Taylor TruTemp Digital Thermometer...

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brett

brett

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Does anyone use this digital thermometer? What is your opinion of it?

http://www.target.com/Taylor-TruTem...?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k:thermometer&page=1

I purchased one last Saturday, and it was a dud. Kept turning on and off randomly. So I took it back, and exchanged for a new one. Tried it out on my batch I was brewing that day, and read my mash temp about 5 degrees lower than my trusty glass thermometer, seen here:

http://pivo.northernbrewer.com/nbstore/action/search-do?searchTerm=7409&x=49&y=17

After the mash, the digital thermometer started to read 205F and wouldn't budge. Won't go up, won't go down. What the f*ck. Second one broken too I guess...

Does anyone else use this digital thermometer? Is this just bad luck on my part? What do you think is more accurate, the digital or the old-fashion glass?
 
I think that might be the one I have, but without seeing it I'm not sure.

Did you waterproof the cord? I had a Pyrex brand one which I got the cord wet on and it went haywire.

Apparently Walmart now has a $16 one with silicone sheath. I must have missed it 'cause I bought mine 3 weeks ago for $13 with no silicone sheath, but I put aquarium tubing on (hint: spray probe with olive oil or something to make it slide on).

Worked just fine, but I can't say I calibrated it against a glass thermo (since I don't have one).
 
I have/had that one too and it stopped working after I allowed the probe to submerge in a carboy. I wanted to try the temp at different levels to make sure I could pitch the yeast and the probe hasn't worked since. For me, the temp shows around 90F at room temp (70F or so) so I set it aside and bought a new walmart one. I don't know if the walmart version is sealed or not, but I don't plan on submerging this one.
 
Moonpile said:
I think that might be the one I have, but without seeing it I'm not sure.

Did you waterproof the cord? I had a Pyrex brand one which I got the cord wet on and it went haywire.

Apparently Walmart now has a $16 one with silicone sheath. I must have missed it 'cause I bought mine 3 weeks ago for $13 with no silicone sheath, but I put aquarium tubing on (hint: spray probe with olive oil or something to make it slide on).

Worked just fine, but I can't say I calibrated it against a glass thermo (since I don't have one).
Click to expand...
Nope, didn't water-proof. :-( But then again I didn't fully submerge the probe in the mash/wort. I don't know what's happening, but even if it is my fault, I'm beginning to think the quality of this thermometer will not meet my needs.... :-(
 
i have two of them. I "calibrated" it in a glass of ice water, and it seemed to be accurate. Right before it went down to 32 degrees, it starting showing "LO" for the temperature. The two i have are within 1 degree of each other.

I did waterproof one for the mash.
 
If you get moisture down into the metal part of the probe, it will read wrong. If you do the silicone air tubing trick that I documented, you can dunk it into any hot liquid, mash or bk wort. However, don't try then using it in an oven to say monitor the temp of a ham or turkey. The silicone tubing and Orings I used melted nicely at 350F. I found my tru-temps to not be so "tru". One read 2F low and the other read 4F low.
 
I have a bunch of digital wired and wireless thermometers. Not a single one of them reads the same. I would calibrate them but I have nothing to calibrate them to. Should I be really concerned that during my mash I am + or - 3 or 4 degrees?. Is it that important to be at 151 F instead of 155F?
 
psi3000 said:
I have a bunch of digital wired and wireless thermometers. Not a single one of them reads the same. I would calibrate them but I have nothing to calibrate them to. Should I be really concerned that during my mash I am + or - 3 or 4 degrees?. Is it that important to be at 151 F instead of 155F?
Click to expand...

That's what I'm worried about.
 
You have two easy ways to calibrate. If you are more concerned with cold temps calibrate for 32 degrees F (0 C). By placing the probe in a glass of ice water, just fill a glass with ice and water. Let it set for a few minutes, stir, and the water should be at 32 degrees.

If you are measuring Mash temps then you want to calibrate for boiling by just putting the probe in clean boiling water, any additives to the water will change the boiling point.

The cheap thermometers will normally not be accurate at both ends of the scale.
 
<rant>I have bought several of these from Target and they are all crap. I even covered one in plastic tubing to keep it dry but the humidity from the steam must have gotten up in there becuase it still broke on me. Any amount of moisture and these are shot.

Instead I went to WalMart and bought their brand of digital thermometer. Same price, and that one lasted me a dozen batches (submerged in mash tun), before I finally pulled it apart on accident.
</rant>
 
i know i'm resurrecting an old thread here, but just wanted to add to this for search purposes. I just picked one of these up - waste of $16. Complete garbage. The temp is reasonably accurate, but it only decides to read the temp about half the time or less. Usually, the temp reading just flashes the 2 letters "Hi" or "Lo". No mention anywhere in the instructions what this means. Other times, it just reads 392 degrees F.


I'm almost wondering if it is just me that is so stupid that i'm using it wrong. Don't understand how this could just 'not work'...
 
After I waterproofed the probe, I was reasonably happy with it for a good 10 batches. It also read about 4F low which I simply compensated for. I ended up melting the entire housing when I stuck it via magnet to the brewstand near the burner. It still functions as my brew timer but that's about it.

I did like the temp alarm feature which I wish was carried over to some of the small instant read digital handhelds. Oh well.
 
Bobby_M said:
After I waterproofed the probe, I was reasonably happy with it for a good 10 batches. It also read about 4F low which I simply compensated for. I ended up melting the entire housing when I stuck it via magnet to the brewstand near the burner. It still functions as my brew timer but that's about it.

I did like the temp alarm feature which I wish was carried over to some of the small instant read digital handhelds. Oh well.
Click to expand...

The one I waterproofed reads 4 dgrees consistantly low as well. Weird.
 
Having owned two of these, I can tell you that my experience is that they 100% suck. Inaccurate temperature readings, very liquid-sensitive (even with baking out the probe), and prone to give off readings. I won't buy another. Instead, I'll be going with lab-grade thermocouple/RTD thermometers. If you know where to look, they can be had fairly cheaply.
 
I absolutely loved my one I got from target. Loved is the key word. Worked great for about 6 or 8 batches. Then I decided I wanted to monitor my temp throughout the mash.

I guess steam got into it, and now my house sits at a balmy "lo". I can't get it to read anything.

I bought a waterproof thermometer, and hopefully that wil prevent the problem again.

I did love the probe, and the temp alarm. That was great for heating up the strike water.

edit:
I just checked the amazon listing here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001BFJ54/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The one they used for the demo picture is broken. That is a real bad sign when you can't even get a working version for the ad.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I use the Taylor TruTemp. It's my 2nd digital therm - the 1st one (Slightly different brand/model) still works, but I cut the sheathing with a bucket lid while monitoring my primary ferment temperature. I covered the leads in hot glue to seperate them, and taped over the cut, so now it's my temp monitor for my kegerator.

I do *NOT* submerge my probe completely, just use the tip, and I also try to take short readings, then keep away from liquids.

If I start submerging or keeping in the mash tun for long times, I'll look for another one. This just works so darn well for spot-checking on strike temps, mash temps, etc.!
 
I have the cheap digital one from Lowe's its 1* off at both high and low temps. I leave it in the mash the whole time being careful not to submerge the wire. Has about 10 brews without incident ....But when I leave the batteries in it it will kill them in a matter of days even turned off. So I have to remove them after each session.
 
It's junk. I went through two and both were defective so I gave up. One was off by 40*F, the other had a dead screen. I bought a different brand of probe thermometer instead and waterproofed it with silicon aquarium tubing, and I bought an analog thermo from Austin Homebrew to use as a backup.
 
guess they are hit and miss when it comes to accuracy I do have a scientific analog thermometer . I think I will try the Fluke meter with my next brew I don't know why I never thought to use it before
 
Just wondering, has anyone ever seen one of these "oven style" inexpensive themometers with a straight SS tube instead of the ones with the 90 degree bend? All the ones I see have a bend in them.

Also has anyone ever SUCESSFULLY sealed up one of these at the open end of the SS tube by either injecting or coating it in some kind of epoxy or food grade silicone? I assume if you can get a thin enough fluid sealer into the end to set and seal it up then all the moisture condition that kill them may be averted.

What I'm looking to do is get one that's straight and long enough so I can insert it thru a small
rubber stopper or tiny o-ring in a hole that I'll drill in the lid of cooler based MT. Then slide it up and down as needed to monitor the temp in the MT with the lid closed.
 
Anyone have an answer to the last post? I am eagerly awaiting...

I too have looked for a digital thermometer with a straight probe that I can push through a small hole in the lid of my cooler mlt.
 
Here's the one I use. I have used many others and this one (I have 3 actually) has been flawless other than when I got the probe submerged (my fault).

http://www.oregonscientificstore.com/oregon_scientific/product.asp?itmky=70477


I use it in my mash by poking a hole thru a Homer bucket lid. This floats on top of my mash. I keep the probe above the liquid (the lid does actually).

You can see the orange lid floating on the mash and my wort recirculating thru my Loc-line which I keep away from the probe as it is adjustable.



In this picture, the lid is submerged, but as you can see, the probe is still high and dry.



Here is how I do it (I have all straight probes now and like them better).



Both of my Oregons (red and gray), are dead on at 121 (the other temps are target). Even my Thermopen is off in this as well as calibration, but in all fairness I submerged it once when filling my mash tun (left it in the grain when filling from the bottom and stirred it in).

I use the red one for brewing and the gray for cooking.

 
Where do you get the straight probes from? On Oregon's web site all I see are 90 degree bend or 360 degree loop.

BTW, does anyone know how to type a degree symbol in this forum's text entry?
 
The one I use came from wal-mart in the kitchen gadget section. I think I paid about $14 dollars for it and I've been using it for quite a while now.

I waterproofed it by putting some silicone directly around the top of the probe where the wire enters the probe. I still try not to completely submerge it but sometimes it hapens and, so far, no problems.

I haven't calibrated it or checked it against other thermometers. I figure that beer was being brewed long before the thermometer was even invented so, as long as I'm in the ballpark, I'm cool.
 
I have one of the Taylor digitals - not sure if it's the same model. I haven't read the instructions (my bozo..), but have found that if you cycle the set button, you'll get the maximum temperature it has seen (display will not change until you hit set again), minimum temperature it has seen (again, static until you cycle set), allow you to set a max/min target temperature using the arrows, then set again and it will read current temperature until max temp is exceeded, at which point it will beep repeatedly. So to just monitor current temperature, set a target value way high and it will just display. Probably other "features" as well, if I were to read the instructions.....
 
Yambor44 said:
Here's the one I use. I have used many others and this one (I have 3 actually) has been flawless other than when I got the probe submerged (my fault).

http://www.oregonscientificstore.com/oregon_scientific/product.asp?itmky=70477


I use it in my mash by poking a hole thru a Homer bucket lid. This floats on top of my mash. I keep the probe above the liquid (the lid does actually).

You can see the orange lid floating on the mash and my wort recirculating thru my Loc-line which I keep away from the probe as it is adjustable.



In this picture, the lid is submerged, but as you can see, the probe is still high and dry.



Here is how I do it (I have all straight probes now and like them better).



Both of my Oregons (red and gray), are dead on at 121 (the other temps are target). Even my Thermopen is off in this as well as calibration, but in all fairness I submerged it once when filling my mash tun (left it in the grain when filling from the bottom and stirred it in).

I use the red one for brewing and the gray for cooking.

Click to expand...

I used to use one of those. I used it for BBQ. It died after a short while. I have had the same Thermapen for 8 years now and recently bought another so I have one for BBQ and one for brewing. The Thermapen is fast and accurate and they are as tuff as nails. They are worth the investment.
 
Here's the one I use.


img84m.jpg


http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/digital-oil-and-candy-thermometer/

It's hyper accurate, made in excess of 20 batches with it over the course of a year, only gripe I have is that the probe is a bit too short. I solve that by putting enough water into the brew pot (5gal) to cover the probe.
 
de5m0mike said:
On a mac you use option 0 (zero) like this "70º". I would assume you could do something similar on a P.C. maybe alt 0 or control 0. I don't know, it's probably been 10 years since I've used a P.C.. Try a few and see what works.
Click to expand...

On a PC it's ALT 0176 to get a degree symbol like "°". Make sure to hold down the ALT key while you type the digits and type the digits on the numberic key pad not the top row. That may be a little difficult on some notebooks though. Just google any character you want to type and don't have a key for, using a search expression like "type degree symbol on PC", and you can get the "ALT" codes.
 
I have a Taylor that I bought at Target about 3 years ago. I waterproofed the probe by putting heat shrink tubing on the joint where the wire enters the probe. Works perfectly. I've submerged it many times without a problem.

As far as calibration, it reads 210 in boiling wort, which should be right since I'm at 1100' above sea level.
 

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