hydrometer cold test question

[moscowmule]

hi folks,
i dont test for syrup density when im boiling (for a number of reasons i wont get in to) so basically i have just been testing my syrup by bringing it inside 5 gallons at a time, getting it to room temp. 60 degrees and putting the hydrometer in.
is there some reason that more people dont test their syrup like this? it has always seemed to me to be much easier, especially if i tend to overcook the syrup a wee bit on the pan, cause then i can just add some water at room temperature if it is too dense.
HOWEVER! this brings us to my problem: this morning i took a 3 gallon stainless pot of syrup at room temperature which already had some crystals forming on top that i assumed was "overcooked" syrup. so i put the hydrometer in and sure enough it was a few lines too dense, so i added some cold water (about a quart) until it read syrup at the "60 degree cold test" line. but once i did this it tasted waaaaaaaaaaay too watery. is this because it will take some time for the water and the syrup to mix or am i doing something wrong? i tried stirring it up and it still seemed too watery yet it was testing right on the red line for "cold test 60 degrees"
can anyone shed some light on this?

[PerryW]

when the syrup is real cold, they hydrometer is real sluggish so I always text mine hot. When canning syrup, I usually wait until it's up above 120 deg and then refer to the temperature vs. density chart and add water as necessary. Add 3/5 oz. of water for every tenth of a point you are high per gallon.

[wiam]

If you adjust density hot it will not form crystals

[Clinkis]

When I draw off syrup I want it finished to the right density. I don't want to have reheat it again if its too light. Every time you reheat more nitre can form. I keep checking mine until its the right density and see what the temperature is and then continue drawing off at the temp.

[Russell Lampron]

I watch the temp at the draw off pretty close and get the density right on most of the time and find it much easier to test the syrup when it is hot. If it isn't at density it doesn't take as long to bring it to a boil to finish it to density. If it is heavy water can be added and mixed into hot syrup easier than it can be to cold syrup. I do have a heater under my draw off tank so it can be used as a finisher if needed.

[PerryW]

I use a hydrometer and check density several times during my draw-offs and average the readings in my head to know when to stop drawing. But I always err on the side of too dense so that I will not have to evaporate more water out during the canning process. (from this I know that my dial thermometer does NOT react immediately to the rapidly changing syrup density during a draw-off)

When I reheat my syrup for canning, I check the density and usually end up adding 10 to 30 ounces of water for a 7 gallon batch so that the density i exactly right. I heat my syrup to just under 200 degrees and refilter it just in case there is any new nitre that had formed and stop filling jugs when the temperature drops below 185 deg. I wrap an insulating blanket around the filter canner and also have a dial thermometer in the filter canner so I know exactly what the temp. of my syrup is when it goes in the jugs.