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How to use the Hydrometer |
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When you take a reading you need to
adjust a little for the "bend" caused by the capillary force. The
true value will be at the bottom of the bend, usually 1-2 units
below where the wine meets the hydrometer. If your wine contains much CO2 (i.e. still is fermenting or only just stopped) you need to be careful - the CO2 bubbles tend to stick to the hydrometer after a few seconds and then lift it up. Best trick is to give the meter a short spin, then stop it and take a reading immediately. Remember to calibrate the hydrometer before you use it to get the most accurate reading |
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Calibrate your hydrometer |
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You
can easily calibrate for most errors and use a low cost hydrometer
to get a high quality reading.Procedure:Keep a trial jar with water near your brew. The idea is that this water have the same temperature as your brew. Before using your hydrometer (every time!): Check the reading of the water. It should be around 1000 s.g. (0 on some hydrometers) but it will vary depending on temperature and scale errors. If your hydrometer shows, say 1002 (+2) you obviously need to take your reading minus 2 to get it right. Then simply take all your wine/beer readings minus 2 and that's it! Similarly of course, if your hydrometer shows 997 (-3) on the water - just add 3 to all your readings. Remember that you have to check the water reading every time because temperature might have changed and/or your hydrometer scale might have moved inside the hydrometer.
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