Hydrometer

A turkey baster, or get a "wine thief"

Kent

I use a turkey baster. It is somewhat dribblesome, but does the job. I bought it from my local supermarket.

I also use a turkey baster, but I modified it with a length of quarter-inch diameter plastic tubing so I can draw the brew up through the airlock hole. It's also handy to start a siphon, just put the end of the turkey baster into the bottom of the siphon and release the squeeze-bulb. It's a sanitary siphon sucker.

Karl S.

Thanks. The turkey baster idea sounds perfect :D

Will have a look around town this afternoon.

For just a modest cost you can get a wine thief that has a valved bottom that opens up when you stick it down the mouth of your carboy and holds your hydrometer within...quick and dirty extraction of enough beer to measure with the hydrometer and then tip the valve at the bottom and drizzle the beer back in the carboy

Yodar

Karl S. wrote:

You shouldn't really return the "sample" to the batch. There will be less than a cup and the chance of contamination isn't worth it. I generally just take readings when I transfer and then I just fill the "test tube" as I transfer.

Michael Herrenbruck Drag> For just a modest cost you can get a wine thief that has a valved bottom

Yodar responds:

degreed in microbiology,published from grant supported research, skilled in pure culture maintenance of fungi imperfecti, and my sterilization procedures have been effective and experienced no problems with putting about 250 cc back into the carboy from the sterile theif and sterile hydrometer,which remains in situ in a flame-sterilized carboy during reading less than 15 seconds

for the average quick and dirty brewer, yes, indeed, your advice is sound.

Yodar

Drag> You shouldn't really return the "sample" to the batch.

Home brew rule # 456, Always drink your test sample. .

Amendment to rule #456 - unless it is a urine sample you are due to take to your doctor!!

rule #457 - if you do accidentally drink your urine sample, do NOT give your doctor your homebrew sample, claiming it is urine - even though it may look the same colour!!!

Regards

KGB

Thanks for all the advise. Think I will try a Turkey Baster.... Keeping the cost down is my main idea about this. Haven't seen anything in my locl brew supply shop and don't want to pay the extortionate delivery costs (in UK)

Hi

Whatever you do, don't buy a hydrometer direct from the manufacturer expecting to save money (in the UK).

I needed a new hydrometer a few months ago, but all the ones I looked at in homebrew shops seemed a bit on the cheap and nasty side. As I really wanted something a little more upmarket, I contacted Brannan ltd (thermometer & hydrometer manufacturers) to ask about stockists of reasonable quality hydrometers. They told me there were no stockists locally for their products but they could sell me a decent one direct, which was ideal for hombrewing at a cost of £4.65 plus postage, so I ordered it by credit card. When it arrived, the cost was £4.65 plus another £4.75 postage plus VAT - a grand total of just over £11.00.

When it arrived, this £11 hydrometer was the very same cheap and nasty hydrometer selling for around £2.50 in homebrew shops - it wasn't even made by Brannan and wasn't particularly accurate.

One lesson learned amid mutterings of blatant rip-off!!

Regards

KGB

I already have my hydrometer which I bought on E-bay for about £2. A nice glass one...

Hi, I was interested in how you sanitise your container. How do you "flame-sterilise" your carboy?

Cheers Robert

Yodar wrote: