Measuring 66.9%

[ScottT]

I have looked at the Murphy cups for a while. A bit on the pricey side, when I consider that I only check the density at boiling, when I draw off and when I am bottling. From what I gather, the Murphy cup is very helpful when you want to find the correct density at a temperature that is less than boiling. Since I always test at boiling, I’m thinking it’s not really worth it - for what I do, and the way I do it.
Thoughts? Am I missing something?

The way I look at it, there's nothing wrong with having more maple syrup making toys....LOL

[Andy VT]

You don't need a murphy cup. It is a convenience item, and a nice one, and I have one and love it. But you don't need it. You can do the same by inserting a thermometer into the sample in the cup and using a conversion chart for your hydrometer reading. I bought the murphy cup to avoid this, thinking that the time required to fumble with all this when batch boiling would cause the density to change too much while measuring. What the murphy cup helped me discover is that for a given method, the sample temperature is pretty much always the same. My method is boiling on the kitchen stovetop and ladling into the sample cup. It turns out, without fail, the murphy cup tells me my target is 61 brix. So, I don't really need the murphy cup anymore (though I still use it, might as well, and its good to be sure since I do have it), but could just use 61 brix as my 66.9 target. Of course, what this means is that I can't use the red line on the hydrometer (59 brix target), which is for a sample 211F, which is really only achievable if you're scooping your sample right out of your syrup pan.
So, figure out what your sample system is, figure out what that temperature that is when you insert the hydrometer and what the 66.9 equivalent is at that temp, and make that your target.
Also, every once in a while, grab a jar of your own syrup and check the density to see if you're generally consistent. If the sample is 60 degrees F or more, any downloadable conversion chart will tell you what your hydrometer reading should be. If always correct, whatever you're doing is working. If not, it isn't and needs work.
But still ask for the murphy cup for Christmas sometime, which is how I got mine :-D
Andy

I have looked at the Murphy cups for a while. A bit on the pricey side, when I consider that I only check the density at boiling, when I draw off and when I am bottling. From what I gather, the Murphy cup is very helpful when you want to find the correct density at a temperature that is less than boiling. Since I always test at boiling, I’m thinking it’s not really worth it - for what I do, and the way I do it.
Thoughts? Am I missing something?