Thermapen order

After having thought I had good luck with one cheap digital thermo I came to the realization that it was, as the fat kid from the bank commercial who gets the paper truck after his limited time offer expires says, "This things a piece of junk". So I just ordered a thermopen on a whim. Saw the sale and pulled the trigger. Now explaining the $74 + shipping charge on the card to SWMBO. Oh wait, this thing will last-unlike the $150 haircuts and $50 nail jobs she gets. I hope I like it

Hey, I spend $50 for a nailjob all the time.





Oh, wait, you didn't say "hand"...

the_bird said:

Hey, I spend $50 for a nailjob all the time.





Oh, wait, you didn't say "hand"...

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$50, what a rip off.

jlpred55 said:

$50, what a rip off.

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That's inflation for ya!

You can get them cheaper down at the bus station, if that's your thing....

I use this Traceable thermometer and love it. Actually, I have two.

Thermapens are great, but you can't leave them in your HLT or MLT.


TL

Be very careful with the thermapen. I just got the hinge of the temp probe wet and now it doesn't read temps properly. I worked great until then. I was checking the temp of my mash when it happened. It certainly is fragile.

TexLaw said:

I use this Traceable thermometer and love it. Actually, I have two.

Thermapens are great, but you can't leave them in your HLT or MLT.


TL

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I had one of those. Two actually. They are both dead now. I am not a fan. You can read a post Evan! made about them, but it came down to them adding "Note: The cord can only withstand temperatures of 122 degrees. This cord should not be submerged in liquids higher than 122 degrees." on their website. Seems this is not something that will cause issues instantly (or at all in your case), but it is an issue, and, IMO, makes them useless for brewing.

StankAle said:

Be very careful with the thermapen. I just got the hinge of the temp probe wet and now it doesn't read temps properly. I worked great until then. I was checking the temp of my mash when it happened. It certainly is fragile.

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Yeah, they are not water proof. Might check out their new ones:
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/splashproof_thermapen.html

StankAle said:

Be very careful with the thermapen. I just got the hinge of the temp probe wet and now it doesn't read temps properly. I worked great until then. I was checking the temp of my mash when it happened. It certainly is fragile.

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it just needs to dry out mine got some water spilled on it when I was of all things cooking not brewing. It went wacky and then a few days later it was dead nuts on.

They have a new splash proof version. I would rather spend the extra money and get that.

JVD_X said:

They have a new splash proof version. I would rather spend the extra money and get that.

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I did. It works great....but of course, I haven't slipped up and "tested" it yet.

the_bird said:

Hey, I spend $50 for a nailjob all the time.





Oh, wait, you didn't say "hand"...

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yanno the DIY version is much cheaper ....

I don't need to it monitor mash temps the entire way through. I know once I reach my rest temps what it will be at in 30min, 60 min, 90 min etc. I used to do that but the temp always only seemed to drop 1-2 deg so that was a waste of time. Now I just measure it then leave it. I can put my piece of junk probe in there if I want but, again waste of time. I just want something accurate and fast. The rest is all posturing for me.

Beerrific said:

I had one of those. Two actually. They are both dead now. I am not a fan. You can read a post Evan! made about them, but it came down to them adding "Note: The cord can only withstand temperatures of 122 degrees. This cord should not be submerged in liquids higher than 122 degrees." on their website. Seems this is not something that will cause issues instantly (or at all in your case), but it is an issue, and, IMO, makes them useless for brewing.

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Hmmm. I'll keep that in mind. The cords on mine regularly are in liquids higher than 122F, and I've had no problems at all. I'll watch out for that, though.


TL

I didn't get a Thermopen, but I am a big fan of Thermoworks after buying their $20 cheapo probe themometer, so I decided to spring and get a K-thermocouple thermometer and a couple of probes from them. One probe is waterproof and can rest in the MLT to give me a mash temp reading, the other is an oven probe useful for BBQ and roasting in the oven.