wine thief & hydrometer

I recently purchased a wine thief, tired of the turkey-baster game.

I've discovered that it doesn't seem to be enough wider than my hydrometer--the hydrometer sticks. Sometimes it even blocks the flow of must into the thief.

I suppose the solution is another hydrometer. Right now, I have a garden variety cheap beer hydrometer (which I was surprised to find in my cabinet, as I rarely used it--"Yeah, it has a gravity. Not much I can do about it now :)").

Anyway, is it worth paying any more than a couple of bucks, assuming that I stick to brewking/winexpert style kits for the forseable future? I really don't use it for much more than insuring that the wine is done fermenting.

And, getting down to business, can anyone tell me what brands/names actually work and float inside a wine thief?

And is there some trick to figuring out when the little gadget at the bottom of the wine thief will block flow, and when it won't?

hawk

Reply to
Dr. Richard E. Hawkins
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A wine thief must be narrow enough to fit down in most carboys. I have never had a hydrometer that would fit inside one. I always use a separate hydrometer jar or cylinder to put the hydrometer in and then empty the wine thief into that jar. You can get a plastic one for $2 or $3. That is cheaper than buying another hydrometer. It is one more item that must be disinfected but ...

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

With kit wines the must is pretty well balanced, but I use the hydrometer all the time so it is a judgement call

What you bought is really not really a wine thief. I have one of them too and never use it, it dribbles like yours and that annoys me. I may have given it away already.

A good hydrometer will have a large bulb in reference to the stem, so you could go for a narrow one and just live with less resolution. Even a cheap one is better thasn nothing if you calibrate it in reference to water at 60 F.

You can get an unbreakable thief made of plastic in 3 segments and a

100 ml graduated cylinder for around $10; the cylinder can do double duty as a hydrometer jar.

Joe

Dr. Richard E. Hawk> I recently purchased a wine thief, tired of the turkey-baster game. >

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

I don't know what kind of hydrometer you have, but mine won't fit into a

100ml graduate. 500ml is more like it. Wine Art makes a plastic hydrometer jar (ungraduated) about that size for not much $.

For winemaking, I find 50 and 100ml graduates each come in handy, as do 1 and 10ml graduated pipettes.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

Good point, but even my widest one fits in my 100 ml's. It's a Dujardin Salleron. That said, a 250 ml or 500 ml probably does make more sense. I'm sure there are hydrometers out there that might be too close to the walls of a 100 ml even if they did fit and that could mess with the measurement.

I also use the 100 ml to measure distilled water used to rehydrate Hydrion buffer capsules for pH buffers. It's a really cheap way to get fresh reliable buffers. I should use a volumetric flask, but I don't have a 100 ml (yet). I'm looking at glassware in Cynmar and it's pretty inexpensive.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

I just have a general all purpose thief and hydrometer, nothing special about either one, but it does fit inside my 23 litre Mexican carboy. Just bought the one my wine supply store had, they don't have a big selection - one model. I do sometimes wish mine were wider, as I have to hold it exactly level to get a reading, but with a bit of fiddling I can get one.

However, it does drip a bit. I have a bathmat on the floor just outside my winemaking closet for just that purpose though - never fails, I'll spill something! Just did it last night actually, carrying my newest bucket of white zinfandel from the top of the deep freeze to the closet resulted in some spilling, as always, no matter how hard I try. I just hope the yeast didn't jump out. Thank God I have hardwood and a Swiffer. My basement floors are always sticky! :)

KD

Reply to
KD

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