Components of the Sikes Hydrometer The Float

The float is put in a glass flask, filled with wort, and a measure is taken. This is much the same method used today to take specific gravity readings. The float was also weighted down to calibrate for various strengths of wort (see weights). The shaft is marked with 10 main increments ranging from 0 to 10, with 4 side markers between each main marker, for a 0.2 accuracy between marks (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, etc). The bottom shaft contains the Hydrometer's serial number stamp, to verify that the float is being used with the set of weights it was calibrated with. Note that the top shaft of this particular hydrometer, on the thin side, is also stamped with the calibrator's name. Click on either image to see a large, full detail picture. Back to Components Page