Alcoholmeter. See [/URL]

Put your finished distillate in a glass container deep enough for the alcoholmeter to float in WITHOUT bottoming out (they are fragile as all get out and will break if you just shout at them). Take the measurement. Then measure the quantity of your distillate. Then go to [URL]http://homedistiller.org/distill/dilute/calc and key in your amounts and click calculate. It will tell you the amount of (preferably distilled) water to add to your distilled output. Try to put a little less water than the calculator states. Check with the alcoholmeter. You can always add a touch more water.

The alcoholmeter goes in the finished distillate. The hydrometer goes in the wash. They are not interchangable.

I'm not a refluxer, so I'm unable to help you on the other questions.

Great advice your getting here. The trick would be to find a glass vessel capable of letting a person give it a check and still leave room for water. Might work on pot still but not so good for refluxing.

I stick my hooch checker into a two quart mason jar and it hits the bottom with a clink each time. Only way I have found to do it is like this.

Pour some high test stuff in your trusty test tube gizmo and give it a check. Noticed on the last run for example..time all the non stinky stuff got itself conjugated it wind up at 170 proof.

So I pour out about half a quart into another jar and add about a third distilled water and give it a stir with the SS spoon..and check it again with the test tube hooch checker gizmo.

Continueth the increments of distilled or crick water..added a bit at a time till it gets drinkable to your taste buds. Anywhere between 90 and 110 works for me.

Think I get sillier on the 90 cuz it go down mo easy..lol. Best of Fortunes Sir. Kindly keep us posted.

"I bought a hydrometer when I ordered my PSII but mistakenly orderd one with a 30-60% scale. Not the best when your distillate is coming off at > 80 abv.

I was going to order another with a higher abv scale, but took another path.

First off, I don't like hydrometers. The test cylinder needs 200 ml of product to male a reading. I don't like that. Second, they are fragile and kind of unwieldy.

So, I decided to measure the density, or specific gravity (ml/g) another way. I happened to have a small scale that reads down to 0.1 grams from another interest of mine. Armed with that I ordered a 50 ml volumetric flask. Did I mention I was an analytical chemist?

OK so here's how I do it. Weigh the flask, mine weighs 31.8 g. Fill the flask with hooch up to the line. Weigh that, say 72.9, less 31.8 is 41.1 g. Record the temp of the hooch, say 82F. So 50 mls of your distillate weighs 41.1. Calculate the specific gravity, 41.1/50 = .822 g/ml. Go to fermcalc.com, go to the calculator, alcohol button, OIML calculator. Enter your SG and temp and voila, you have 90.1 abv.

Lots of ways to skin a cat, this is the one I am liking right now. But I'm just getting started, only distilled 5 times."