Did I kill my strip therm?

I've been using a swamp cooler to keep my fermenting temps down, however the strip thermometer has been partially in the water. I went to pull it today to see what the temp was, and the part of it that had been in the water is now discolored, kind of a whitish film/discoloration of the strip. It still reads temps above taht, which are what I need. Did I totally kill this? Would I be off better buying a new one?

Thanks

Soaking them will ruin them. I've been through about 5 in two years. If it still reads the temps you need I wouldn't replace it though. I use the horizontal type so there's no good way to keep it out of the water when the temps are really hot and I absolutely need to use a makeshift swamp cooler.

Yes, there is...

One of my tips for therm strips that I've been doing for years: leave the paper on the back so the adhesive is not exposed/used, place a piece of 3" clear plastic (packing) tape over the entire strip with excess around the edges. Fold down about 1/2" from the top so you can pull it off the fermenter...done.

You can put this on anything even if it's going to get wet and pull it off for cleaning or placing it on another fermenter.

If the tape edges get messed up just trim it off and replace the tape.

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to do that on the next one I buy

I gave up on strip thermometers. They aren't accurate, and they really measure the temperature of the air. Glass and plastic are insulators, so its unlikely they are reading fermentation temperature accurately.

Sweet tip HomeBrewer 99! I'll try that next time I replace mine.

Does anybody here use a thermometer with a remote probe - like you would use on your barbecue? I was thinking of looking for something like that and routing it through the cork in the carboy by drilling a small hole and then sealing it with silicone. Then you'd have it in the actual wort/beer and get accurate temps.

Edcculus said:

I gave up on strip thermometers. They aren't accurate, and they really measure the temperature of the air. Glass and plastic are insulators, so its unlikely they are reading fermentation temperature accurately.

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This has not been the case for me. I've measured my fermenters with with a probe and the strip thermometer has been damn close.

I use a large rubbermaid tub filled with water and frozen water bottles. I have a floating thermometer in there which reads in the upper 50's F. My Belgian Wit has been fermenting for 6 days, and the strip thermometer has 73, 75, and 77 highlighted. I'm not sure if I've screwed up the strip by having the bottom part in water, but I have a hard time believing that the temperature inside the carboy is upwards of 15F warmer than the surrounding temperature. There is still plenty of krausen though.

Edcculus said:

I gave up on strip thermometers. They aren't accurate, and they really measure the temperature of the air. Glass and plastic are insulators, so its unlikely they are reading fermentation temperature accurately.

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This is really not true. The strip thermometers are pretty well known for reading within a couple of degrees of what's going on inside. They may not be dead on, but within two degrees is pretty darn good.

carnevoodoo said:

This is really not true. The strip thermometers are pretty well known for reading within a couple of degrees of what's going on inside. They may not be dead on, but within two degrees is pretty darn good.

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Oh, good to know. I just never trusted them.

I've found them to be quite accurate as well, but they definitely don't like to get wet. After ruining a couple, I just put them higher up on the bucket to be sure they aren't underwater in the swamp cooler.

And for a couple of bucks each I can afford to have a strip thermometer on each of my fermenters, as opposed to an expensive digital probe in each one. Heck, I think I even have a strip thermometer on the old fermenter I keep Star-San in!

yello said:

Soaking them will ruin them. I've been through about 5 in two years. If it still reads the temps you need I wouldn't replace it though. I use the horizontal type so there's no good way to keep it out of the water when the temps are really hot and I absolutely need to use a makeshift swamp cooler.

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Oops, that explains why I'm no longer getting a reading on mine. I have my fermenter in a bucket of water.

Once it dries out it appears to work again though.

That's good. Mine never worked again. They just turned gray permanently.

Before I covered them up with tape the plastic used to peel off leaving only an adhesive behind...but they never worked again.