Help with Thermwell question?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Rolodex916

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
1
Location
North Highlands
I recently purchased a Ranco Two stage controller model ETC-211000-000. I then picked up a thermwell from my local Brew supply house. similar to this one. http://morebeer.com/view_product/16672/102282/Stopper_Thermowell

The problem Im having is that the probe from the controller will not fit in the thermwell. Is the thermwell to small or is it supose to be a tight fit? Any suggestions on where I could get a thremwell that could fit the ranco probe?
 
the link you listed is compatible with the ranco units so I would say the one you got locally may be too small.
I use a thermowell with a johnson controller and the probe slides in fine, not loose and not tight.
 
I have a thermowell on my hot liquor tank and my mash tun for my digital probes. These were installed on my fully digital B3 1100, and have worked great. They fit snugly, but not so much that I have to use any type of force to remove the probes or put them in. My guess would be the ones you purchased are only made to work with one type of controller; not the Gram box.

[email protected]
 
Its just barely too big. Less than a milimeter... I thought about taking some 300 grit sand paper to the plastic part of the probe to shave just a little bit to have it slide in but unsure what that would do to the probe.
 
Contacted the guys at Morebeer and they said that this is a common issue due to the probe being dipped in a plastic rubber solution. This can cause small differences in diameter. They suggested the following:

What we recommend is
> taking a piece of fine grit sandpaper, and gently sanding the probe
> until you're able to fit it into the thermowell. As I mentioned, this
> will not damage your probe, or affect the accuracy of your Ranco, and
> I have done this to both of my temperature controllers without any issues.
:rockin::mug:
 
Wow, that's good to know. I always trust the advice from B3. Those guys always treated me well, and built me a heck of a sculpture.
 
Be careful not to sand too much. I just ruined my probe sanding it down too far. :-(
 
I recently purchased a Ranco controller 111000-000 $99. It says it will control cooling and heating. But i think i need to modify it to be a 2-stage with the dual plugs so i can plug the bucket wrap into it and also the freezer into it also????? As the way it is now it will only cool if the fridge is plugged into it and then the controller plugged into the wall. I see they sell a modified version for $179 but i don't have the box anymore and they probably won't take it back. Is there anyone that can tell me if i'm doing something wrong ?? Or do i need to modify the 111000-000 and buy the thermal wrap ?
 
Back
Top