# Old guy hydrometer



## Banjoe (Apr 29, 2011)

I'm having difficulty getting any kind of accuracy reading our wine hydrometer as the scale is very narrow where I'm trying to read. I can't really tell if we're looking at 0.992 or .996 or some other reading. 

Is there a hydrometer available with a much wider range covering the values we are trying to read?

Joe


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## ibglowin (Apr 29, 2011)

Couple of things to try. 

Try a flashlight and magnifying glass. Good light and a bigger picture always help.

Get yourself a 100ml Graduated Cylinder. Fill it with wine to the mark and then place the hydrometer inside the cylinder. Sometimes just getting it out of the primary will make reading easier as you can get more up close to it for a better reading.

Welcome to the forums!


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## BobF (Apr 29, 2011)

http://morewinemaking.com/search?search=hydrometer

These narrow scale hydrometers read brix, but that shouldn't be a problem


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## Runningwolf (Apr 29, 2011)

They do sell cheap hydrometer jars to add wine to so you can get an accurate reading. http://www.finevinewines.com/p-1532-5396.aspx


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## jet (Apr 29, 2011)

I fill my test jar all the way to the top, so I don't have to look thru the side, and use a bright flashlight to help read the numbers.


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## Banjoe (Apr 29, 2011)

It's really great to have found this group. I've learned an awful lot just lurking in the background but now have first hand experience with the knowledge of this group.

Thanks for the insights to my challenge. I do have a plastic tube-deal that I put the hydrometer in to get it to eyelevel and have a magnifying glass around here somewhere (memory is gone off somewhere with the eyes). Haven't increased the light level so that's next.

My hope is to find a measuring device that spreads out the reading range to I can better determine if we're running .996 or .995.

The Brix units may be the answer to getting the wider reading range so I'm off to check out those details.

By the way, I'm a bit confused if to read to the top of the miniscus or the bottom. I've seen instructions both ways.

thanks again - Joe


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## BobF (Apr 29, 2011)

Go by the instructions for your particular hydro on where to read. I own hydros with different reading points.

In reality, the diff is usually .001 or so. That's close enough for me!


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## Dugger (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi Banjoe, welcome to the forum - great bunch of people here. 
I know what you mean about the eyesight - I have dollar store reading glasses all over the house and shed! .. and a pair handy my hydrometer. It doesn't really matter if you read the top or bottom of the meniscus or that you read to the nearest .001. The important thing is the relative changes of the readings and that you read your hydrometer in a consistent manner.
Hope you're not in a flood area!!
Good luck.


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## lloyd (Apr 29, 2011)

YOU CAN GET A PRECISION hydrometer FROM E.C.KRAUS.COM. IT reads from 1.02. to 0.980 in a scale distance of about 3" very easy to get an accurate finish reading. #Hy410 .980/1.020.


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## Banjoe (Apr 30, 2011)

*Eureka!*

Many thanks for the guidance group. 

Better light is a big help, working at eye level is a substantial improvement, still can't find the magnifying glass (then again if I could see it I probably wouldn't need it), and a wider range hydrometer has been discovered at E C Kraus.

Even though our little river is still rising and snow is forecast for tomorrow, life is getting better. Looking forward to getting past the hydrometer stage and getting to that drinking stage.

Thanks all!

Joe


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## Banjoe (May 7, 2011)

*Hydrometer Source*

I'm back to square one.....

Found the perfect wide scale hydrometer at E C Kraus but, living in Canada, I can't buy it and have it shipped to my drop box in North Dakota. Can't argue with their policy but it means that I'm back on the trail for a usable device.

Anyone have an alternate source of quality (but accessible) equipment?

Joe


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## Wade E (May 7, 2011)

If you want you can have someone on here buy it for you and have one of us ship it to you. t will cost more but at least youll have it. Im willing to do this for you but finding someone closer to you would save you much more money!!!!!


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## Ron22 (May 7, 2011)

I was going to sugest the same thing. Ship to someone here and have them ship to you.
Is there a legal reason E C Kraus will not ship to Canada? So we would be having the same legal issue sending it to you.
But the we could ship USPS and ship to you PO box in ND


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## Wade E (May 7, 2011)

Ive shipd to Canada many times. Sometimes there is a brokerage charge though that can get expensive. On a few occasions the buyer got whacked with this charge which was like $45 for a 18" x 18" x 22" box. Im sure your charge would be much much smaller if you did get charged. Im not sure if its a random thing as not everyone got whacked, maybe 3 out of 10 people.


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## Banjoe (May 8, 2011)

*Broker & broker*

You guys nailed it with the cross-border charges. Shipping across that line triggers all kinds of bureaocracy and fees so I prefer to just drive the 60 miles, pick up my goodies, and then declare them at the border crossing. 

We usually tie this into a pleasant weekend trip to North Dakota so get to bring everything back duty free. It's a real win/win/win situation for me that is driven by our strange need to create maximum paperwork for the minimum possible return.

Ideally, I would like to support a business that supports this group but, if this isn't going to work, I would appreciate leaning on one of you to act as go-between. (I feel a bit sheepish about this as it feels strangely like asking an adult to hit the liquor store for me).


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## Wade E (May 8, 2011)

We are here for you if need be.


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## jtstar (May 8, 2011)

I live in the northeast part of Nebraska so if I can be of help to you just pm me


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## Ron22 (May 8, 2011)

Have to love crossing the boarder sometime dont you 
It would still work to have it shipped to someone else. I assume E C Kraus only ships UPS or FEDX so can not ship to the PO box. 
But the middle man could ship it USPS it is not that big of item so it should be fine.


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## buddy (May 8, 2011)

The horror stories that you hear about shipping across the U.S.-Canadian border come from the courier companies that charge a ridiculous brokerage fee. They base their fees on a percentage of the cost of the item. It's on a sliding scale but typically expect to pay about 1/3 of the cost of your order, that is on top of the shipping charge that you have already paid. 
If the item is shipped using USPS then the parcel gets handed off to Canada Post and there may or may not be any charges applied, it all depends on the value of the order. If the order is worth less than $20.00 then there are no taxes or duty (if applicable) applied.
If the order is marked as a gift then there are no taxes or duty for the first $60.00 of that order.
Above these limits you will have to pay the sales tax for your area as well as any duty if the product has an origin outside of North America. There is also a flat fee $5.00 dollar handling charge to do the extra paper work regardless of the value of your order. This handling fee is what the courier companies call their brokerage fee.
The $5.00 handling fee is a fair deal because the paperwork is the same regardless of the value of the parcel.
Personally when I am buying from the U.S., I will make sure that the parcel is shipped by USPS. If that is not possible then I won't buy the item.


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## Ron22 (May 8, 2011)

Buddy I ment to have the middle man send USPS to you PO box in ND not Canada.


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