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01-28-2012, 09:41 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Charleston, IL
Posts: 133
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How important is thermometer accuracy really??
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Over the last 3 days I've become slightly obsessed w/my thermometers for some reason and have read waaaayyyyyy too much about them. I've read all about Thermapens, CDN proaccurates, flukes, taylors, thermistors, thermocouples, probe speed, traceability, accuracy, repeatabilty, etc.
Then I started to think that the only places that temp is really critical is sparge temp, mash temp, and fermentation temp. Now any decent thermometer will have an accuracy of +or- 2 degrees, and the more expensive ones have slightly better specs. So in a worst case scenario my thermometer is reading 152 instead of 150 in my mash..... so what?!?! I don't measure my water down to the ml, and I don't measure my grain out to the tenths of oz, and when I hop the more the merrier! I don't ask my yeasts exactly how many billion cells are present, or send my hops out to make sure they have exactly 7.8578% AA.
So after much deliberation I've decided its time to just sit back and have a home brew. With all things considered I just don't think worrying about whether the decimal point on my temp reading is correct, is worth the effort.
Edit: Do you agree that being within a temp range of +/-2 degrees is just fine for beer?
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01-28-2012, 09:43 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Thiensville, Wisconsin
Posts: 4,661
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ok
__________________
Quote:
The man who intoxicates himself on bad whisky is sometimes moved to kill his wife and set his house on fire, but the victim of applejack is capable of blowing up a whole town with dynamite and of reciting original poetry to every surviving inhabitant.
– “A Wicked Beverage,” New York Times, April 10, 1894
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01-28-2012, 09:55 PM
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Falcon, CO
Posts: 893
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Ok...then do this....since I can only assume some dial thermos have a +/- 5 deg diff at their worst, brew two batches....one mashed at 147, the other at 152. If there is no difference, then hey, guess thermo accuracy isn't important. However, if repeatability and consistent results are your thing.....you might want to take temp a bit more seriously.
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01-28-2012, 10:07 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Stow, MA
Posts: 2,565
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motobrewer
ok
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+1 |
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01-28-2012, 10:09 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Charleston, IL
Posts: 133
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcaple1
Ok...then do this....since I can only assume some dial thermos have a +/- 5 deg diff at their worst, brew two batches....one mashed at 147, the other at 152. If there is no difference, then hey, guess thermo accuracy isn't important. However, if repeatability and consistent results are your thing.....you might want to take temp a bit more seriously.
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I'll agree there. I've only been researching digital though, and +/-2 seems to be pretty standard. But I wouldn't even mess with a thermometer if I thought it could be 5 degrees up or down! |
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01-29-2012, 07:51 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Charleston, IL
Posts: 133
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Ok, I see my post didn't actually get to the point I was hoping to ask.... is it generally accepted in brewing that an accuracy of +/-2 degrees is actually just fine?
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01-29-2012, 01:49 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Thiensville, Wisconsin
Posts: 4,661
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Quote:
Originally Posted by punk_rockin2001
Ok, I see my post didn't actually get to the point I was hoping to ask.... is it generally accepted in brewing that an accuracy of +/-2 degrees is actually just fine?
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no
__________________
Quote:
The man who intoxicates himself on bad whisky is sometimes moved to kill his wife and set his house on fire, but the victim of applejack is capable of blowing up a whole town with dynamite and of reciting original poetry to every surviving inhabitant.
– “A Wicked Beverage,” New York Times, April 10, 1894
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01-29-2012, 02:11 PM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Falcon, CO
Posts: 893
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yes
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01-29-2012, 02:23 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Posts: 147
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I periodically calibrate my thermo's and trust the reading to be accurate. I have never had an issue. If I'm 2 degrees either way I sure can't tell in the final product.
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01-29-2012, 02:37 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: North Central, Ohio
Posts: 255
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When I had just one thermometer, I always knew what temperature I was dealing with. Now that I have several, I don't know what the temperature is! <G>
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