24 replies to this topic

[MyaCullen]

Thanks Mic.

 

I just checked the gravity of water with my hydrometer and it came to 1.000.  Then I grabbed some distilled water and checked the meter... 1.000.  I remember someone saying that a meter is good for checking the OG of wort but that it was not good for checking to see if the beer was done fermenting.  What's that all about?  A hydrometer is telling you what your OG and your FG is but a refractometer is only good for OG?  And in my case it's not even good for that?    I don't know what's up here but I'm going to take readings on all of my upcoming batches to see if I can find a pattern.  

Alcohol throws off the FG readings with a refracto, the hydrometer is already scaled to deal with it.

[HVB]

I think alcohol (or particles in the sample) impact the light refraction and give a false low reading. You can use a spreadsheet and formula to correct if you have an accurate OG.

[Seven]

There are online tools that do this conversion. I know that ProMash and BeerSmith have them as well. My readings are usually a bit off between the hydro and refractometer but not enough to worry about.

[denny]

The ATC on refracts only takes a few seconds to balance out such a small amount of liquid. I use a refract all the time alongside a hydrometer. I never notice any difference. Obviously YMMV but it works just as well for me

 

ATC is for the instrument, not the sample.

[Big Nake]

Brewed today and took hydro and meter readings.  Hydro showed 1.052 to 1.054.  Meter showed 1.048.  I'll accept that discrepancy and I'm more likely to believe the hydrometer.  The temp of the wort was 60°.  I believe that when I made a mill gap change I experienced a drop in efficiency so this batch had 12 pounds of grain instead of my normal 10.  I'm going to adjust the mill back to the factory settings to see how that impacts things.