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Brewing your own beer is simple, but sometimes hitting your specific gravity reading and the correct temperature numbers can be challenging. For homebrewers, it’s way more scientific than most people imagine.
That’s where the Tilt Hydrometer comes in. It’s a tool that will allow you to monitor the temperature and the specific gravity of the beer, all throughout the fermentation process.
It eliminates manual methods by quickly measuring the temperature, specific gravity, extract weight, and density of sugary liquids during fermentation,
But is it any good? And will it actually make a difference for the average homebrewer? Keep reading to find out with this Tilt Hydrometer Review.
Table of Contents
Tilt Wireless Hydrometer
Have you ever wondered why specific gravity (SG) and starting temperatures are important when brewing? It’s because these two factors determine one of the most important aspects of beer making – the yeast.
Homebrewing is a combination of art and science, and if you like to brew beer, these two factors are critical for making the best beer possible.
The Tilt wireless hydrometer connects to your computer, tablet, or smartphone so you can receive constant and accurate gravity and temperature readings of your beer, without ever opening the lid of your fermenter.
The technology is pretty much fool-proof. Drop the Tilt into the fermenter and then let it start doing its thing, but don’t forget to make sure it is sanitized first.
What's Included In The Box, and What's Required
There isn’t too much you need to start using the tilt, so everything comes packaged in a small box.
Included
- Tilt wireless hydrometer and thermometer with plastic tube
- Battery (Pre-installed)
- Quick start manual
Required
- iOS or Android device with Bluetooth
- Free Tilt app
Tilt Wireless and Digital
Hydrometer
Compatibility
The Tilt is compatible on any iOS/Android smartphone/tablet or Tilt Pi. While the Tilt digital hydrometer is gathering your specific gravity and temperature data, you can easily record and log the data to their free Google Sheets template, or a number of other 3rd party platforms.
Some of the compatible platforms that the Tilt works with include:
- BrewersFriend.com
- Baron Brew’s Google Sheets
- Grainfather.com
- Brewfather.app
- Monitor.beer
- CraftMetrics.ca
- Simple Brew iOS app
Tilt Wireless Hydrometer Features and Benefits
The wireless hydrometer comes with a variety of features that makes it an undoubtedly improvement over many other products on the market right now.
- Better range
- More precision
- Better efficiency
- Different colors for monitoring multiple batches
Better Transmitter Range
Tilt increased the transmitter range of the new hydrometer. The transmitter is now strong enough to send signals through the thickest walls of most fermentation chambers, and fermenters, including stainless steel.
Thankfully, with better range, it will give you more options for where you do your primary fermentation. You don’t have to annoy everyone in the house by setting up your brewing buckets or conical fermenters on the kitchen table.
Now you can simply hook it up to your mobile phone or tablet, via Bluetooth, and track your brews from just about anywhere in the house.
More Precision and Accuracy
Tilt has also been busy working on the sensors themselves. Many people have complained about the accuracy of previous models in the past. It didn’t have the kind of granularity or reliability you needed to get a reading in real time.
This new device remedies those old issues somewhat. The thermometer is accurate within a +/- 1 degree accuracy, and the hydrometer now offers specific gravity accurate to +/- 0.002 within its range of 0.990 to 1.120.
These improvements mean that it’s worth paying a bit more for a piece of brewing equipment you know will do what you need it to do. You could get a traditional hydrometer, but you’d forfeit the greater accuracy.
Each unit comes calibrated from the factory and ready to go out of the box. The factory settings are helpful because you don’t have to make any time-consuming adjustments when you take it out of the box . If you’re new to the homebrewing and think it’s too confusing, it’s pretty much plug-and-play.
Improved Tilt Hydrometer Battery Life For Better Efficiency
Generally, it takes between 4 to 6 weeks to brew a decent batch of beer. So, any digital hydrometer you buy needs to last at least that long without failing or running out of power.
Tilt has made substantial efficiency improvements that decreases power consumption, which leads to a longer battery life.
On previous models, the batteries would last about 3 months, but the newer models now can last anywhere between 12 and 24 months, which means you can brew more often without the need to change out the batteries.
Styles
Finally, it also comes in 8 different colors. They all look good, but to be honest, Tilt was going for aesthetics here. The colors have a different meaning, other than just looking good.
If you want to brew a single batch, it doesn’t really matter which color you choose, so just pick your favorite color. However, if you want to monitor two or more brews concurrently, you need to buy a different color.
You can’t read data from multiple devices of the same color simultaneously.
For many people, that’ll seem a little strange. But it is currently one of the limitations of the device. If you want to do multiple brews at the same time, you need devices of different colors.
Tilt Wireless and Digital
Hydrometer
Pros
- Accurate specific gravity measurements
- Dramatically improved wireless range
- Better battery life – no need to replace cells halfway through a brew
- Calibrated and ready-to-go straight from the factory
Cons
- Cannot collect data from same color devices at the same time
- More expensive than a basic glass triple-scale hydrometer
How Not To Use The Tilt Hydrometer
You don’t have to be tech savvy to use the tilt, but just so you don’t make the same mistake as other users have in the past, have a look at this quick video before you actually use it. Lol!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions from customers, or potential customers:
How To Calibrate The Tilt Hydrometer
Your Tilt is already calibrated at the factory, and ready to go when you open the box. The only time you will need to re-calibrate is for a specific density, or when you change the battery.
- Place the tilt in a bowl or glass of room temperature distilled water
- Remove any bubbles that may have collected around the tilt, and wait about a minute for it to calibrate it to 1.000
How Do I Turn On The Tilt Hydrometer?
There are no on/off switches on the Tilt.
Once you put it in the fermenter, it will start to take readings within 30 seconds to a minute. And it will stay on throughout the complete fermentation process, and as long as the gravity is reading between 0.990 and 1.200.
How Do I Turn Off The Tilt Hydrometer?
When it’s not being used for brewing, just stand it up or lay it down it will shut itself off automatically to save the battery life.
How Accurate Is The Tilt Hydrometer and Thermometer?
As with any electronic device, there will always be some fluctuations in the readings. There is a +/- 0.002 within the specific gravity range. As far as the temperature gauge accuracy, it can vary from +/- 1°F or +/- 0.5°C).
Does Vigorous and Active Fermentation Affect Readings?
Tilt claims that since 95% of the Tilt is submerged, and because krausen is less dense than beer, there should not be any noticeable changes in the output measurements.
However, during a vigorous and active fermentation, there can be some fluctuations in the data. But since the Tilt takes readings every few minutes, the numbers are averaged to get a more accurate reading.
Final Say
When it comes down to it, making beer is a science and a numbers game. If you have the opportunity to upgrade a piece of brewing equipment that can help you during the long brewing process, it’s wise to consider it if you can afford the cost.
For many homebrewers, adding to the brewing toolbox is a common theme, and the Tilt Hydrometer will definitely make things more simple the next time you brew.
It keeps track of the brew’s temperature and gravity during the entire fermentation process, so you always know what’s going on inside of the fermenter in real time, without opening the lid.
Now that doesn’t mean you have to throw your glass triple-scale hydrometer in the trash, but once you try the Tilt, you will never look back.
Happy Brewing!
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