where to position temp probe

getting ready to order the bcs unitand trying to decide what size thermistors to order and where to place them in the keggles. I was thinking inside a t with a sightglass, would that work?.... any other ideas?
Thanks

I'm in the process of building a BCS system. I'm planning on adding a stainless 1/2" T fitting on the output ballvalve and inserting a temp probe via a compression fitting.

what size are you planning on using?

I ordered 4" probes from http://www.brewershardware.com. I don't know if it will work, but I'm giving it a try.

Malric said:

I ordered 4" probes from http://www.brewershardware.com. I don't know if it will work, but I'm giving it a try.

Click to expand...

those ones have been back ordered for a while, Ill prolly just get the ones from embeddedcc so i dont have to mess with them

anybody else with herms? Where are you placing yours?, Tring to decide so i can finish with my7 big ticket orders, it hurts almost dropping a bunch of money everyday...lol

Always put temp sensors in the flow, not in the kettle. This is done for the most accurate readings, avoiding stratification.

The exception of course is the boil kettle as there's no in/out flow while boiling. The good news is that boiling causes lots of stirring so the temperature is consistent throughout the kettle (though with boiling it's not really important).

Kal

+1 on what Kal said.

I have an additional 12' probe that goes into the center of my mash tun, but the one i use to regulate my temperature is the one in line with the mash return line.

kal said:

Always put temp sensors in the flow, not in the kettle. This is done for the most accurate readings, avoiding stratification.

The exception of course is the boil kettle as there's no in/out flow while boiling. The good news is that boiling causes lots of stirring so the temperature is consistent throughout the kettle (though with boiling it's not really important).

Kal

Click to expand...

Perfect! So basicaly i can place the bk probe in a t with the sightglass and the the mlt and hlt should be place in a t on the ballvalve? Im thinking 6 in for the bk and 4's for the other two?

kosmokramer said:

Perfect! So basicaly i can place the bk probe in a t with the sightglass and the the mlt and hlt should be place in a t on the ballvalve? Im thinking 6 in for the bk and 4's for the other two?

Click to expand...

That should work.
Some will say the BK probe will be somewhat recessed but the wort is in such motion during boiling that it doesn't matter really. If it's 6" long then it'll stick right into the kettle enough that it definitely won't matter.

The HLT/MLT probes only need to be long long to reach into the plumbing a bit.

Mine are short:



Kal

For the mash and HLT, it won't matter where you put it if you're stirring the liquid or recirculating with a pump.

There are pros and cons to putting it in line as it leaves the MLT, right?

Pro would be you know the exact temp of the wort as it leaves the ball valve, but the con is that you probably are going to take at least a few minutes to bring the mash up each degree and unless you monitor the output, you may end up overshooting the temp as the element in the RIMS tube or the HLT water may heat the wort too high in an effort to bring the temp of the entire mash up. Not sure if that's clear, but you may end up heating the wort, at the small volume level in the HEX or RIMS tube up to 170+ as the system tries to bring the entire mash volume up.

I like P-J's way of maintaining mash temps with HERMS...set your HLT temp to a degree or two above your desired mash temp (or whatever it needs to be so your mash is where you need it to be and you account for the degree or two of loss in your plumbing as it leaves the HERMS coil). You'll can't overshoot your mash temp as a whole nor can you heat your wort too hot as it passes through the HEX.

But I know nothing about the BCS system or how you're planning to maintain temps...