Hydrometer help

[sap seeker]

Just picked one up to help eleviate the guesswork. Like I've been reading on here this year, a couple of my batches that showed 219 on the candy thermometer still seemed too thin so felt it was finally time to make the purchase. Just so I'm clear, if the top line is above the height of the syrup in your cup that means you've gone to far and if line below the height of the syrup you've still got a little ways to go, correct, or do I have it backwards.:confused: Thank you guys, sorry for the stupid question, still learning. I think we are pulling the taps and calling it good but we've made 8.5 quarts of the best syrup ever thanks to the info. gained on MapleTrader.:cool:

[PerryW]

You have it right.

If you can see the red line above the surface of the syrup it is too thick.

If the Red line is below the surface, it is too thin.

[sap seeker]

Thank you Perry.

[Brent]

Think of it like swimming in fresh vs salt water.
The denser the fluid the higher it floats.

You should also note a couple of common errors.

do not drop the hyrdometer into the syrup. Lower it to just below the red line and then release it. If you drop it, it will sink too far and when it bobs back up the stem above the syrup will be coated and add weight and give you a bad reading. They're quite sensitive to that.

The other thing to note is that it likely says something like "syrup at 211 degrees"

To see the effect temperature has fill it with the hottest freshest syrup you've got, insert the hydrometer carefully and watch the changes once a minute over several minutes. It's pretty amazing how much and how fast the readings change as it cools.

I've made a table to help with this temperature change
and posted it on our web site in pdf and MS Excel formats. The links are way down at the bottom of the page.
http://www.duffyslanemaple.ca/Making-syrup/making-syrup.html

To really get control of the density / temperature issue, check out the Maple Guys web site ( these are the guys that started this forum )
www.mapleguys.com (http://www.mapleguys.com) and see the Acu-cup that they make that has a built in thermometer.

[mapleman3]

The Accu cup is a worth while investment!! and always have an extra hydrometer on hand. and check that they read the same.

[johnallin]

Another thumb's up on the Accucup from over here. Did not know why I would get good readings coming off the arch and then be light when I bottled until I finally got one and spent the time to figure it out.

Brent, that's a really nice web site and setup you have up there. You should be proud; lots of miles since the 1/2 pint days eh?