hydrometer help

[The Butcher]

Alright boys I need your help again.....

The last 2 times I boiled my syrup came out too thin even though the thermometer was said the right temperature.

I have a hydrometer (for syrup) but have never used it. I finish on a turkey fryer because I can control the heat better.

I have tried to do a lot of reading on past posts on this topic. I do not need to be exact and do not want to have to look things up on a chart. (I am doing this for fun and truth be told I normally have a few in me before we get to bottling).

So... I am looking for a pretty black and white answer to what I need to know with the hydrometer and when I am ready to bottle. Am I waiting until it hits the second red line(hot test line? Why does it say 211 degrees?

Thanks again for everyone's help!!

[Dan W]

211 is the temp that has been calculated that you should have in the cup right after draw-off. the hydrometer should float to the hot line when it is truely syrup.

[BryanEx]

Fun stuff huh? A hydrometer is marked with two different lines to account for how it floats (sinks) differently based on syrup temperature. The cool test is for testing when the syrup is close to being room temperature so Mr.Syrup Inspector, Mr. Repackager, or Mr. Country Fair Judge can test them without reheating and changing the syrup. The hot temperature is based on testing syrup directly off the evaporator, burner, or stove... allowing for a little bit of cooling before you put your beer down and focus both eyes. The charts to adjust based on different temperatures is for when you end up somewhere other than either of those two temperatures. Test outdoors in the cold and you'll need to adjust, let things cool too much off the evaporator and you'll have to adjust, etc.

[The Butcher]

Thanks guys!

[Lazarus]

OK, I am totally confused here. My hydrometer also says 211 degrees next to the red line, which is at 59 Brix, and it says hot test. But isn't syrup made at 7 or so degrees over boiling point of water?

My thermometer on my 2X3 is right next to the draw off, and is marked to have me draw off at a smidge past 7 degrees over zero. This will be well above 211 degrees.

If I draw off at 7 degrees above boiling water, this would be around 217 degrees right at the draw off. It would be well past 211 degrees. I totally don't understand why the hydrometer says 211?

-Laz

[KenWP]

Because you would have to move at light speed to fill a test cup with syrup and put a hydrometer in it to test for brix and have the syrup stay at 217 or 219 degrees.. Thats why they make cups with thermometers attached so you can see it at 211 and know you got the right brix. The SS test cup is cooler then the syrup and draws down the temp plus the act of pouring syrup in the cup loweres the temp also. Thats why 211. Once you remove the heat sorce from the syrup the temp drops especially out side in the winter spring temps.

[Lazarus]

Well, you know... I am pretty quick on the draw. :lol:

That makes sense; thanks for the clarification!

[KenWP]

I guess for somebody that came back from the dead.