Hydrometer

[bL@De]

Howdy Guys,
Long time no see. I have been brewing despite not posting anything the past errr little while but I have been reading what's going on.

Anyway here's my question.

I've got a Hydrometer as we all should and I've got the flask type thing which goes with it, now the problem is how can you get an accurate reading? I often find it gets stuck on the sides and doesn't give a very accurate reading. I have been known to play around for 5 - 10 minutes to try and get it right.

I was just thinking about this as I was just checking this weeks brew (Munton's Mexican Cerveza) which only came in last week at my local HBS.

Any thoughts or suggestions on making this rather frustrating task easier?

Cheers

 

[Moray]

I have the same probs, I usally get around this by giving the hydrometer a gentle twist as I'm releasing it into the test jar, and also ensuring the flask is vertical. My flask is a plastic tube forced into a moulded plastic base. It is almost, but not quite vertical.

using these methods, I can usally get an accurate reading pretty quickly.

 

[bL@De]

That's one thing I haven't tried (gentle twist) I have tried many other ways but not this one, I shall give it a go and see what happens.

Surely there must be a digital hydrometer out there somewhere?

 

[PostModern]

For verticality, don't put the sample tube down, but hold it with 2 fingers near the top and let graviyy give you true vertical. A spin, as Moray suggests, will dislodge any bubbles causing the hydrometer to float. I find it best to leave the sample for a while before measuring. When measuring wort, it is already still and the first measurement is quite accurate. When measuring a fermenting brew, I'll let the bubbles and head settle/disperse before measuring. You can shake it with your thumb on the top of the tester (without the hydrometer in of course) to help get the CO2 out.