Looking for Thermometer Suggestion

Hello,

I'm looking for a current recommendation on a digital thermometer. I'm using a lab grade and I want to try something different.

I used the search but everything becomes obsolete the next day so I wanted to see which ones people are using right now that they really like.

I'm hoping to find one that is not crazy expensive but does a really good job.

Suggestions??

Thermapen

Expensive, but there is nothing better. I love mine and wish I would have bought it years ago.

Liquidicem said:

Thermapen

Expensive, but there is nothing better. I love mine and wish I would have bought it years ago.

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Is the probe long enough to take an accurate reading of the grain bed temperature in the mash?? I've read that you need to get a little ways below the surface for an accurate reading.

Is there a warranty with that baby??

If you don't want to spend $100 on a thermometer, this one is great. By far the most accurate i've bought for the money. I've been using one for the past two years, and would never even consider buying another type.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/SELF-CALIBRATING_DIGITAL_P1434C102.cfm

I'll also be buying that CDN one after my Taylor craps out. There was one place I found it for about the same price that had free shipping over $25. Buy one for the kitchen too.

If you do want to spend $100, get yourself a used Fluke 51 or 52 (make sure you get version II for either). They are built rock solid, made for pros, and will last a lifetime. Not to mention the Type K thermocouple allows it to be hooked to multiple probe styles (barbecure thermometer, baby thermometer, etc...) as well as to through wall thermocouples hooked to your mash tun.

If you get the 52 II (what I have), you can monitor you mash temps and sparge water temps at the exact same time with super precise precision. The one I bought used on ebay actually had a relatively recent NIST calibration sticker on it.

ajwillys said:

If you do want to spend $100, get yourself a used Fluke 51 or 52 (make sure you get version II for either).

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Cripes, does it come with a backpack?

wildwest450 said:

If you don't want to spend $100 on a thermometer, this one is great. By far the most accurate i've bought for the money. I've been using one for the past two years, and would never even consider buying another type.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/SELF-CALIBRATING_DIGITAL_P1434C102.cfm

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Very cool. I like this price a little better. Not to take away from the Thermapen, but I might be too clumsy to own a $100 thermometer.

Bobby_M said:

I'll also be buying that CDN one after my Taylor craps out. There was one place I found it for about the same price that had free shipping over $25. Buy one for the kitchen too.

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Amazon has them for a bit cheaper, and offers the $25 free shipping.

Lodovico said:

Very cool. I like this price a little better. Not to take away from the Thermapen, but I might be too clumsy to own a $100 thermometer.

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And you can be clumsy with the CDN and get away with it. I'm not sure about the "dishwasher safe" that they claim on the Amazon site, but I've dropped mine into boiling wort, fished it out with a spoon, and it still works perfect.

rcm_rx7 said:

Amazon has them for a bit cheaper, and offers the $25 free shipping.

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I have both the black faced and this silver faced one. They're suppose to be the same, but they are a little different. The silver one has a coating on the end of the probe and I think it reads a little faster. Overall it seems to be made better.

I use a Polder It's great got a timer and a high temp alarm.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P6FLOY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


I also have:
A Taylor bulb candy style I use to just shove in and leave, it's pretty accurate.
A pricey Fisher Mercury bulb unit built onto a hydrometer - it's spot on. The down side to the hydrometer is, it's huge. So I need a large sample of wort and a big tube.
A Taylor hand held digital that is prolly the worst model I've used. Damn things goes haywire if any steam gets at it.

Nice thing about the Polder is that you don't turn it off.
I fold up some paper towel as an insulator and tape a strip of it to the fermenter and slip the probe in against the glass.
When ever I want to know what the temp of the ferment is I just look at the display.