Murphy Cup vs 219 degrees

[rich1]

Hi,
Just starting this year, and I need some advice on the reliability of the 219° mark. Does the syrup fluctuate between too thin and too thick at that temperature? Or is it just so much better to get a Murphy cup?
Thanks in advance!

[maple flats]

219 is not always the temperature you want for finished syrup. It changes as the barometer goes up or down. A hydrometer and good thermometer is all you need, but a murphy cup takes the fuss out of it. The murphy cup tells you exactly what the hydrometer reading should read at the exact temperature the syrup is at. Other ways are to use a chart, read a thermometer and a hydrometer, then refer to the chart to know if the density is right. A murphy cup and a Murphy float are simply thermometers with the correct density for the temperature on the face instead of the degrees making your density testing faster and easier to get right. With either Murphy method you still need a hydrometer.

[Bricklayer]

I bottled some syrup yesterday and used my Murphy compensation cup and hydrometer from smokey lake. It's so much better and faster. I used a hydrotherm for the last 8 years. And it takes a good 2-3 minutes to get a quality accurate reading on them. And the lines on the hydrotherm are really small. I almost always went over density.
I would highly recommend the Murphy cup. I tested syrup right out of the bulk container at room temperature and no math to do or anything. Just match the numbers up on dial and hydrometer.
I'm looking forward to using it this season with my autodraw. It was a pain last year testing syrup with the hydrotherm to check for density while setting up the autodraw for the day. Should be a lot quicker this year.

[johnpma]

I bottled some syrup yesterday and used my Murphy compensation cup and hydrometer from smokey lake. It's so much better and faster. I used a hydrotherm for the last 8 years. And it takes a good 2-3 minutes to get a quality accurate reading on them. And the lines on the hydrotherm are really small. I almost always went over density.
I would highly recommend the Murphy cup. I tested syrup right out of the bulk container at room temperature and no math to do or anything. Just match the numbers up on dial and hydrometer.
I'm looking forward to using it this season with my autodraw. It was a pain last year testing syrup with the hydrotherm to check for density while setting up the autodraw for the day. Should be a lot quicker this year. thank you for the post I have been looking at one and you just helped me make the final decision

[S.S.S]

Before I would spend 130$ on Murphy cup I would put that toward refractmeter and then you got something easy to use and accurate to use.

[Bricklayer]

I have a Hannah digital refractometer also. But it doesn't work well with hot syrup. I use it for checking sap, and permeate.
I always second guess it when using it with hot syrup. Hydrometers can be used with super hot syrup right off the evaporator. Refractometer not so much. And if you use a non digital one there is still temperature compensation you have to factor in. Murphy cup takes care of that.