whats going on. my hydrometer drops to the bottom of
the case when I put it in to check the reading. just wort yet
have not added yeast. please help
Is this a new problem with a hydrometer you’ve had for a while, or is it a new hydrometer and first time use?
Did you pick up the wrong test cylinder, for this hydrometer, and it is to short?
Is the hydrometer cracked and filled with water or wort?
Did you fill the test cylinder with enough wort to float the hydrometer?
New with brewers best kit. yes filled the test cylinder3/4 full
and the hydrometer is not cracked
If you fill the test cylinder completely full, and the hydrometer still won’t float, that will be confirmation someone added to much weight when it was assembled. I don’t think it will be a problem having it replaced.
thanks flars. appreciate your input
Could also be the wrong test cylinder as suggested already. I purchased a new cylinder a while back from NB and it is too short to float either of my hydrometers. They work fine in my old cylinder, but I was replacing it because it is a little cock-eyed and the hydrometers always want to rest against the top of the cylinder edge. They simply rest on the bottom of the newly purchased cylinder.
The test jar that comes with the kit here isn’t the best quality IMO. Mine was glued to the base funky and was kind of tilted. I just replaced it with a nicer one from my local homebrew store. Works just fine now.
Test the hydrometer with tap water; It should read pretty close to 1.0*. If you drop it in the test cylinder and it bottoms-out with the 1.0 line still a bit above the water line, then the test cylinder is too empty, maybe too short. If the 1.0 line is way underwater, then your hydrometer is too heavy. If it is floating and anywhere close to the 1.000, you are in the ballpark.
- so it should read exactly 1.000 if you use distilled water at the hydrometer’s exact calibration temp, which is usually 60F. Using tap water at tap temperature you should still be able to read 0.995-1.005.
