More Specific Hydrometer

[kirbyclk]

just curious...

my hydrometer goes from .990 to 1.06

I was wondering if there is a hydrometer that goes from .990 to 1.02 or 1.03 so that I can get a more specific reading for finishing wines?

Obviously this wouldn't work for getting and initial S.G. but for a dry and slightly sweetened wine I would think this would be a lot easier to read and much more accurate.

 

[Wade E]

Me thinks reading glasses would be easier to get and much cheaper! Honestly I dont know if they make one.

 

[grapeman]

They are called a narrow range hydrometer and can be picked up from a lot of brew stores. They can be from a bit over $10 to quite expensive depending on the source, accuracy and quality. Lab quality is highest price but most accurate.

 

[cpfan]

just curious...

my hydrometer goes from .990 to 1.06

This sounds like a narrow range hydrometer. Standard hydrometers go above 1.100.

Steve

 

[JohnT]

I share your pain. I find that these darn things are hard to read (especially for my sad, tired old eyes)!

I have been on the hunt for something that is easier to read. With my luck, when I finally find one, it will cost $100.00 and will break into a million pieces once I get it.

 

[deboard]

I have the kind that knows where I'm looking and immediately turns so I can't see the SG scale.

 

[JohnT]

I have the kind that knows where I'm looking and immediately turns so I can't see the SG scale.

<crack> <-- the sound that always happens when someone pulls my leg...

 

[djrockinsteve]

Yes there is such a hydrometer but the stores around me do not carry it. It would have to be ordered. Don't know the price.

I want one so as to monitor the final fermentation during the last 2 days or so.

I would also want one that would shine the reading on the ceiling like those clocks. This way all I would have to do is look up to get the reading and probably have to turn around since the scale always shys away from me.

 

[xoltri]

I stopped using my hydrometer and bought a refractometer. I use it from the start to the end of fermentation using a chart I created to correct for the error introduced after alcohol is being produced. It is just as accurate as the hydrometer, and much less annoying to use.

You don't have to worry about bubbles on the hydrometer skewing your readings, there is less stuff to clean after you take a reading, it's much faster, not affected by temperature, it never breaks, the reading isn't obscured by foam or by the scale spinning out of view, and you only need a sample that's a few drops. Whew.

 

[JohnT]

I feel ya, but I find that all of that math is a bit of a pain (and I hold a degree in mathmatics).

 

[Runningwolf]

Check Amazon or some scientific sites. Look at www.cynmar.com . They have a .90 -.95 or .95-1.0 for $12.00

 

[Sparky]

I measure the OB with a refractometer before and after sugar addition. Using a refractometer during the fermentation, I just don't get a clear enough line to determine the brix. During fermentation, I use the my wide gauge hydrometer, once I see it nearing 5 brix, I switch and use a narrow gauge hydrometer -5 to 5 brix.
Mine is a bellwether unit. I think I paid about $20. Very nice. The upper portion glass portion is skinny and it does feels like it might break easy.

 

[xoltri]

Using a refractometer during the fermentation, I just don't get a clear enough line to determine the brix.

Try turning it upside down. The solids in the wine will fall away from the prism and the line will sharpen up in 5-10 seconds.

 

[Sparky]

Well I'll be a .... Upside down worked. I might have to incorporate it into my process.

Thanks for the tip.