Hydrometer Vs Alcoholmeter

[yoavyichie]

Hello everybody.

This days i start distillation after 2 weeks of fermentation of cherries ( temp: 25-35 c).
I measure the brix by refractometer before i realized that the value i got is wrong.

Now i have alcohol-meter, i didn't understand after reading how can i measure SG with alcohol-meter, even though i understand the difference between them.

another question, in the terms of methanol- it's safe enough to throw 10 ml per litter in order to get rid of the methanol molecules??

Thanks for all the helpers, i'm really appreciate

[InglisHill]

Hmmm, short answer, you can't measure SG with your alchometer.

Yes, 10mls per litre should be fine.

[Grey_Meadow]

The Refractometer, Hydrometer and Alcoholmeter are all different tools with different uses and different scales. The Refractometer is used to measure the sugar content of the solution prior to fermentation by measuring the refraction of light through the solution. The Hydrometer is used to measure the sugar content both prior and post fermentation by measuring the specific gravity of the water / sugar solution. The Alcoholmeter is used to measure the alcohol content of a water / alcohol solution (or in the case of high proof the alcohol / water content) .

Refractometer. This tool is used to measure the refraction of light through a few drops of a solution. This is used mainly before fermentation. The readings are greatly affected by the presence of alcohol and are not directly useful after fermentation. Because it only requires a few drops of liquid, it was originally used by grape growers to measure the sugar content of the individual grapes. Prior to fermentation it is useful in determining the sugar content and equivalent SG of the “beer”

Hydrometer. This is a tool to measure the Specific Gravity between 0.980 – 1.100 ish. This tool is used both prior to and after fermentation. The specific gravity of a water / sugar solution has a direct correlation to the sugar content, before fermentation this gives a fairly accurate indication of the sugar content. After fermentation the presence of alcohol does affect the reading but it is typically small. The scale goes down to 0.980 to accommodate wine makers; when a wine must is fermented to completion (dry, all sugars consumed) the alcohol content is typically about 12-14%. The solution of water and alcohol at this percentage has a specific gravity of about 0.980. Knowing the Specific Gravity before (Original Gravity, OG) and after fermentation (Final Gravity, FG) will give an indication how much of the sugars have been consumed by the yeast and therefore an indication of the alcohol content of the beer.

Alcoholmeter. This is a tool to measure the Specific Gravity between 0.789 (pure ethanol) and 1.000 (water). This tool is only useful after or duration distillation and everything except water and alcohol have been removed. The specific gravity of the water / alcohol solution will give an indication of the percent alcohol or proof of the solution.

The specific gravity of a solution is greatly affected by the temperature. One of the great advantages of the Refractometer is the temperature of a few drops is quick cools to room temperature and therefore temperature is not a concern. However, hydrometer and alcoholmeter readings are greatly affected by temperature. If an alcoholmeter is used in a parrot at the time of distillation and the temperature gets into the hundreds the reading will be 15-20+ higher than the actual percent alcohol.

So to recap.
-- Refractometer: measure sugar content before fermentation
-- Hydrometer: measure sugar content before and after fermentation.
-- Alcoholmeter: measure alcohol content after distillation.
-- Temperature greatly affects the hydrometer and alcoholmeter.

Good luck, read everything at least twice and often.

Grey