Thermosight with a twist

I posted this in Bobby_M's thread about probe thermometers for keggles (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

NewBrewer25 said:

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.

Click to expand...

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.

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.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

How high from the bottom do you have yours?

Click to expand...

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.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

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?

Click to expand...

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.

johnsma22 said:

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.

Click to expand...

They're not glass. It's the same stuff thing that the plastic racking canes are made from - same diameter, too. I'm not worried about it breaking. We'll see if it warps over time, but I doubt they would sell them like that if they do. If you wanted to build one, using a broken racking cane or buying one and cutting it would be perfect.

And now that I got those and installed them, it would be very easy to make from fittings found at HD or Lowes. I'm not sure it would save you much though.

NewBrewer25 said:

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.

Click to expand...

Try www.apsltd.com and search on "eye bolt". Part numbers will start with RF and say "Ronstan Welded Eye Bolts". Not a whole lot cheaper than $12 but hey.

<disclaimer>And yes, I used to work at APS.</disclaimer>

And to help you figure which one you want here's the specs on the bolts from the Ronstan site: http://www.ronstan.com/marine/range.asp?RnID=233A

Part numbers match between APS and Ronstan.

Moon

I used the semi clear white tubing you use for ice makers and compression fittings for my sight tube.

The racking canes are made from polycarbonate.

I just found the other stuff cheaper.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

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?

Click to expand...

I melted one doing that.

So.. in other words... add a heat shield?

Well, in that case I guess I'll just use 2 of the remote probe thermos, then.

But maybe I'll still check to see if I can melt one anyway.

I'm thinking of using a heat shield to keep it from melting...though I was hoping for some else to try this first. lol!!