I have brewed 5 batches and am now woundering can I put and leave a hydrometer strait in to the primary or would this cause problems. I am thinking about doing a cider in a better bottle. Cheers :cheers:
Have a friend who tried that recently. He had a dickens of a time trying to herd the thing into the one foam-free patch so he could get a proper reading. This was with beer, though; it might be easier with cider since the must doesn’t get so foamy.
Give it a try. Not sure if it would work, but it would be mighty handy. Worst case, you can’t read it and have to pull a sample anyway. If I were going to do it, I’d use one of the hydros with a built in thermometer. Only downside, no sample to sample.
Did not think about the foam cap but i don’t think that cider foams that much anyway. As for sampling i have not quite go the whole non-carbonated beer drinking down (yet) 
man i need to get a better life. cheers
One issue is the CO2 in the fermenter. The bubbles will attach themselves to the hydrometer and “raise” it. Giving a false reading. Even after fermentation is done, there is still CO2 in solution.
When getting a reading, it’s best to pour the beer sample between 2 glasses to degas it.
Yet another thing i did not think of, but hey that is why we ask these questions. The amount of info that I am learning from everyone is priceless. Also did not know that I should be decanting the beer to take the readings. thanks and cheers
just remember to sanitize your beer thief or turkey baster or whatever you use to decant the beer from the fermenter
8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... CpPkQ248Zc
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Z0P-t0I_8&feature=plcpvery true, I sanitize everything, and think I should start buying it in 55 gal drums. cheers
[quote=“unknowledged brewer”]very true, I sanitize everything, and think I should start buying it in 55 gal drums. cheers[/quote]If you’re using StarSan, a gallon will last you several years if you mix it up in batches and keep an eye on the pH of the solution.
your saying I don’t have to dump it out after each use?
I sure have been going through it fast
:shock:
[quote=“Ekffazr”]your saying I don’t have to dump it out after each use?[/quote]As long as the pH is less than 3, it’s working. I mix a 5-gal batch and use it for at least a month, refreshing it every now and then by decanting to a new bucket to leave any particle behind, then topping off with a little fresh water and a splash of StarSan. If yours is getting cloudy, there’s too much hardness in your tap water, and if you mix it up with store-bought machine water ($0.39 per gallon) it’ll stay clear for the life of the StarSan.
I have been thinking about switching to star stan right now i am still using one step, do you just keep it in a food safe 5 gal bucket with a lid. cheers
Star san is the way to go, thanks to its re-usability its both easier and cheaper. The 5 gallon jug would be fine, but you don’t need that much. Personally I mix up 2.5 gallons at a time. I keep 2 gallons of it in plastic water jugs, and of the remaining half gallon, whatever fits goes into a spray bottle, and what’s left after that I use to sanitize whatever I’m presently working with and then toss it.
I then procede to reuse this same sanitizer for several batches. I don’t really bother checking the ph any more, because I’ve found my internal “I should probably mix up more sanitizer” clock goes off long before there’s actually a problem. That said, depending on your water and how often you use it, yours may not last as long as mine, so you probably want to get some ph strips.
If you’re REALLY cheap, you can “freshen up” an old batch of star san by adding more concentrate. Personally I don’t bother with this, I feel like I still get plenty of mileage out of a batch.
