A Common Tragedy

[stux]

So, I was about to put down a mangrove jack's cider...

Rehydrating is a good thing to do with MJ yeast, so I had a flask filled with PBW



As I very carefully pulled the hydro out of the flask of PBW, it went *tink* and all this black sand started pouring every where...

Shit.



I'm guessing the black sand is actually little iron balls, since it took forever to get off the stir bar!

....

So, the flask was filled with PBW, and was about 40C, when I decided I'd soak the hydro in it too, so I could take a reading from the fermenter pre-pitching the yeast. I was pulling the hydro out to flip around to get PBW the other half when it went tink.

Not sure exactly what went wrong... was the water too warm? Or maybe the magnet at the bottom of the flask was attracted to the iron filings and cracked the hydro?

I didn't realise they were iron filings

Or maybe someone had actually broken my hydro previously. I had it stored in a glass cylinder on a shelf during a recent party, and someone could've quite easily knocked it over just a little bit, probably cracking it, and then put it back.

These hydros do break very easily. And I'd had this one for a while, quite liked it, 1 degree increments.

Sigh.

Anywho, the cider was 13P according to the refractometer

 

[droid]

bugger! definitely blame someone else

 

[MastersBrewery]

yeah I proffered the suggestion of a stainless hydro, most of the retailers said it would just cost too much, I think I'm on like my 6th glass one, if I wouldn't have saved money yet, odds are in the next year or 2 I would have.

 

[stux]

I would buy one, if it wasn't too crazy

Brass Saccarometers are pretty,

I'll be on my 6th one I think... when I get my next

 

[TheWiggman]

Your suggestion about the temp of the water is a good one. Glass can be fickle with changes in temps and only requires a small diffrence in stress in ideal conditions for the glass to suddenly go 'snap!'. Happens to car windows all the time, and according to Dr Karl even fish tanks have been know to give up the ghost randomly and make a mess of a house.

6 hydrometers?! I'm still on my first one from 2005, French made ooh la la.

 

[elcarter]

I killed another one last brew day when the wind picked up a "large" Tupperware container and flipped it with the hydro sitting in it.

It smashed a whole 6m away from where I left it.

Couldn't believe it.

I just have a box of 10 set aside for me for this very reason. Down to 6.

 

[stux]

Your suggestion about the temp of the water is a good one. Glass can be fickle with changes in temps and only requires a small diffrence in stress in ideal conditions for the glass to suddenly go 'snap!'. Happens to car windows all the time, and according to Dr Karl even fish tanks have been know to give up the ghost randomly and make a mess of a house.

6 hydrometers?! I'm still on my first one from 2005, French made ooh la la.

Well, my first was in 1995

Last three were extra fragile because I picked up a liking for super accurate delicate hydros. Why I'm so annoyed because after breaking the two previously, I've been very careful with this last one.

It broke as it came out of the water... guess the transition from whatever the water was to the 20C atmosphere was too much :-\

Tried living with only a refractometer previously... but then you never know if your reading is right or not

Anyone know where you can get hydro that reads from 0.990 or 0.995 to at least 1.100 with 0.001 unit markings?

 

[Killer Brew]

I bought some guys brewing equip off ebay and amongst a heap of stuff was two hydros. So I have three all up, should get me through the year.....

 

[elcarter]

http://www.fishersci.com/ecomm/servlet/fsproductdetail_10652_640677__-1_0

I'll stick with my cheapies I think

 

[Bribie G]

What are these hydrometers you speak of?

 

[michaeld16]

Last one i broke made me finaly get a refractometer

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

What are these hydrometers you speak of?

I think there are used for removing kittens.....

 

[mckenry]

I'm going to put the mockers on myself. Only broken one in 20 years of brewing. (I started early ) That was 4 years ago.