Safale US-04

[Trough Lolly]

Well spotted Kev - and what are brews "H", "I" and "J", Mick?

[billybushcook]

I see! said the blind man....Hey Mick, is that a fishtank heater power lead coming out of your fermenter?

Once glance at the walls of your deep freezer tell me that you're brewing in a relatively hostile environment...

Cheers,
TL

TL, yes, had been using fishtank heater for about 15 yrs, now retired thanks to my "tempmate" & a new heating/cooling system, that pic was taken back in Feb,
As for environment, The box gets a good blast with bleach after each batch.

As for brews H, I & J? All but gone, only 3 bottles of "J" left in stock, now brewing batch "Q"! (26 letters in the alphabet, 26 fortnights in a year, Coincidence, you be the judge) average consumption = 1 brew/fortnight.

Kev, you could be right about the caps, some do have a concave top, & occasionally get one which doesn't carbonate as well as the rest.
After capping, I always turn them up side down & shake to distribute the sugar, let sit while I fill the next one, then turn right side up & shake again. Never noticed any leaking, but the odd one with the low carb could be leaking gas???

Cheers, Mick.

[Rabbitz]

Ok, so I'll don the flame retardant gear.

Given that in this case the hydrometer is being used to look for stability in the wort i.e. ~3 days of consistent readings which should = FG, and the OP isn't too concerned about such issues as efficiency, antenuation etc etc etc.

The possiblity of a small number of bubbles or pieces of crud changing the actually reading is of little concern. The difference in the quantity of bubbles over time, at this stage of fermentation, will be less than the accuracy of the device, the crud will be consistent, so in the end as the actual value is of little to no importance (in this case) the 'permanent floating' hydro will give a good indication of the finish of fermentation, obviously when coupled with the OP's other indicators.

Further to this, if the hydro is read in a consistent manner, i.e. at the same angle, the parallax will be the same so the reading may not be accurate but it will give the consistency needed in this case.

To me it looks like a servicable, lateral solution to a problem.

Regards
Rabz
(Now retiring to the bunker)