how do i read hydrometer

[Ryan August]

Ok, how do I read my hydrometer. As u can see from the pick, it has two red lines. 59 and 66 Brix. Yes I know 66 Brix. But hydrometer has this statement on it that the 66 Brix is calibrated at 60degrees and the 66 brix at 212. Any how, no need to rationalize it, I know some one will tell me. When hot, which red line do I use.........I calibrated my thermometer, at 223 it read 66brix, I made some thick syrup. Thanks

[Sunday Rock Maple]

Not sure I understand the question, but I can tell you what we do. We take the syrup when the hot red line is visible in a cup just filled with syrup from a rolling boil (not just simmering). It is very important to clean the hydrometer with hot water before each and every use and insert it into the cup slowly to ensure that no syrup gets on the part of the stem that is above the level of the liquid -- syrup on the stem will mess up the reading. We can then later check this with cold syrup using a refractometer.

[COMSTOCK MAPLES]

You want to use the hot test line at 212 when drawing syrup. I've been drawing syrup at 218-219 all season. Hope this helps.

[Sugarmaker]

You have a hydrometer cup?
Fill the cup with syrup from the boiling syrup. Gently place the hydrometer into the syrup. The HOT test red line should be at the top of the syrup or slightly above. If the hot test red line is below then you need to boil longer. If the hot test red line is considerable above the surface of the hot syrup then you have boiled too long and the syrup will need to be diluted.
Ok calibrating your thermometer? Did you boil water and check the temp reading on the thermometer? Depending on your elevation it should be around 210 F. So 210 + 7.1 = 217 F.
Maybe you made some thick syrup? If it is at room temp (60 deg F) you can use same hydrometer to check density using lower red line "cold" test.
Regards,
Chris

[Ryan August]

Thanks all. Got it. Good to go. My brain was saying when it is hot, molecules are farther apart and fluid, like oil, is thinker so the hydrometer would sink lower when hot. Guess back to basic science 101.

[maple flats]

They are a little costly for the smaller producer, but there are 2 items that help get an exact reading. The first one was the Accu-cup, a hydrometer cup with a thermometer built in, and a laminated chart to give what the readings should be a various readings. This worked OK, but then a new item came on the market that simplifies everything. It is called the Murphy cup. This is a hydrometer cup with a thermometer built in, but rather than showing the temperature, it shows the exact hydrometer you should get at that exact temperature. This is just taking the accu-cup thermometer and chart and putting the answer on the dial you read, automatically. It is much easier and faster, because the chart method showed the readings at specific temperatures, but they jumped a few degrees at each step.
A less costly method is to get a thermometer that you can insert down into your existing hydrometer cup and then use the formula found in the syrup chapter in the "North American Maple Producer's Manual". With that info you can calculate the needed reading at any temperature. To use any of these, you must have a clean, accurate hydrometer (never drop it into the hydrometer cup, hitting the bottom of the cup can move the scale in the hyd.), and put the syrup in the cup, if hot, fill and dump back into the hot syrup 3-4 times to pre-heat the cup, then test the temp at the mid point in the cup, and get the hydrometer reading as soon as the temp stabilizes. Write down the reading and temp. Then use the formula from the manual to see if it is correct.
The Murphy cup does all of this for you, but at the current price of $130 it may be something to plan long term for. Using one if you match the cup excatly will give you exactly 66.9% sugar, I like to go .1-.2 higher.
Good luck.
If the price of the manual is too steep at this time, search out the formula on the web and print it out.