How do I use a Hydrometer?

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Can someone give me instruction on how to use a Hydrometer please, I got this one

FarmerGreen

Give it a good clean and sterilise it.
Lower gently into you bucket of brew.
Read off the the scale. (there is a calculation for temperature, it should say on the box)
I leave mine in the bucket so as not to risk infections, but you'll need to swish it around to get the bubbles off when you want to take a reading.

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it goes into the fermenter?

does it just float in there, or what?

FarmerGreen

It floats,just take the reading at the liquid level.

1080 = 1Kg sugar in 1 Gallon of water
1040 ish = beer original gravity
1008 = quarter original gravity, end of fermentation
Sugar based brews can ferment out to 998.

You need to take a reading at the start of fermentation.

oblivious

FarmerGreen wrote: »

It floats,just take the reading at the liquid level.

1080 = 1Kg sugar in 1 Gallon of water
1040 ish = beer original gravity
1008 = quarter original gravity, end of fermentation
Sugar based brews can ferment out to 998.

You need to take a reading at the start of fermentation.

Also check the temp of the brew as hydrometers are generally calibrated at 20c and higher or lower temps will need to be corrected for the change in density of the liquid

Here is a very good guide on how to use them and temp correction table
How to brew:Using Hydrometers

Mantel

To get a good idea of how it works fill a large jug with water, a pint glass might be too shallow for the job depending on the size of it. Lower it in slowly, if you let it go in fairly fast it can torpedo itself to the bottom and break. Water has a gravity of 1.000 so testing it in water is a good start because you know what reading you should get.

You can drop it straight in to the brewing mix or if you can get something like a wine thief or turkey baster and a hyrometer tube you can take a sample out and test for gravity... and taste test

tolosenc

If my hydrometer readings aren't to my liking (wine is no longer fermenting and at only 9%), can I add more sugar? And if so, is there a reliable way to calculate the alcohol content then?

Panda

FarmerGreen wrote: »

Give it a good clean and sterilise it.
Lower gently into you bucket of brew.

I'm brand new to brewing and using a coopers brew kit. In the instructions it says to pour a sample through the tap into the container of the hydrometer.

This makes a whole load of sense since to me since you dont have to open the lid and you dont have to put anything into the brew container so you rule out any chance of infection...

i just tested my own this way last night and found it very easy.

heres a video too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtQt7HiObuU&feature=search
theres loads of other brewing tips on youtube too.

halite

I'm brand new to brewing and using a coopers brew kit. In the instructions it says to pour a sample through the tap into the container of the hydrometer.

This is what I do as well. Pour a sample into the trial jar, pop in the hydrometer and then let it settle and take the reading.

Some brewers use fermentation buckets with no taps (some believe that using taps on fermenters is a quick way to get an infection, although I have never found that to be the case) and so in that case it would be a matter of removing the lid and taking a sample with a wine thief, if you were doing it that way it probably makes sense to sterilise the hydromter and just leave it in the wort.

tolosenc

Do NOT let one drop onto the floor. This is not how to use one. The shards, they're everywhere...

halite

Do NOT let one drop onto the floor. This is not how to use one. The shards, they're everywhere...

That's happened to me a few times, they are quite cheap and so I always make sure to have a spare

ManFromAtlantis

home cider . own apples. before adding cider yeast took reading. 1040.

there is a 'potential' reading that say 5% ?

i know i have to read again at bottling stage.

just wondering. is it likely that 5% is the most? the min? or is it likley to go up or down. and is my initial raeding 'normal' for cider.

tahnks

oblivious

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

home cider . own apples. before adding cider yeast took reading. 1040.

there is a 'potential' reading that say 5% ?

i know i have to read again at bottling stage.

just wondering. is it likely that 5% is the most? the min? or is it likley to go up or down. and is my initial raeding 'normal' for cider.

tahnks

A quick calculation is your Starting gravity (S.G.)- Final gravity (F.G. gravity after fermentation)divided by 7.46

1.040-1.001= 39, 39 divided by 7.46= 5.22% alcohol roughly

ManFromAtlantis

oblivious wrote: »

A quick calculation is your Starting gravity (S.G.)- Final gravity (F.G. gravity after fermentation)divided by 7.46

1.040-1.001= 39, 39 divided by 7.46= 5.22% alcohol roughly

thanks.
i assume the 1.001 figure just a guess on your part.? but is it likely to be in or around this ? what i wonder is, is it very unlikley that the final % could be 7 or 8 % based on my initial S.G. or indeed 3, - 4%

thanks again.

oblivious

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

thanks.
i assume the 1.001 figure just a guess on your part.? but is it likely to be in or around this ? what i wonder is, is it very unlikley that the final % could be 7 or 8 % based on my initial S.G. or indeed 3, - 4%

thanks again.

The 1.001 is a guess, but ciders do ferment out dry as juice is mainly sugar and water. You could check the gravity again of the juice but it would need to be 1.050+ to achieve that on its own.

There is the option of adding sugar to boost gravity or even an apple concentrate, not some I like doing but each to their own.

adamski8

hmmm im a bit worried just brewing the coopers starter kit lager and my hydro reading is 1.075!!!!
should i be worried?
I took the reading just after adding the yeast which i know was a mistake. did this make it a high reading?

fryup

is there a hydrometer specifically for cider?

i'm using a wine hydrometer will that do?

noby

adamski - Temperature will have an effect on the reading - but not that much. Did you take the reading in a trial jar, or in the tube the hydro came in?


fryup - they're all the same as long as it covers the range you're interested in.

adamski8

noby wrote: »

adamski - Temperature will have an effect on the reading - but not that much. Did you take the reading in a trial jar, or in the tube the hydro came in?


fryup - they're all the same as long as it covers the range you're interested in.

trial jar.
would adding the yeast before testing make a difference?
so is 1.075 ok then?

noby

1075 is ok, if that's the kind of SG you were aiming for - you're up in 7.5% territory there. If you followed the instructions on the kit, and didn't add in extra sugar you should be a lot lower than that. Before or after you pitch the yeast shouldn't make a difference on the reading.

adamski8

Yeah I was thinking it's gonna be a higher alcohol content. Just realized that I read it in the wrong direction so it's actual 1.065 which I guess is better.

One thing someone mentioned is that they leave their hydrometer in the bucket all the time. How does one read it if it's in there when you can't look at it horizontally?

Ronan cork

Would boiling hop pellets( 100g) in the kit tin and throwing them into the fermenter when mixing affect the hydrometer reading? I got a high (1072) reading an hour or 2 after adding the yeast and 5 days later I'm getting 1022 which I think gives me an abv of 6.5-7% and it's still bubbling...kit says to expect 5.5...
There was a lot of hop powder in the test tube, could this cause strange readings?
I know I'll get about 5.5 out of it but I want to be able to use the hydrometer accurately when I move on from kit brewing

BeerNut

Have you been calibrating the reading for temperature?

Ronan cork

BeerNut wrote: »

Have you been calibrating the reading for temperature?

I'm using an app and that asks for temp. The initial reading was at 25.2 and today was 21.3

BeerNut

So that's a yes, then?

Hops aren't fermentable, if that helps.

Ronan cork

BeerNut wrote: »

So that's a yes, then?

Hops aren't fermentable, if that helps.

Yeah I guess the app does it for me so!
My question is more that from what I understand, the hydrometer measures the density of the liquid but would stuff floating in it affect it or does it have to be dissolved in the water to affect the reading?

Also can I assume that hops do not dissolve at all in any form?

Thanks beernut for all your help I really do appreciate it and I promise I'll answer some silly questions myself when I have a better grasp on what I'm doing!!

Martyn1989

Panda wrote: »

I'm brand new to brewing and using a coopers brew kit. In the instructions it says to pour a sample through the tap into the container of the hydrometer.

This makes a whole load of sense since to me since you dont have to open the lid and you dont have to put anything into the brew container so you rule out any chance of infection...

If your using an airlock make sure you take it off, if the water in your airlock is contaminated it will be sucked into you brew and ruin the whole thing, nearly happened to me once.

BeerNut

Ronan cork wrote: »

Also can I assume that hops do not dissolve at all in any form?

You can take it that hops have no effect on hydrometer readings.

willabur

Martyn1989 wrote: »

If your using an airlock make sure you take it off, if the water in your airlock is contaminated it will be sucked into you brew and ruin the whole thing, nearly happened to me once.

or just stick a drop of starsan into the airlock.

willabur

Ronan cork wrote: »

Also can I assume that hops do not dissolve at all in any form?

Hops don't disolve which is why it is better to use muslin cloth bag to stop debris from falling into the wort. I have found the less debris in your wort the easier life becomes at the priming/bottling stage.

With regards to the Hydrometer I take readings from the tap into a trial jar, pop the hydrometer in and give it a good spin. Never had any issue with this method, I really think that patience is so key when it comes to brewing. If you are opening up lids and taps every day to check Gravity then you are asking for trouble. Use a minimum of 1 week in primary, 2 in secondary, 3 in the bottle. If you don't use secondary then leave it longer in the primary - the beer will not spoil if you leave it for a couple of weeks there.

Martyn1989

willabur wrote: »

or just stick a drop of starsan into the airlock.

Thats been sitting there 2 weeks or longer? It will no longer be effective and could still infect the brew, better off taking it off.

willabur

i have put in starsan after a few weeks before and have had no problem.
If you are going to yank the airlock in the airtight nature of the barrel will suck some of the water back into the wort, i have seen that happen. Starsan was in the solution so that probably saved the batch from potential infection

Ronan cork

Kinda surprised getting sanitizer in the fermenter is ok...will have to get some starsan! That's the stuff you can spray into the bottles with no need to rinse is it? Was told about it but couldn't remember the name...