Oh, come on Eric, you know that will only wind me up ... Ghah, too late:
My best tip is use a Pyknometer! "Easier than using a hydrometer and" vastly more "accurate".
Oh, come on Eric, you know that will only wind me up ... Ghah, too late:
Good point on the stirring of the wort or you can get very misleading readings.Eric wrote:Me too. Frequent washes between readings, dried with a clean soft cloth, and further readings if any doesn't fit with previous ones. Also it is vital when taking a kettle reading during sparging and there is likelihood of layering, that the wort be stirred. Vastly easier than using a hydrometer and equally accurate.
I'm (maybe "was" would be more truthful) an engineer, not a scientist.
A garage is my brewery and an open door during daylight is the perfect light source for reading a refractometer. Usually there is one optimum target in most locations, but a open door in comparative darkness, only the instrument's elevation needs to be altered to get a stark and easily observed reading.
Nothing to do with refractometers thoI agree with IPA that some brewers have difficulty finding the light.