Household vinomer-sugar meter: how to use, instructions, rules and table

Producing alcohol at home is a fascinating and complex business. Such a hobby allows you to produce your own, natural product, and not buy a "pig in a poke". Winemakers have come up with many useful devices that help to make high-quality and tasty products. One of these inventions is considered to be a household wine meter-sugar meter, but not everyone knows how to use it correctly. Let's figure it out together.

The principle of operation and what it is for

Many novice winemakers do not understand how this device works, and what are its main functions.Because of this, they prefer to manage on their own, making all the calculations by eye. In some cases, this approach justifies itself, but most experiments are unsuccessful or not as good as they could be.

In order not to get into a similar situation, let's deal with the main function of the sugar meter, because it is extremely simple - the device shows the density of sugar content in wine.

The vinomer differs from the sucrose meter by the presence of an additional scale of divisions, which allows you to measure the amount of alcohol in the liquid.

It works like this:

• the device is immersed in a liquid, and the law of Archimedes begins to act on it;
• since different liquids have different densities, the sugar meter will sink into them to different depths;
• in the future, it is enough to compare the obtained value with a special table, and you will get an idea of the current state of the drink being made.

Pay attention! Vinometers, due to their versatility, are less accurate than sugar meters. Keep this in mind when making alcohol at home.

Types of appliances

There are many different modifications of hydrometers, but only two are used in home production:

1. Household wine meter. Allows you to measure the strength of an alcoholic beverage and the amount of sugar it contains. Two scales of divisions are applied to it at once, one of which is responsible for the strength of the drink, and the other for its sugar content. The main disadvantage of the device is its low accuracy. However, this does not prevent winemakers from using it to produce wine and other spirits if they are made for home consumption. In this case, the error can be neglected, especially since it is not as significant as many people think.
2. Sugar meter brand AS-3. A drip device of high accuracy that allows you to carry out the most reliable calculations. The determination of the required values occurs with an error of 0.5. With a wine meter, such an error reaches 3% per measurement. To do this, you need to take readings after immersing the sugar meter in the liquid, and then carry out calculations using a special table.

How to properly use a wine meter-sugar meter

Let's look at the instructions for use using the example of a wine meter, as a more versatile meter than a sugar meter. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. We measure the initial density of alcohol. We measure before adding yeast. Density values recommended as optimal vary depending on the type of alcohol being produced. For the manufacture of mash, the indicators should vary in the region of 17-20%.If it is intended to use alcohol-based yeast, the percentage of sugar content increases to 20-30%. The wine should have an initial gravity in the region of 10-30%. Keep in mind that the yeast used in making wine can only ferment 20% of the total sugar. The rest will remain in your wine, determining its final variety. When making beer, keep the gravity between 6-19%.
2. Let the alcohol ferment, after which we take a second measurement in order to determine the current percentage of density.

Pay attention! As soon as the indicators stabilize and stop changing within 2 days, fermentation is considered completed.

Interpretation of measurements

It is easy to interpret the sugar meter readings obtained during the measurement. For this it is enough:

• take current density readings;
• translate them using a special table.

The table comes with the device and looks like this:

Alcohol (%Tot)Hydrometer Density (%)10.520 ,25130.5 4 5 6 7 8 1.754 2 102,25 511 5.5 6 6.5 7 153.5

	1.5
0.75	2
1	2,5
1,25	3
1.5	3.5
		9
4.5
		2.5
	12	2.75
	13	3
	14	3.25
		7.5

Factors affecting performance

The following factors affect performance:

• alcohol temperature. The reference temperature is 20 ^{о. Any deviations from it distort the readings of the device, which must be taken into account in the calculations;}
• bubbles of carbon dioxide released by the liquid during fermentation. They are glued to the hydrometer, raising it above the prescribed norm. Experts recommend slightly rotating the device from side to side when immersed. This will help avoid excessive bubble build-up and smooth out measurement errors;
• amount of alcohol. The higher the alcohol content, the lower the float drops.

Check for accuracy

To check the accuracy of your hydrometer, dip it in distilled water at 20°C ^{oFor correct operation of the device, it should be immersed in water to the zero mark. If the float is held higher than usual, apply nail polish or tape to the top of the float.}

If the sugar meter sags heavily, you will have to cut off its top a little. Do this carefully so as not to harm yourself and others.

How to make a do-it-yourself wine maker-sugar maker

It's not hard to make a wine maker. For this you will need:

• find a glass tube with one end sealed;
• lower it into water, the temperature of which is 20 ^o;
• add small pieces of metal inside the tube until it sinks almost to the very bottom. Note that you do not need to touch the bottom;
• mark the strip at the water level and set 0;
• move the tube into a container with 100 milliliters of water, in which 25 grams of sugar are diluted;
• make another mark and sign it with the number 25;
• mark the interval between 0 and 25 into equal parts;
• device ready.

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