Sight tube - Kettle or HLT?

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Ryan_PA

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So I bought a thermosight today with the full intention of adding it to my boil keggle. On the ride home I got to thinking, "Why do I need a sight tube or thermometer on my boil kettle?". I am an AG brewer and have a 10 G HLT. I am not thinking this really should be installed on the HLT not the kettle. Is there any reason I should put this on the kettle instead? If you had to choose, which would you do?

Currently I have a high tech volume reading device to measure the liquid levels in the HLT (a strip of unfinished maple with each gallon marked off) Obviously thi would be retired if I go this route.
 
I would put the sight glass on the HLT. I do like a thermometer on my brew kettle simply because I use an immersion chiller and I can monitor the wort as it's cooling.
 
I just went through the same revelation that I don't really need a site glass or thermometer on the kettle as I'll be using a counterflo chiller. Don't really need a site glass in the mashtun either... and yuri pointed out the problems with a static thermometer in the mashtun (especially if it were low enough to be used with a site glass). I DO still see the point in the HLT for both however, and thats where I would put it.
 
I have a sight glass on my MT with gallon marks on it so I can measure my strike water and I have a sight glass on my HLT so I can see the level as it does down so I know how much is left.

I just use a stick in the boil pot.
 
I'm currently designing a sightglass/thermometer fitting and am planning on placing them both in the HLT and the boil kettle. I also use an immersion chiller and would like an accurate reading of how my volume is progressing throughout the boil.
 
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