.

 

[free2brew]

Perfect! I'll grab a wine thief when I'm up at the LHBS this Friday. I picked up an auto-siphon last time I was there, and I'll be using it this weekend to rack my firstbrew to the bottling bucket and my secondbrew to secondary.

Cheers!



- Chris