Just be more careful, I've made syrup since 2003 and always used a hydrometer. When you first get a new hydrometer, before first use, put the hydrometer in the box it came in, hold the hydrometer tight to the end of the box and carefully mark the red line position on the box, (or better yet buy a "gold hydrometer" by Smoky Lake and it has the line on both the paper inside and on the glass. That way, if the hydrometer ever gets dropped too hard into the hydrometer cup and the paper slides, you can re-align it. Also, I only broke one, when it fell on the concrete floor. Make note, I also never have just 1, I bought one to use and a spare. I've had the same spare over 10 years. It's not that I'm any better than you, likely just more careful. great tool too, is to have a Murphy Cup for your hydrometer cup, yes, it's costly, but not as costly as ruining batch after batch of syrup. To use it, fill with the syrup being tested, at any temperature, watch the gauge. Once it stops moving put the clean hydrometer in the cup. Both should read the same. The gauge on the Murphy cup is really a thermometer, but it's marked not with temperature but in what the hydrometer should read at whatever temperature the syru in the cup is. No guesswork.
Before the Murphy Cup used to use an Accu cup, similar, except the gauge gave you the temperature and then you used a chart to find the wanted hydrometer reading, but it only had some temperatures in the chart, you had to guesstimate for a reading between 2 temperatures in the chart. The Murphy cup removed that process.
Try again, buy 2 and be extremely careful using the hydrometer. If done right there will be no bad batches. One more thing, temperature boiling isnot an easy read, as the air pressure changes so does the desired boiling temp, that's why you use a Murphy Cup.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.