Best Thermometer for monitoring your mash temps

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TipsySaint

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So, I don't have a fancy keggle mash tun, I just have a stalwart igloo cooler. I'm looking for the best type of thermometer to pair with this type of mash tun and I was hoping that this great community might have a few suggestions.

Right now I'm debating between these two:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0084DENWQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.coleparmer.com/buy/produ...e-thermocouple-thermometer-type-k-4425cp.html

I'm open to other suggestions, but if the price tag goes north of $100 bucks I want a darn good reason for it. Something like "It will help you make beer that will elevate you to a godlike status:rockin:." or some such.
 
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I use a digital waterproof cooking one, with the wired probe, even has a timer on the unit! I have calibrated at boiling and freezing, it's dead on. Need to get a decent one though, but they're no where near $100
 
People rave about thermapens, but I got one of these from the same company: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/mtc.html

Pair it with the waterproof wire probe and you have something you can leave in your cooler throughout that's accurate to 0.2degrees. The two together will run you about$80. Get the inexpensive meat probe for $30 more and you can use it for roasting, barbecuing, or grilling.
 
I went cheap and got a $15 digital one from Walmart, it's stainless steel and it's similar to the expensive pens one. Takes quick and accurate reading down tothe tenth and works like a champ! I've used it twice so far and has really helped me dial in my mash temps and help improve efficiency. I just couldn't justify spending 40-60, I put that $ into my ingredients instead(just my 2 cents).
 
AnOldUR is that 2nd linked one really water proofed good? how long is the cable...I swear I searched high and low for one that is water proof that didn't cost $100 and had a long enough cable to leave in the mash tun and/or kettle.
 
AnOldUR is that 2nd linked one really water proofed good? how long is the cable...
It has some bad reveiws on Amazon, but my wife bought one for me a few years ago. I've had good luck with it and it has been accurate over that time. I have the probe attached to a stainless rod and submerse it for the whole mash. I'd guess the cable is about three feet long. I really like having the mash time and temperature in one place.

I like it enough that I've bought a second one as a backup when I saw it on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond.
 
Someone had the Cole Palmer one mentioned in an article on the main page within the last few days. Said that it helped him increase efficiency and his brews that were watery because his other thermometers with about 5 degrees off.

I personally don't have any experience with either of these but the more ive been reading the more ive seen people advising to spend the extra $$$, that its worth it in the long run IF your beer hasn't been up to par so far.

While im not seeing great reviews on them keep in mind they are being used for a broad array of fields, not just home brewering. As long as you cna get an accurrate, easily calibrated thermometer with a water proof probe, you should be fine.
 
I bought two of the 15$, 6", probe dial thermos at my LHBS a while ago. Always have been spot on and read pretty fast. Its always an option. But a nice digital is always good to have on hand.
 
I have a Cole Palmer that I ordered off of Amazon and fairly metal probe thermometer that I got from my LHBS. The probe is my workhorse and the C-P is mainly used to double check its accuracy.
 
I picked up the 24" version of this. It reaches any spot in my 10g Rubbermaid to check for hot/cold spots after dough-in, then I stick it down through a hole in the lid and park it with the tip around the middle of the tun until it's time to sparge.

Another solid product from Thermoworks. And they're still holding on to the sale price...

Cheers!
 
I picked up the 24" version of this.
How do you like it?

I probably should post this in the, "What came in the mail for you today?", thread. It just arrived.

Seemed like a good way to check actual wort temperature.

ThermoWorks RT610B-24 Digital Waterproof Thermometer, 392°F, 24"(610mm) length.

ThermoWorks.jpg
 
How do you like it?[...]

<--------------------------This much---------------------------->

:D

I've used it for eight batches so far and it works great for the job. In contrast to my Thermapen, it's not blazingly fast, but for what I need it to do it's pretty much perfect.

Interesting setup on the carboy! Hadn't even thought about that one ;)

Cheers!
 
I ended up with the Thermoworks 24" probe thermometer. This will let me put it into the top of my mash tun and get a good reading from the center and edges of my grain bed. I may get another digital attached probe but I'm not sure yet.
 
Subscribed. Let me know how it works out for you. I've been wrestling with which thermometer to buy without breaking the bank.
 
Just bought it!
If you have a little more cash available, I'd also get one of the CDN's that Bobby sells. I don't care what the cost or claimed accuracy, I'd never trust my brewday to one thermometer. It just makes me feel good when I get the same reading in the same spot in the mash with two different thermometers.
 
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To anyone using the remote cooking thermometers, just be positive they have a waterproof probe. I used an Oregon Scientific last year and it died after 2 brews. I thought it would handle the wort but not the case. I now use a Fisher Scientific "lollypop" thermometer.
 
After several cheap thermometers, I finally upgraded to the cole-parmer you listed- this was great for 2+ years until it got too close to boiling wort and the circuits fried. With some minor calibrating each time I mashed- it was dead on. And $44 is not a bad price for such an important piece of equipment. I then replaced it with something similar to the amazon product with dual k-type probes you also listed for around $30. This thing was an unmitigated disaster. Both probes were 5* off from one another. Plus I lost the instructions and could not for the life of me figure out how to recalibrate it. After 3 batches with this P.O.S., I finally splurged and bought a thermapen ($90). Best thermometer I've had yet.
If $ isn't an issue- I recommend thermapen. Otherwise, the cole-parmer is exceptional for 1/2 the $$
 
. . . I finally upgraded to the cole-parmer you listed- this was great for 2+ years until it got too close to boiling wort and the circuits fried . . . If $ isn't an issue- I recommend thermapen.
Even the Thermapen is not waterproof. For less than $20 you can get the CDN that's accurate, you can recalibrate it, and it's waterproof. I've dropped mine into a pot of boiling wort, pulled it out with a spoon, and it never missed a beat. Been using one for about four years.

But, as you say, if money isn't an issue, buy something that won't hold up to an occasional brewing mishap. :D
 
to use that i have to open my cooler style mash tun. I would rather avoid that. the less heat that escapes, the more stable the temp.
 
At the temperature range you are likely to have in the cooler mash tun, the temperature change should be pretty linear so you don't need to continuously monitor it. Take the temp at mash in, close the cooler, wait the length of the mash time and measure again. Knowing these 2 temperatures and the time of the mash, you can quickly calculate the temperature at any point during the mash as long as the cooler stays closed and the outside temperature doesn't change a lot.
 
So I use the 24" to check the mash temp now and it's spot on! I also got a K probe that is 25' long and accurate to within +/-0.2D C from the makers of thermapen and that bad boy is amazing. It's a semi stiff wire so you can bend it to whatever shape you want and it will read from the end of the probe! You can have it in the center or down in the bed and it gives a constant read! Great tech!
 
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