weird alcometer reading

[rexxxlo]

ok so this is a post from a noob and i know i will get flamed if i dont first say that i have read homedistillers and other sites along with the froum for months before i even signed up or posted anything.

i am working on my second mash and after a few problems i decided to make a few changes instead of using molases in my mash just to distill it out with a reflux still i decided to just go with plain old sugar, alcotec turbo yeast and distilled water

my first mash gave me a constant rising alcohol content from the first day for about 3 days where it hit 20 %abv but the yeast did not stop working for almost a week after i knew this because the airlock was still bubbling like crazy but in my hurry i ran an unfinsihed mash through the still anyways tasted a little like buttered popcorn but deffinately had a high abv content i am guessing 130-150 dont have a high alcohol meter yet so i cant be for sure that batch is now gone me and a bunch of freinds all loved it (wow newyears was fun)

so here is the problem i have the second mash going sugar distilled water and yeast all looks fine it smells alot like my first mash and is bubbling like crazy same smell and same taste as before. the first few days of fermentation the meter was constantly climbing until it took a sharp nose dive.
it is obivous that there is alcohol in there but my meter is telling me it is like a 2-3% abv what is causing this? could it be the bubbles changing the surface tension and making the meter fall deeper in the fluid ? a bad meter? or am i doing something wrong ?

[rectifier]

I think you're making a classic noob mistake. Don't worry, I don't intend to flame.

However, I think you're most likely reading your meter wrong as many new to brewing do.

If it is actually a "hydrometer" and not an "alcometer", that thing shows what is called "potential alcohol". It's actually a reading of how much sugar is left in there, waiting to be converted to alcohol, and it *should* drop as fermentation runs, hitting 0 when complete. The sharp dive would most likely be when your yeast actually kicked in and started making alcohol in a hurry.

If it is a true "alcometer", you can't use it in a wash anyways. It is meant to be used in a finished wine, and the sugar content of the wash will throw it completely off.

You should really get a spirit hydrometer ("high alcohol meter") or who knows what your drink is! By the way, you cannot have more than 95% ABV - when you say 130-150, you are talking about proof. Proof is %ABV x 2.

Hope i answered your questions and didn't tell you something you already knew

[knuklehead]

You can make 97% but then you have to buy a Turbo Stomper, says so right in the ebay add

[rexxxlo]

yep that must be the problem it is probably al the sugar being used considering that it has been fermenting for 6 days now and the meter reads almost nothing

where are a few good places to buy a high alcometer ilive in the states and wouldhave to have it shipped to my work ,if it even matters

[knuklehead]

brewhaus America has them