Sugar Miracle Wine Maker: how to use? Instructions for use, types of hydrometer

Vinomer (sugar, hydrometer) is an important part of the control and measuring equipment used by winemakers and brewers. The device, as a rule, is made of a sealed glass tube with a loaded and enlarged bottom and a long narrow rod. Used in combination with a tall, thin measuring cylinder filled with liquid. When immersed in wine, the device design allows it to float with a thickened end pointing down. Indications winemaker removed at the place of contact of the scale, deposited on the rod, with the surface of the liquid.

What does the hydrometer actually do?

To find the specific gravity, i.e. the ratio of the density of wort or wine to the density of water, you should use a wine maker (sugar) household. How to use the device? The device measures the amount of natural sugar. This allows you to evaluate and adjust the recipe for the preparation of the drink depending on the indications received. The winemaker can also monitor the fermentation process and, if necessary, immediately make adjustments.

Anyone who makes wine knows that there is a direct correlation between the amount of sugar present in the grapes (or other berries and fruits) and the percentage of alcohol at the end of the fermentation.

Why do you need a hydrometer?

The goals for which the winemaker is used are as follows:

• Measurement of the specific density of the liquid;
• Conducting accurate calculations with an artificial increase in the percentage of alcohol;
• Measuring the amount of natural sugar present in wine or wort;
• Determination of the potential percentage of alcohol during the addition of sugar and yeast;
• Evaluation of the progress of fermentation;
• Determination of the percent conversion of alcohol during fermentation by means of readings "before" and "after";
• Determination of the end of fermentation or the stage at which it should be stopped.

How to use the wine maker (instructions for the buyer)

When buying a hydrometer, you need to pay attention to the following:

• The range of the scale (maximum and minimum) must correspond to the specific situation. The standard measuring range for home winemakers ranges from 0.990 to 1.120. For example, in order to achieve alcohol content in wine of 12%, one should start fermentation with a specific density of 1,090.
• For which liquids is the wine maker intended? How to use the device is indicated in the attached instructions.
• Some hydrometers can only measure specific gravity, but most also measure the potential percentage of alcohol and sugar content.
• The temperature at which the wine tester is calibrated, how to use the specific gravity conversion formulas based on the sample temperature should be specified (the most common calibration temperature is +15 ° C).
• Does the size of the device match the dimensions of the graduated cylinder.
• Is there a protective case (the hydrometers are very fragile).

Sampling

How correctly to use a wine-sugar saver? A sample of wort is poured into a graduated cylinder. The hydrometer is gently lowered into the liquid with a slight rotating motion. The float will sink and float a little until it stops at the level of fluid density.

The more the wine grower emerges, the more in the sugar sample. The more the device is submerged, the lower the density of the liquid. This may mean that sugar at this stage has almost completely passed into alcohol or that there is very little of it in the sample.

When lowering the hydrometer into the graduated cylinder, care should be taken so that the device does not hit the bottom and does not break.

How to use a sugarmaker? Measurement Instructions

The following few simple steps will allow you to read the device:

• Sterilize the hydrometer, wine sampler and measuring cylinder with sodium metabisulphate or other similar sterilizer;
• Place the measuring cup on a flat surface;
• The sampler shall take a sample of wort or wine that does not contain sediment or solid particles, as this will affect the readings of the instrument;
• Fill the measuring cup with enough liquid to allow the wine tester to swim (usually by 80%);
• Carefully lower the hydrometer into the graduated cylinder (during the dive, it should be rotated so that the bubbles do not stick to the bottom of the float, which can affect its readings);
• Making sure that the device does not touch the walls of the measuring cylinder and floats freely, take readings on the lower part of the meniscus.

A meniscus is a curve formed by the upper surface of a liquid when it comes into contact with another object due to the force of surface tension. The readings should be taken completely, recording the number from one to a thousandths, rather than being limited to the last digits, since in the future this can cause confusion.

A hydrometer, a graduated cylinder and any other used containers should always be thoroughly washed.

You should make it a habit to write down everything that the wine maker measures. How to use his testimony is described later in the article. In addition, in the future, there will certainly be a need to refer to them.

Kinds of wine growers

There are many different types of hydrometers: some have only one scale, others have two, and three. The three dimensions that the winemaker needs to receive are:

• Specific gravity;
• Sugar content;
• Potential share of alcohol.

The density scale usually starts at 0.990 and ends at 1.120. For water, its value is one, so if the device is floating in water, its surface must coincide with the 1,000 mark. If you dissolve sugar in it, the hydrometer will float higher.

Some remarks

User feedback is recommended for accuracy always measuring and checking checks twice. Perhaps for home winemaking, getting the right measurements is not critical, but it's a good habit that can prevent too much or too low alcohol levels due to incorrect measurements.

For example, 125 g of sugar, dissolved in one liter of water, will give a specific density of 1,046.

Factors affecting the indications

As a rule, the bubbles of carbon dioxide produced by yeast rise and dissipate in the air. At the beginning of fermentation, when their allocation is noticeable, they attach to the float and cause the winemaker to float up. How to use it in this case, so that his testimony was correct? When immersed in a liquid user reviews recommend that the hydrometer rotate. After the end of the active fermentation period, bubbles are usually no longer a problem.

There is one more question that the winemaker is asked, using a home winemaker. How to use the device when the temperature of the sample differs from the calibration temperature? It is usually 20 ° C, but for certainty it is necessary to consult the manufacturer's instructions. Higher temperatures are the cause of underestimated readings. Therefore, the result should be corrected.

The most important factor that influences how to use a wine maker-sugar is the presence of alcohol. Its density is less than that of water, and the float drops lower. For a hydrometer, this has such consequences: as the sugar floats up, the presence of these two components in the wine has a mutual effect on each other. The scale that measures the sugar level is accurate only before the fermentation begins, when no alcohol is present in the liquid. The wine, which has fermented dry, will have negative values of this scale.

Fortunately, the effect of alcohol on the hydrometer is predictable and can be taken into account when deriving the mathematical formulas used to calculate the alcohol content and the residual percentage of sugar. That's where there is an advantage of using specific density - for dry wine it will be below 0.999, which can be used in calculations.

Interpretation of measurements

Another problem that arises when a household wine maker is used is how to use the meter readings? User feedback is recommended to keep a log of all measurement results obtained for a specific wine. According to the data, it is possible to draw some conclusions even without making any calculations.

The first readings, taken before the fermentation, will tell if there is enough sugar to produce the required amount of alcohol. For the stability of wine, the alcohol content in it should be at least 10%, which means that the initial specific gravity must be at least 1,080 (Brix value must be at least 20). If the sugar level is too low, it needs to be adjusted, and then make another measurement. The new indicator will be "first".

Any data obtained after the start of fermentation can be compared with the previous ones and can track the general course of fermentation. Reducing the density indicates a decrease in the level of sugar and an increase in the alcohol content. If the wine maker's readings remain stable between the two measurements, this is one indication that the fermentation is complete.

If the density of wine increases, and this does not happen due to the addition of sugar or other element, carbon dioxide is probably the cause , especially if bubbles are visible. If this occurs near the end of the fermentation period, then it is possible to get rid of the gas by intensive stirring of the wine after its decantation.

If the readings remain stable with a specific gravity above 0.996 (or Brix zero or less) and the desired amount of alcohol is present, fermentation is completed with the presence of residual sugar. But if the measurement results do not change at a density that is well above 0.996 (or Brix is above zero) and the alcohol level is well below the recommended minimum, then the fermentation is likely to have stopped and should be resumed.

After the specific gravity drops to about 0.996 and lower (Brix is slightly below zero), the wine is fermented to dryness.

To calculate the actual amount of alcohol or sugar, the current reading should be compared to the first one, which was taken before the fermentation started. The percentage of alcohol content is then multiplied by the difference between the initial and final specific gravity by 132.