how to use a hydrometer for newbies

[Rocky]

My only question concerning using a hydrometer is, How does the hydrometer know on which side of it I am standing so that it always turns the SG scale away from me?! I swear this thing is alive.

 

[jdrum]

Rocky im glad im not the only one that happens to

jim

 

[niall111]

Damn, I read this whole thread thinking someone else would surely ask this... So at the risk of looking like a complete idiot, here goes!

I have no problems with the numbers, I can figure out the readings and numbers required just fine. My problem is getting a damn reading in the first place. My hygrometer sits in a cylindrical tube like this one:
http://projectsunlight.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Trust-your-hydrometer.jpg

I assume that's how most people use theirs as well? But I'll be damned if my hygrometer has ever stood straight up on it's own like the picture indicates. I can't seem to get a level surface anywhere in my working area, so i'm forced to use my fingers to TRY and keep the hygrometer straight, but for such a sensitive measurement, I feel like trying to get it to float vertically is just affecting the measurement too much, no? If I make a small ring by bending my index finger it seems like there's too much friction when the hygrometer touches my skin, and it won't "float" properly? How do normal people handle this!?

 

[jamesngalveston]

try getting a smaller tube, and fill it to the very top

 

[GEM]

Maybe you need a new hydrometer if it is not sitting straight up in the tube and must. I use mine both in a tube and in the bucket and it always sits straight up. Don't know why yours does not do that too. Read at the bottom of the miniscus or if it is at an angle, read at the midpoint of the miniscus. For less than $10 I would just get a new one, especially since most of us break them occasionally. Cheers, Gary

 

[cmason1957]

Always have two (or maybe three) hydrometers in your work area. They break at the absolutely worst times possible.

I do have sort of a solution to that being on the wrong side. I always buy hydrometers with colored paper and if it is on the wrong side, I get the measurement on whatever side it presents to me, then trace around to the SG scale. It mostly seems to work.

 

[FABulousWines]

Always have two (or maybe three) hydrometers in your work area. They break at the absolutely worst times possible.

I do have sort of a solution to that being on the wrong side. I always buy hydrometers with colored paper and if it is on the wrong side, I get the measurement on whatever side it presents to me, then trace around to the SG scale. It mostly seems to work.

I broke mine on a Saturday afternoon and got to the LHBS with just 10 minutes to closing time. Close call. I came home with two.

Agree with the others. If it doesn't stand vertical on its own, somethings wrong. It should have weight in the bottom which causes it to float vertically. Can you post a pic?

 

[fabrictodyefor]

ok, since I seem to be having hydrometer issues.....Neither side of my numbers look like yours One side starts at 0 and goes up in increments of 5's and at the top it says Tralle the other side starts at 0 and goes up in increments of 10's and says Proof at the top. And I did get this at a wine making shop. Any suggestions?

 

[jamesngalveston]

This Proof and Tralle Hydrometer is a professional grade hydrometer that has a scale that goes to 200 proof. It is used to calculate proof in higher alcoholic beverages as it is not accurate for lower alcohol products like beer or wine.
I would get a regular everyday wine making hydrometer..unless you are going to do some cooking on the back woods stove.

 

[fabrictodyefor]

thank you for the info, this hydro is what the wine making shop sold to me....I'll be going back there and asking them about this. She knew I was only making wine, not the hard stuff!

 

[Pamrn35]

I'm really hoping this is the appropriate place to post this question. I'm extremely new to this...as in very first time attempting to make muscadine wine. I'm using kirk's Muscadine wine recipe I found on Pinterest, it's very basic and I didn't take a sg level when I began...I got a little nervous about it not turning out very well so I bought a hydrometer and took a reading today, which is day 5 of my primary fermentation, sg level is 1.132 is this good, bad or ugly....if ugly can it be fixed?

 

[Julie]

Well, you are either going to have a very high alcohol wine or an ok alcohol and a very sweet wine.

 

[Pamrn35]

Ok, thx....at this point , it there anything I can do to counter the high sweetness?

 

[Sammyk]

Not sure if this will help now but we used Kirk's recipe on the 2nd wine we made in 2011. Not enough berries and very light on flavor. On the advice here we added more blueberries and a can of Vinter's Harvest Blueberry to what we had going. It turned out to be one of our favorites and only a few bottles left now.
Do you have a LHBS that is open today?

 

[fabrictodyefor]

I have read and re-read this thread several times. My very first batch of choke cherry wine, I did not have the correct hydrometer. So, this morning right before I added the yeast, I tested my new batch of plum wine. It read 1.1010. Per the picture that means hot to rocket fuel. And what does "hot to rocket fuel" mean?

 

[barryjo]

I have read and re-read this thread several times. My very first batch of choke cherry wine, I did not have the correct hydrometer. So, this morning right before I added the yeast, I tested my new batch of plum wine. It read 1.1010. Per the picture that means hot to rocket fuel. And what does "hot to rocket fuel" mean?

"Hot to rocket fuel" is a "slight" exaggeration of the alcohol content of the finished wine. Depending on how the ferment goes, you will have a high alcohol wine or a sweet wine. Either will usually require some "doctoring" at the end. Depending on the severity.

 

[fabrictodyefor]

So, should I have taken a hydrometer reading before I added the sugar? And if the reading was high, could I have then added less sugar than the recipe called for? This is the recipe I used: ( although I multiplied by 5)
•6 lbs plums
•1-1/2 lbs fine granulated sugar
•Water to one gallon
•1-1/2 tsp acid blend
•1 tsp pectic enzyme
•3/4 tsp yeast nutrient
•1/4 tsp yeast energizer
•1/8 tsp grape tannin
•wine yeast
I do prefer a dry rather than a sweet wine. Thanks for the response and the help

 

[barryjo]

So, should I have taken a hydrometer reading before I added the sugar? And if the reading was high, could I have then added less sugar than the recipe called for? This is the recipe I

Because fruit can have varying amounts of sugar, a SG reading is always advisable before adding more. Then you add sugar to bring up the SG to an acceptable level, depending on how dry you want it. Also, I have found that using simple syrup to sweeten is easier to mix in than granulated.
Simple syrup: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water. Gently simmer for about 10 minutes to make sure the sugar has completely dissolved. If it has not dissloved, you will have rock candy form in the bottle of the container!!!
The amount of sugar given in a recipe I take as a suggestion.

Keep wining. It makes you feel better!

 

[jamesngalveston]

i let the pectin break down the fruit for a day are two..then take my hydrometer reading....then add my sugar to get to what I use (1.110).

 

[fabrictodyefor]

LOL, not many know where Wright, WY is! Thanks, barryjo, this is only my second batch of wine. Compared to my dad's way of making wine, this is rocket science! We'll just have to see how it goes and if I need to "fix" it down the road I'm sure I'll have more questions! Just racked my choke cherry for the second time this morning. Didn't have the correct hydrometer during my initial making....but now it reads 1.040. It is still working, but the way I understand it, I should rack it about once a month....until???? After I syphoned it into the carboy I sat and watched for a few minutes and was glad to see it still working! It is pretty clear, but probably not clear enough. Will that 1.040 number go down as it continues to work? Also how much "space" at the top of the carboy is acceptable? I made what I thought was 7 1/2 gal....but when racked it fits into 1) 5 gallon and 2) one gallons...and the one gallons have more than a couple of inches of head room. should I get marbles to fill the space?