Hydrometer tolerences

[Jim Schumacher]

I received the maple syrup digest in the mail yesterday. With it came a dvd about maple syrup basics. They talked about using a hydrometer to finish the syrup between 66 and 66.9 brix. Am I the only one who can scarcely tell the difference between each individual brix increment on a hydrometer? With steam and the way surface tension makes the syrup seem to "climb" the hydrometer, not to mention only having .125' between full brix increments, how can one tell if the syrup is at 66.9 or 70 brix? Am I the only one who struggles to read a hydrometer in increments of .1 brix?

Jim

[mountainvan]

No. That's why some people have refractometers. Read the bottom of the meniscus on the hydrometer stem to get a proper reading, and don't forget to compensate for the syrups temperature.

[3rdgen.maple]

not to mention the point that I have gotten some hydrometers that just don't read the same. I bought 2 new ones last year and they both read different. A returned phone call said to return the bad one and they will exchange it. Hmmmmmm How the heck do I know which one is bad. So I had to buy another one and kept the 2 that read the same. Then returned the one that read different. I still wonder if the two I kept were wrong and the one I returned was right.

[sapman]

You can get tall syrup hydrometers that have greater distance between degrees. I loved mine, til I broke it. Still have yet to replace it.

Tim

[KenWP]

not to mention the point that I have gotten some hydrometers that just don't read the same. I bought 2 new ones last year and they both read different. A returned phone call said to return the bad one and they will exchange it. Hmmmmmm How the heck do I know which one is bad. So I had to buy another one and kept the 2 that read the same. Then returned the one that read different. I still wonder if the two I kept were wrong and the one I returned was right.

You do know that you can check them for accuracy. I have one I use for makeing wine for she who must be obeyed and I wondered if it was working right. You float it in water and see if it reads zero. So if you want to know if a syrup one works you take a certain weight of water and add a certain weight of sugar figure out the percentage and see if the hydrometer reads correctly. Waiting for the responses to this one now.

[Russell Lampron]

In NH our state inspectors will test them for you for no charge. I bring mine to the regional meeting of the NH Maple Producers Association and have them tested. I have one that is graduated in .2 degree increments instead of the .5 degree that I use for canning. I also use an Accu Cup, it makes life at the canner a lot easier.

Check to see if your state associations do the same. If not you can bring them to Bascom's if you come for the open house. There is a state inspector there that tests hydrometers and grade sets. Unfortunately Bascom's open house isn't until after the maple season.

[3rdgen.maple]

Im not sure if I wanna laugh or not Russ I bouht them from Bascom's. Just seems to me they should be checked before sold to begin with.

[Russell Lampron]

Bascom's doesn't do the testing themselves. It is done by an inspector from the state ONLY when Bascom's has the open house.

The manufacturer should have tested them before they were shipped to Bascom's. Bascom's sells alot of hydrometers and it wouldn't be practical for them to test them all before they put them on the shelf.

An inaccurate hydrometer can still be used if you have it tested and know how many points light or heavy it is reading. It doesn't take much mishandling to change the accuracy of a hydrometer. Every time that it goes "ting" when it hits the bottom of the hydrometer cup the paper inside can shift ever so slightly. Do that a few times and you're not going to have an accurate reading anymore.

[brookledge]

The old saying is that you need three of them. That way hopefully two will agree. And as was said once you determine one is off it can be still used just note it so you know how much it is off.
Also a good trick to do is when purchasing a new one or better jet once you know it is accurate put it in the box it came and mark the inside of the box with a pen on the red line. That way when you put it in the box you can see if the paper inside has moved.
Keith