# Priming Measuring Spoon



## slotmachine (13/1/09)

Has anyone measured the weight of white table sugar or dex that those Priming Measuring Spoons hold?

Just interested and I don't have an accurate enough set of scales.


----------



## raven19 (13/1/09)

I was doing this last night as I forgot myself, and had about 3L of beer after filling my keg left over.

4.2 grams per teapsoon is the number I found on the net from numerous locations.

I ended up going with a half teaspoon for a 375 stubbie and a teaspoon for a 750 long neck - but this all depends also on your preferred carbonation levels!

Cheers.

Edit: As per usual not reading the question properly - does the measurer have anything on it relating to teaspoon or similar? Hope the numbers above are of some help.

Edit 2: Link I also was meant to add... from Wiki Priming thread here on AHB.
http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/...mpleGuide.shtml


----------



## tyoung (13/1/09)

When I last bottled, I used 1/4tsp of normal table sugar and it was pretty much bang-on 1g each. Obviously depends on how coarse the grains are. 

A (reasonably) scientific way of doing it is to weight a known larger quantity of your sugar (say 1L) and then work out the density. From there you can calculate the weight of a teaspoon (5ml) and a tablespoon (either 15ml for UK measurement or 20ml for local measurement)


----------



## warra48 (13/1/09)

I use the little measure thing, and prime with caster sugar.

If you use a full dose of sugar using the small end, I calculate you will have a maximum of 3 grams of sugar per stubby.
For a 60 stubby batch, I normally use somewhere around 150 grams, give or take.

I know how much sugar I use, because I weigh my sugar container before and after priming, and that gives me the exact weight used.
These are the figures for my last 5 batches:
23 litres 170 gr
18.5 litres 125 gr
23 litres 142 gr
21.75 litres 159 gr
23 litres 160 gr

Can't help you with dex, as I never use it.


----------



## staggalee (13/1/09)

tyoung said:


> When I last bottled, I used 1/4tsp of normal table sugar and it was pretty much bang-on 1g each. Obviously depends on how coarse the grains are.



Sorry, but I don`t get that.
Is this person saying he used 1/4 teaspoon {1g} of sugar to prime per bottle?
Surely not, but I can`t see it reading any other way?

stagga.


----------



## boingk (13/1/09)

Here we go...pulled out my little balance beam scales and had a gander. The small end weighed in at 3.05g average after 5 trials. The big end was a constant 6g. This was using Homebrand White Sugar and overfilling the little scoop, then giving a tap or two to level the excess off.

Seems they're pretty accurate as long as you give them that little tap, other wise numbers can start jumping up by up to a half-gram. And as for dextrose, my father has found you need around double the volume to equal the same weight of white sugar. Personally, I'd just use the sugar. Its cheap, its available everywhere, and I haven't noticed a difference between it and dextrose. 

Cheers - boingk


----------



## staggalee (13/1/09)

staggalee said:


> Sorry, but I don`t get that.
> Is this person saying he used 1/4 teaspoon {1g} of sugar to prime per bottle?
> Surely not, but I can`t see it reading any other way?
> 
> stagga.


----------



## bigholty (13/1/09)

boingk said:


> Here we go...pulled out my little balance beam scales and had a gander. The small end weighed in at 3.05g average after 5 trials. The big end was a constant 6g. This was using Homebrand White Sugar and overfilling the little scoop, then giving a tap or two to level the excess off.
> 
> Seems they're pretty accurate as long as you give them that little tap, other wise numbers can start jumping up by up to a half-gram. And as for dextrose, my father has found you need around double the volume to equal the same weight of white sugar. Personally, I'd just use the sugar. Its cheap, its available everywhere, and I haven't noticed a difference between it and dextrose.
> 
> Cheers - boingk



Gold star! That's what we want, a direct answer determined in a scientific manner, good work boingk!


----------



## staggalee (13/1/09)

staggalee said:


> Sorry, but I don`t get that.
> Is this person saying he used 1/4 teaspoon {1g} of sugar to prime per bottle?
> Surely not, but I can`t see it reading any other way?
> 
> stagga.


----------



## buttersd70 (13/1/09)

stagga...i presume that he used the 1/4tsp to get a reasonably accurate 1g, and then used multiples of that to prime to Xg....ie for 3g, use 3x 1/4tsp.


----------



## Nickwrighty (13/1/09)

So the old rule is pretty true.
180g to an average 60 stubbies or 22L of wort.


----------



## buttersd70 (13/1/09)

nickwrighty said:


> So the old rule is pretty true.
> 180g to an average 60 stubbies or 22L of wort.



I wouldn't quite go that far.....I can't remember the last time I used nearly that much priming sugar for 22L.  Depends on how you want it carbed though....


----------



## staggalee (13/1/09)

buttersd70 said:


> stagga...i presume that he used the 1/4tsp to get a reasonably accurate 1g, and then used multiples of that to prime to Xg....ie for 3g, use 3x 1/4tsp.



Cheers mate, it was the way it was worded that bamboozled me.
But here`s the thing- being a single primer myself, there`s easier ways to skin a cat than that.
Long live the single prime  

{thanks for the reply, I was going to keep putting that back up till I got one. It was a legitimate q.}  

stagga.


----------



## slotmachine (14/1/09)

boingk said:


> Here we go...pulled out my little balance beam scales and had a gander. The small end weighed in at 3.05g average after 5 trials. The big end was a constant 6g. This was using Homebrand White Sugar and overfilling the little scoop, then giving a tap or two to level the excess off.
> 
> Seems they're pretty accurate as long as you give them that little tap, other wise numbers can start jumping up by up to a half-gram. And as for dextrose, my father has found you need around double the volume to equal the same weight of white sugar. Personally, I'd just use the sugar. Its cheap, its available everywhere, and I haven't noticed a difference between it and dextrose.
> 
> Cheers - boingk



Cheers mate, just what I was after!

Reason I was asking about the dex is that I was reading that white sugar will give up to 15% more carbonation. I've been using 6g of dex per 750ml so I was thinking 6g of white sugar might overcarb?


----------



## raven19 (14/1/09)

slotmachine said:


> Cheers mate, just what I was after!
> 
> Reason I was asking about the dex is that I was reading that white sugar will give up to 15% more carbonation. I've been using 6g of dex per 750ml so I was thinking 6g of white sugar might overcarb?



You can bottle some in PET bottles, keep a little warmer than the glass - and test the PET's by squeezing. If too tight you know that the glass bottles may turn into bombs.

Before kegging I was using around 120 - 140 grams of sugar to bulk prime 22L.


----------



## buttersd70 (14/1/09)

If I'm in doubt for any reason about a carb level (such as steady hydrometer but under attenuated for what it should have been and refusing to budge), I do similar to raven. If it's real bad, I'll do the lot in plastic, if its just a nagging doubt, I'll do some in plastic and the rest in glass, and keep them warmer. With the PET squeeze test, though, I would chill the bottles first, and see how hard it is when cold. If in further doubt, I would open one early, at about 5 days in the bottle. If it is carbing normally, it should be undercarbed at this point. If the carbonation is correct, or is over carbed, after such a short period, then I make the decision the rest of the batch will need to be vented.
Never lost a single bottle, either pet of glass, to bombs, even though I had a few batches that _were _over carbed. I always managed to get to them in time.


----------



## boingk (14/1/09)

slotmachine said:


> Cheers mate, just what I was after!
> 
> Reason I was asking about the dex is that I was reading that white sugar will give up to 15% more carbonation. I've been using 6g of dex per 750ml so I was thinking 6g of white sugar might overcarb?



No worries at all! I was kinda interested myself seeing as I use the little gadget a fair bit. Also, you're right about the sugar/dextrose comparison. The priming rates per longneck to equal 180g of sucrose are another 10% for dextrose and another 40 to 50% if priming with LDME. I've never found a longneck of lighter styled beer to have been overcarbed with 6g of sucrose for priming.

Cheers - boingk


----------

