Thermosight with a twist

**Lil' Sparky** · 05-02-2007, 07:03 PM

I posted this in Bobby_M's thread about probe thermometers for keggles (http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/probe-thermometers-keggle-22133/). I took some pics and thought I would share them.

I bought the two weldless thermosights from northernbrewer.com. I really like the setup as you can use any probe thermo throught the sight glass fitting, but I didn't like the way they sealed the thermometer in the compression fitting with washers. So I got some 1/4" OD silicon tubing and some 1/4" compression sleeves for the compression fitting and it works like a charm.

Here's the stuff you need. I only used about 1" of the tubing.

Here's the expanded view of how things are going together. I use a little bit of keg lube to insert the probe into the tubing. After you tighten the fitting it really crushes the sleeve around the tubing.

Here's what it looks like put together.

**Lil' Sparky** · 05-02-2007, 07:05 PM

The probe doesn't stick into the pot much. I guess that's fine for the HLT, and I hope it'll be enough for the MLT.

And the final pic of my beautiful twins. I still need to mark the sight tubes for the volume levels.

AGBrewer · 05-02-2007, 07:33 PM

Hey sparky, are those stainless eye bolts supporting the top of your sight tubes or zinc plated? Been trying to source stainless ones and can only find some that are 12 bucks a pop.

**Denny's Evil Concoctions** · 05-02-2007, 08:11 PM

Thanks for this. I've been wondering how to get an electric probe in there. I already built a sight tube for teh HLT, but might change the bottom fitting so I can do this.

Probably won;t bother with a sight tube on the MT, but I will add the compression fitting for the thermoter. How high from the bottom do you have yours?

Ryan_PA · 05-02-2007, 08:20 PM

That is a feaking great idea. I could not get mine to stop learking until I made my own washer.

If the eye bolt is zinc, it does not matter. It should be mounted above the top of the waterline.

**Denny's Evil Concoctions** · 05-02-2007, 08:40 PM

I have this thermoter, accurate to .1 deg. I've been thinking of puting a compression fitting like you did, but without the sight tube, into my MT.

Just wondering if heat from the burner with be a problem with the plastic casing?

**Lil' Sparky** · 05-02-2007, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewBrewer25

Hey sparky, are those stainless eye bolts supporting the top of your sight tubes or zinc plated? Been trying to source stainless ones and can only find some that are 12 bucks a pop.

I guess they are SS - magnet won't stick. The hole I drilled is actually above the top "rim" of the keggle, so it's really a waste IMHO. And like Ryan_PA stated, it's high enough that if I did mount it below the rim, it still would never touch the wort.

**johnsma22** · 05-02-2007, 09:05 PM

I have a question about those sight glasses. Are they glass or thermoplastic? Without a valve, how would you stop the entire contents of the vessel from emptying in the unlikely event that you break the sight glass? I only ask because every sight glass I have ever seen, like on a steam boiler for example, has shutoff cocks to isolate the glass.

**Lil' Sparky** · 05-02-2007, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennys Fine Consumptibles

How high from the bottom do you have yours?

A little less than an inch from the bottom weld. Lower would be better for measuring small volumes, but the keggle starts to slant down.

**Lil' Sparky** · 05-02-2007, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennys Fine Consumptibles

I have this thermoter, accurate to .1 deg. I've been thinking of puting a compression fitting like you did, but without the sight tube, into my MT.

Just wondering if heat from the burner with be a problem with the plastic casing?

I don't think it'll be a problem. I've got one of those too that I'll be using on one of mine. I don't set my burners so high that a lot of heat is coming around the bottom of the skirt anyway. If it melts, I'll let you know - with more pics.