33 replies to this topic

[mikebrad]

As I mentioned in another thread, I can stick 4 thermometers in my mash and get 4 different temperatures. Personally, I don't think any of them are right. Is anybody using something they have a high degree of confidence in? I'm willing to put out a few pennies if necessary for something that works well.

[BlKtRe]

I use glass lab grade thermos as my calibrating thermos. Alcohol/spirit filled lab thermos work just fine and is what I use. There are partial and full immersion types. I use both. The partial you immerse to a line, while the full has to be immersed to the level of what you are reading. I use these lab thermos to calibrate all my adjustable bimetal's in the brewery. Or, you can just use the lab thermos on brew day.The KC guys did a huge bulk buy on these. I cant remember the company. Maybe DJ remembers...NB and B3 sells similiar...Lab thermo

[shmgeggie]

After I was done brewing my last batch, I noticed that some of the red stuff in my thermo had separated from the rest. I think my temps were probably high by about 4F. Is there any way to fix a thermo when the fluid inside breaks up like that?

[djinkc]

I use glass lab grade thermos as my calibrating thermos. Alcohol/spirit filled lab thermos work just fine and is what I use. There are partial and full immersion types. I use both. The partial you immerse to a line, while the full has to be immersed to the level of what you are reading. I use these lab thermos to calibrate all my adjustable bimetal's in the brewery. Or, you can just use the lab thermos on brew day.The KC guys did a huge bulk buy on these. I cant remember the company. Maybe DJ remembers...NB and B3 sells similiar...Lab thermo

I've been using cheap spirit filled thermometers from them for several years. $2 - 3 if IIRC. Every one of them has matched up with my lab grade mercury thermometer. As Andy mentioned there are several types. I just stir them around in the mash a bit and take a reading. I need to order some again - down to one........www.novatech-usa.com80621

[BlKtRe]

I've been using cheap spirit filled thermometers from them for several years. $2 - 3 if IIRC. Every one of them has matched up with my lab grade mercury thermometer. As Andy mentioned there are several types. I just stir them around in the mash a bit and take a reading. I need to order some again - down to one........www.novatech-usa.com80621

Dan, if you order there are some LBGers that might be interested. Go over to our forum and post a group buy if you want to.

[tag]

After I was done brewing my last batch, I noticed that some of the red stuff in my thermo had separated from the rest. I think my temps were probably high by about 4F. Is there any way to fix a thermo when the fluid inside breaks up like that?

Yeah. Grab the thermometer by the top end and give it a good couple of quick shakes until it's back together.

[pete maz]

Nice thing about the mercury & spirit-filled thermos is they tend to stay in calibration. Virtually all other thermos I've dealt with (mostly dial) will have some drift over time - you buy them calibrated, but after a few months they drift high or low. Unless you have a standard to use for re-calibrating, you're out of luck. I use my mercury thermo as my standard, and occasionally use it in the mash too.

[stellarbrew]

I use a thermocouple plugged into my fluke meter, which I like because it doesn't take any time to settle out. However, a good thermometer should be just as accurate, or more. If you are getting different temperature readings in different areas of your mash, that doesn't mean that the thermometers are necessarily wrong. It could mean that you really have uneven temperatures in your mash. Some more stirring and mixing is the remedy.

[3rd party JKor]

As I mentioned in another thread, I can stick 4 thermometers in my mash and get 4 different temperatures. Personally, I don't think any of them are right. Is anybody using something they have a high degree of confidence in? I'm willing to put out a few pennies if necessary for something that works well.

Part of the problem is that, unless you're continuously stirring or recirculating your mash, the temp is likely variable by quite bit through the mash. Have you tried to put all four thermometers in the same water bath?

[Big Nake]

This is timely because I just went through this. I ended up getting a THERMAPEN. Yes, it's $100. It takes the temp of anything in about 3 seconds. I have 2 probe thermos, 2 crappy digitals and 2 glass lab thermos and they are all over the place. None of them can agree. I finally came to the conclusion that you cannot possibly know the difference between 150° and 152° when your 6 thermometers can't agree. I tried calibrating them, etc. but I think you just get what you pay for. One of my glass lab thermos was $8 and the other was $5. One of my probes was $9 and the other was $12. I have used this thing on 8-10 batches now and it's fantastic. Place the probe in your mash and *BIP*... a good, clean read. Yes, I swallowed hard about the price, but I am much more confident with this instrument. Cheers.Ps. A lot of the local brewers here use this thermometer and they're very happy with it. No, I don't work for THERMAPEN.

[BlKtRe]

With the probe only being a few inches on the Thermopen, will it read accurate a deep mash or at the top of 15g of hot liqueur in a keggle? Any experience with that Ken?

[3rd party JKor]

FWIW, I'm confident in the accuracy of thermocouples, especially in the temp ranges homebrewers are using them. I've bought/made/used enough thermocouples in my day to know that they are rarely off at moderate temps and they don't drift much, if at all. I use thermocouples for all my critical temp measurements.

[OhioMurb]

I think it's a good point to not make yourself crazy over temp. I would throw away all but one thermometer, always use the same one and just learn to brew with it. You may not really know if your mash is 152 or 151, but you'll learn what your thermometer tells you about your system.

[Big Nake]

With the probe only being a few inches on the Thermopen, will it read accurate a deep mash or at the top of 15g of hot liqueur in a keggle? Any experience with that Ken?

The probe is about 3 or 4" and I understand that the sensor is at the very tip. So I usually stir my mash well and then take the temp. Then I stir it back up again to see if a second reading is really off from the first. They are always very close... within .2 or .3°. I figure that if I stir the mash really well and take 2 readings I must be okay. This thing really doesn't drift which is what killed me with other thermometers. I would stand there for 5 minutes while it bounced. I have no experience on the 15g in a keggle.OhioMurb: I agree with what you say which is why it took me 10 years to purchase this thermometer. But because these other thermos were so far off and because they constantly bounced around, I didn't feel confident. I also had a number of brewers (and just beer-drinkers) say that some of my beers were sweet. I believe that this was due to mashing too high because my crappy thermos weren't reading right. It wouldn't be hard for a bad thermo to tell you that your mash was 152° when it was actually 158° and that can make a HUGE difference in a beer. I didn't lose sleep over this until I finally got sick of guessing. Cheers.

[jammer]

Laser thermometerThis has worked pretty well for me. I still double check with my digital to make sure tho.

[bigdaddyale]

https://home.chattan...is/thermist.htm

[Spoon]

I have a traceable digital Lab thermometer. I use it and my turkey fryer probe. I never have any problems.We calibrate intant read probes used in the kitchen by filling a glass w/ ice water and taking readings and adjusting to 32*F. Quick and easy, gets you pretty close.

[mikebrad]

I finally came to the conclusion that you cannot possibly know the difference between 150° and 152° when your 6 thermometers can't agree.

This is where I was. I tossed them all in my heating sparge water and there was at least a 4 degree range. I think I'll go with a combination of getting one good thermometer and adjust from there based on what I taste.

[Big Nake]

I will also mention this: The guy at my LHBS told me that the glass lab thermos are probably the most accurate, but also the most fragile. I got one and in my clumsiness, I allowed it to make contact with an O2 canister. The small deelybob on the top (a glass ring?) broke off but the rest of the thermo was intact. But it suddenly started with crazy readings so I picked up another one. After a couple of uses, the red liquid inside started "breaking apart" as someone else mentioned. There was a long line of red, then a small space, then more red, then more space, then a dot of red. Sorry... no confidence there.

[BlKtRe]

I will also mention this: The guy at my LHBS told me that the glass lab thermos are probably the most accurate, but also the most fragile. I got one and in my clumsiness, I allowed it to make contact with an O2 canister. The small deelybob on the top (a glass ring?) broke off but the rest of the thermo was intact. But it suddenly started with crazy readings so I picked up another one. After a couple of uses, the red liquid inside started "breaking apart" as someone else mentioned. There was a long line of red, then a small space, then more red, then more space, then a dot of red. Sorry... no confidence there.

For a few bucks you can get a metal shield that the glass thermos rest in. Im rough with mine havent broke one yet...except for the little ring at the top. Still reads fine...Armor Case