[tschmidlin]

I just don't get the need for a sight glass.  One more thing to clean when a marked stick does the job just as well.  Am I missing something?

[phillamb168]

Oh, Hi. I'm the owner of brewhardware.com and I just wanted to mention that I do, in fact, ship internationally. There was a brief time during the holidays, and shortly afterwards, where order volume was so high that I couldn't justify standing in line at the post office to ship. I'm sorry if that seemed like a lame excuse, but I can drop off 30 domestic shipments in 3 minutes, but it can take up to 30 minutes to stand in line with the customs form, just to ship a single international package.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.

Bobby
brewhardware.com

I'm sure it can be annoying to do, but isn't that what interns are for?

[phillamb168]

FWIW that Refractometer is wayyyy cheaper than anything I can buy here. Love it.

[phillamb168]

Or not. $100 for shipping! I've never seen shipping prices that high.

[oscarvan]

I just don't get the need for a sight glass.  One more thing to clean when a marked stick does the job just as well.  Am I missing something?

I have one on my HLT which is up high. I have a water pipe that runs in there, and all I have to do is open the valve and watch the gauge. It is convenient.

[glastctbrew]

I just don't get the need for a sight glass.  One more thing to clean when a marked stick does the job just as well.  Am I missing something?

Similar to Oscarvan, my HLT is up high.  To use a dip stick I have to climb up a step ladder.  So much easier to just watch the sight gage as I fill it with a hose equipped with a ball valve.

[tschmidlin]

For the HLT in your setups it makes sense, plus I wouldn't even bother cleaning it then.  But I stand on a step ladder with a hose to fill it anyway, so I can see how full it is.  I thought you guys were using them for the boil or the mash tun.

[alikocho]

Or not. $100 for shipping! I've never seen shipping prices that high.

I got the exact same model of refractometer for a similar price in Europe via a well known auction site, without that much in shipping.

[oscarvan]

For the HLT in your setups it makes sense, plus I wouldn't even bother cleaning it then.  But I stand on a step ladder with a hose to fill it anyway, so I can see how full it is.  I thought you guys were using them for the boil or the mash tun.

Nope. And indeed, I don't clean it. All that goes in there is water. I put a dust lid on top if I do dusty things in the barn. I do drain it down to it's lowest level when I'm done.

[bluesman]

I just don't get the need for a sight glass.  One more thing to clean when a marked stick does the job just as well.  Am I missing something?

I have one on my HLT which is up high. I have a water pipe that runs in there, and all I have to do is open the valve and watch the gauge. It is convenient.

+1

I used to use a measuring stick which worked fine but now that I have Blichmann's with sight glasses and I find it much more convenient to use and they're easy to clean.

[bobby_m]

Or not. $100 for shipping! I've never seen shipping prices that high.

Any country that I haven't set up an international shipping rate for will default to $100. You could have contacted me and asked for a shipping quote. I'm setup for Canada and Australia right now but will add any country to the list by request. The reason I can't just blanket every country in the shipping profiles is that the actual cost is wildly different from country to country. In other words, I'm not going to spend time setting up a profile for a country I may never ship to.

[bobby_m]

For the HLT in your setups it makes sense, plus I wouldn't even bother cleaning it then.  But I stand on a step ladder with a hose to fill it anyway, so I can see how full it is.  I thought you guys were using them for the boil or the mash tun.

Tom, many people wonder the same thing and I get repeated emails about it. Here's what I put in my FAQ:

There are all kinds of alternatives to installing a sight glass. You can brew without them. When I first started all grain brewing, I simply measured all my liquid volumes in a spare bucket that had gallon markings printed on the side. That was fine for smaller batches at a time when I transfered everything with a bucket. After you start pumping from one vessel to the next or gravity draining, the use of a bucket is a waste of time.

A lot of brewers also create calibrated dip sticks (or story sticks) that you drop into the vessel to read the level. In the case of a boil kettle, you'll need the level to last for a minute so that you can remove it to read because a constant stream of steam makes it hard to see into the boil kettle.  Also, if you use a tiered system where the hot liquor tank is up high, it's a pain to climb up a step stool to watch the level as you drain it. The basic story here is that a sight glass is a matter of convenience, not necessity.  However, Now that I'm used to it, I don't think I could brew on my system without one.


The one anecdote I like is that I've heard of several people without sight glasses on the HLT and BK suggest they are a waste of money and cleaning effort. However, I have never heard of a single person who has them installed agree with that. You might attribute it to self serving delusion but I don't think so.

[bobby_m]

Damn you guys...you're gonna make me buy one of these!

Denny, seriously brother, if you want one it's yours gratis. I'll even hand deliver it to San Diego in June.

[tschmidlin]

Also, if you use a tiered system where the hot liquor tank is up high, it's a pain to climb up a step stool to watch the level as you drain it.

I don't watch the level as I drain my HLT, so maybe that's the problem

[maxieboy]

Damn you guys...you're gonna make me buy one of these!

Denny, seriously brother, if you want one it's yours gratis. I'll even hand deliver it to San Diego in June.

Doggone celebrities and their gift bags...