The Tilt Hydrometer can be used for wine though the cap from red wines can prevent the hydrometer from free floating in the fermenter giving you an incorrect reading.

It floats on top at an angle with the surface that changes with the change in density. I find mine tend to get a bit of krausen buildup over the course of a normal fermentation. I'm unsure if or how much this impacts the accuracy of the density measurement. The reading also oscillates during very active fermentation but the readings vary less as the fermentation activity subsides. All in all a pretty cool addition to the tool box especially if you can't get a beer sample easily during fermentation.

It floats on the top of the wort. In my opinion it doesn't matter where you take the temp from as long as you are consistent on taking the temp in the same place every time. Then make adjustments based on the same measurement and the previous outcome.

It floats on top. This should not be an issue with wort temperature. According to White/Zainasheff in their book “Yeast” it does not matter where you take the temperature reading. “As long as there is any fermentation activity in the fermentor the temperature will be the same throughout the beer.” At first when I started using the Tilt I noticed undulations in the temperature. Essentially I was getting stratification in my chest freezer which resulted in the beer temp oscillations. I added a small fan inside the chamber and the temperature readings from the Tilt began to read very closely/consistently with the setting on my controller. I believe the Tilt was always accurate and that providing a uniform temperature environment was a key learning/improvement in the quality of the beer.

This device floats at the top.

It floats with the tail down but not near the middle of the fermentor.

Inkbird....not Rainbird....DUH!

This device floats at the top of the wort and gathers temp where it sits. I use a RainBird temp controller paired with a stainless steel 7-gal SS Brewtech fermenter to govern/get the temp at the middle of the wort. The Inkbird reading is usually about 2 degrees lower than the Tilt device. I'm not sure if that's because of the stainless steel between the sensor and the wortI've been able to find a happy balance between the two readings to create some great beers. Not sure how to get accurate temp of middle of wort if you're using a carboy. I brewed without a Tilt for about a year before investing in two units (one red and one blue). I have much greater confidence in my fermentation timeline and OG/FG after buying these things! They're going strong after 1.5 yrs!

It will automatically compensate. You will get a report of the fermenting temp and the current gravity. when the fermentation is very active and the Tilt is bouncing around in there it will be temporarily erratic.

Roy. The diameter is 28mm or just under 1 1/4". This is well under the 31mm(1 3/16") on my carboy and under the 35mm (1 3/8") i.d. opening on the tri clover fitting atop my grainfather fermenter lid. I clean the outer casing with PBW and sanitize it in Star San. The electronic guts are easily removable so if you wanted I think you could boil the outer polycarbonate (I think) shell. I leave my Tilt in until I rack the beer off to a corny keg so if you are using a carboy you would just dump the Tilt out with the dregs and trub after fermenting. I hope this helps.