Recomend a digital thermometer

So my last two brew days were stressful as hell. First my dial thermoms wouldn't stay in calibration. Then I bought a nice floating thermom which broke halfway through the brew day. I am tired of the crappy thermoms. Could some one recommend a good digital thermometer?

Thanks

Thermapen.

I'm somewhat of an veteran on this, having been burned by two $40 digital waterproof (but not heatproof past 122f, I found out) thermos. After being told that I wast stupid for not "knowing" that the sheathing on those thermometers was only rated to 122f, even though none of the literature said so, and subsequently writing a scathing letter to the company, they gave me a refund for both failed thermometers. When I spoke to the company that made the failed ones, they said that those were not good for beer brewing, and recommended a "Type K" thermocouple.

So with my refund $$ from the previous failed ones, I purchased this indicator:



...and a type-K probe (scroll down to "PTFE/FEP Tip Probes", I bought model #113-372-T):



I drilled a small hole in my mash cooler lid to feed the probe into the mash, and have been very happy with it. You can find the indicator and probe for less $$ on eBay, but after all those failed thermometers, I wanted the peace of mind of a supplier-backed warranty.

I love my thermocouple.

This is good advice. I am wondering if I could just get one of the Type K temp probes like Evan mentioned (...and a type-K probe (scroll down to "PTFE/FEP Tip Probes", I bought model #113-372-T)

and plug it into my multi meter with has a temperature option that takes a Type K as the input.

Craftsman Professional Multimeter with Temperature Measurement - Model 81077 at Sears.com

Has anyone tried this? I wouldn't mind skipping the $40 for the handheld portion if I can.

The Good Cook LCD thermometer available at a lot of grocery stores for about $15 tracks my much more expensive NIST certified unit within a fraction of a degree.

humann_brewing said:

This is good advice. I am wondering if I could just get one of the Type K temp probes like Evan mentioned (...and a type-K probe (scroll down to "PTFE/FEP Tip Probes", I bought model #113-372-T)

and plug it into my multi meter with has a temperature option that takes a Type K as the input.

Craftsman Professional Multimeter with Temperature Measurement - Model 81077 at Sears.com

Has anyone tried this? I wouldn't mind skipping the $40 for the handheld portion if I can.

Click to expand...

If it says it takes type k probes, then I see no reason why it wouldn't work...

Evan! said:

If it says it takes type k probes, then I see no reason why it wouldn't work...

Click to expand...

Yep it does, it came with a probe too but I doubt that it is water proof or heat proof as you found with your previous models.

Right now it is just a neat toy to turn on and see how warm it is in the garage.

jldc said:

Thermapen.

Click to expand...

Exactly, they are on sale right now too.

ThermoWorks - Home of the Original Super-Fast Thermapen!

Harbor Freight... at $4.. get 4 of em.... they work great for me.

Evan! said:

I'm somewhat of an veteran on this, having been burned by two $40 digital waterproof (but not heatproof past 122f, I found out) thermos. After being told that I wast stupid for not "knowing" that the sheathing on those thermometers was only rated to 122f, even though none of the literature said so, and subsequently writing a scathing letter to the company, they gave me a refund for both failed thermometers. When I spoke to the company that made the failed ones, they said that those were not good for beer brewing, and recommended a "Type K" thermocouple.

So with my refund $$ from the previous failed ones, I purchased this indicator:

...and a type-K probe (scroll down to "PTFE/FEP Tip Probes", I bought model #113-372-T):

I drilled a small hole in my mash cooler lid to feed the probe into the mash, and have been very happy with it. You can find the indicator and probe for less $$ on eBay, but after all those failed thermometers, I wanted the peace of mind of a supplier-backed warranty.

Click to expand...

This looks to be the simplest method of watching water/mash temps. Did you have to modify the probe in any way to be water proof or is everything ready to go right out of the box?

Evan! said:

I'm somewhat of an veteran on this, having been burned by two $40 digital waterproof (but not heatproof past 122f, I found out)

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, are you referring to the Traceable Waterproof Thermometer??? I just found out the same thing. Fortunately they sent me a new one, and I wont leave it in the mash and/or the boil next time.

This one gets my vote and it comes with a probe and storage case:

Handheld Thermocouple Meters And Cole-Parmer Workhorse Thermocouple Thermometer - Cole-Parmer Catalog

$38.46 plus shipping. It's a bargain.

mklawz said:

Out of curiosity, are you referring to the Traceable Waterproof Thermometer??? I just found out the same thing. Fortunately they sent me a new one, and I wont leave it in the mash and/or the boil next time.

Click to expand...

Yep, that's the one. My bitching and moaning also resulted in the following disclaimer being put on the product page in red font...

"Note: The cord can only withstand temperatures of 122 degrees. This cord should not be submerged in liquids higher than 122 degrees."

They still say that it's good for brewing, though...even though when I spoke to the woman at Control Company, who makes that thermometer, she said that it's actually not good for brewing at all. Meh. At least I got that disclaimer on there. I still can't believe that *****ie tech support guy tried to say that it's "common sense" that the sheathing is only rated to 122f. :cross:

MikeG said:

This looks to be the simplest method of watching water/mash temps. Did you have to modify the probe in any way to be water proof or is everything ready to go right out of the box?

Click to expand...

No, that probe that I got is waterproof (I think all type K probes are, actually...it's just a loop, one wire down, u-turn at the end, one wire coming back up), and is also heatproof up to like 500f or some crap. The indicator is water-resistant. I didn't mod anything, except for the tiny hole I drilled in my cooler lid to run the probe through.

Evan! said:

Yep, that's the one. My bitching and moaning also resulted in the following disclaimer being put on the product page in red font...

Click to expand...

Wow, idiots. A guy there told me that only the metal probe part is waterproof. Uh, yeah well no sh*t, its a piece of metal. With that kind of logic every thermometer is waterproof! I also griped that nowhere did I see it stating that the cable would not work up to 150* (mash temps). I admit I shouldnt have used it to check my wort temps (from boiling on down), but for crissake it should be able to withstand 150*F for that price.

mklawz said:

Wow, idiots. A guy there told me that only the metal probe part is waterproof. Uh, yeah well no sh*t, its a piece of metal. With that kind of logic every thermometer is waterproof! I also griped that nowhere did I see it stating that the cable would not work up to 150* (mash temps). I admit I shouldnt have used it to check my wort temps (from boiling on down), but for crissake it should be able to withstand 150*F for that price.

Click to expand...

I wonder if it was the same *****ewhistler that I talked to. Argued with that ******* for 15 minutes...he kept telling me that everyone knows that the cable isn't rated for above 122f. How? Uh, because, it's common sense. Really? So the guy essentially called me an idiot for not knowing a piece of information that is not published anywhere. I was hot, man...so finally I asked him what he was going to be able to do for me, and he said "all I can do is tell you not to submerge the probe in the future". I hung up, wrote a scathing email to their customer service dept., and a nice lady called me a few days later and apologized profusely, and refunded my money for both failed units.

Some people should just not be on the "customer service" side of operations, you know?

Dude that sucks, I hate experiences/service like that. But they were much nicer on me. I emailed them and told them that I was having erratic readings, I replaced the battery but it made no difference. They asked my application. I told them mashing @ 150F. They told me it cant do that. I told them that it didnt state anything about the cables limitations.

well, I found the email, here is what he said in the last exchange. The tone of the email exchange was courteous and professional. And I was very happy they replaced the unit. However, I am not happy that it cannot do what I want it to. I want to leave it in mash and leave it in the cooling wort. This was very recent, like 2 weeks ago (I just got the replacement on Friday). You must have wore him out and he was easier on me!

Thank you for purchasing Control Company products.
>
>
>
> In terms of your application, only the stainless-steel probe can be
> immersed in the hot liquid, not the cable. It is waterproof, but
> anything over 50°C can damage the cable. Also, if the liquid has any
> other materials/chemicals in it, you may want to check on the affect
> the chemical has on soft PVC.
>
> We will send a no charge unit this time, but next time the damage
> would be considered user damage.
>
> If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Jason Molina
> Technical Sales

mklawz said:

Dude that sucks, I hate experiences/service like that. But they were much nicer on me. I emailed them and told them that I was having erratic readings, I replaced the battery but it made no difference. They asked my application. I told them mashing @ 150F. They told me it cant do that. I told them that it didnt state anything about the cables limitations.

well, I found the email, here is what he said in the last exchange. The tone of the email exchange was courteous and professional. And I was very happy they replaced the unit. However, I am not happy that it cannot do what I want it to. I want to leave it in mash and leave it in the cooling wort. This was very recent, like 2 weeks ago (I just got the replacement on Friday). You must have wore him out and he was easier on me!

Thank you for purchasing Control Company products.
>
>
>
> In terms of your application, only the stainless-steel probe can be
> immersed in the hot liquid, not the cable. It is waterproof, but
> anything over 50°C can damage the cable. Also, if the liquid has any
> other materials/chemicals in it, you may want to check on the affect
> the chemical has on soft PVC.
>
> We will send a no charge unit this time, but next time the damage
> would be considered user damage.
>
> If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Jason Molina
> Technical Sales

Click to expand...

Well, yeah...that's much better than what I experienced, but then, that's probably because your tech support rep is also one of my favorite musicians (must be his second job).

Evan! said:

No, that probe that I got is waterproof (I think all type K probes are, actually...it's just a loop, one wire down, u-turn at the end, one wire coming back up), and is also heatproof up to like 500f or some crap. The indicator is water-resistant. I didn't mod anything, except for the tiny hole I drilled in my cooler lid to run the probe through.

Click to expand...

I'm kind of curious as to the use of the thermometer in the cooler lid (MT?). Once the cooler lid is closed, you're just using the thermometer just to watch the temps...do you do any adjustments based on the temp or is just to confirm your process is done correctly?

I'd like to use the thermometer in heating up my strike water, any problems with this in a SS pot? Opening the lid and sticking in a prob and waiting for it to measure the temp sucks, I'd rather keep a constant watch to know exactly when I hit my desired temps. Should I buy a 2nd K probe, one for the heating and one for the cooler to watch the MT?

Thanks!

it looks like some of these are on back order / not available.

anyone else have any suggestions for a good digital thermometer.

Kelly. said:

it looks like some of these are on back order / not available.

anyone else have any suggestions for a good digital thermometer.

Click to expand...

thermapen, srsly

remilard said:

thermapen, srsly

Click to expand...

+1

23456789

I have this traceable model and I am completely happy with it. It's a bargain at $38.46. The replaceable type "k" thermocouple is included as is a carrying case"

http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=9121045

I've been using it for more than a year and find it to be rugged, reliable and very accurate. It is also user calibratable, but have never found it to be out of calibration. It will accept any "k" type probe, but the included one serves my purposes just fine.

Thermoworks really backs up their warranty as well. I had an older model Thermapen go bad on me. Thermoworks was very nice about it, offered me a few different repair/replacement options and was just easy to work with. I have since received and brewed with the MTC and strongly recommend it to any brewer. You simply cannot beat the quality of the product and the quality of the support behind it.

I'm buying a thermapen. I'm not even biting on the sale price for the old ones, I am going for the splash proof, 0.1*F resolution, shiny new bulletproof one.

I just ordered the Cole-Parmer today.
http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=9121045

So a couple of hours after I ordered my Cole-Parmer thermoprobe, I look at ebay and here is what I found for sale in abundant quantities for a lot less $ (2nd photo). Very striking similarities don't ya think? I'm sure I'll get better customer service from Cole-Parmer since they are in IL and not Hong Kong. I'm seeing $28 including shipping on eeeebay

limulus said:

So a couple of hours after I ordered my Cole-Parmer thermoprobe, I look at ebay and here is what I found for sale in abundant quantities for a lot less $ (2nd photo). Very striking similarities don't ya think? I'm sure I'll get better customer service from Cole-Parmer since they are in IL and not Hong Kong. I'm seeing $28 including shipping on eeeebay

Click to expand...

Similar yes; identical no. On the plus side for the Hong Kong version is that it can monitor two probes at the same time and it includes two probes. I also saw those on Ebay. I am curious about this note they put in following the specs:

"Buyers – Please Note:

Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.
Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying."

I wonder if any of that applies to the USA buyers. I doubt it.

The biggest difference that I can see between the two is that the Cole Parmer model is a "Traceable", meaning it is lab calibrated and certified. The Hong Cong model does not seem to be. I think they are both made in China as is almost everything these days.

The Hong Kong mode sure does have a hot price. I would buy one if I didn't already have the Cole Parmer unit. Might buy one anyway at that price just to have a backup. Might just buy two of them.

Ok how about this, would it be possible to connect this to the type k readout.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?m...ID=108&zenid=87e4a811b8cb951aca824045cb9af4e1

do you need an adapter or can you simply take apart the existing plug and use it.

+1 to Thermapen. I scored one as a gift, used it yesterday and the brew was much less stessful for hitting temps. It really did smooth things out. It's pricey, and I had hesitated to buy one for myself, but now that I have it, I'll encourage others. And I should have bought it a year ago.

I just purchased one of these from Amazon and I've got very high hopes for it.

Just bought one of the 2 K-type thermometers from ebay for $27 shipped. I'll update this thread when I get the thermometer in the mail.

The probe length on the Thermapen is only about 5", so are you able to switch out the probe? With the way it's designed it looks like that probe is the only one that will work with it, so is a 5" depth reading good enough for mash temp accuracy? I saw the MTC replacement model for the plug-mounted Thermapen... anyone have a recommendation for this one?

Coastarine said:

I'm buying a thermapen. I'm not even biting on the sale price for the old ones, I am going for the splash proof, 0.1*F resolution, shiny new bulletproof one.

Click to expand...

Not to say this is the norm. I have the splash proof Thermapen and was using it to check the grain temp after grinding the grain. I grind my grain directly into the mash tun and then stick the Thermapen in the grain and leave it for a few to get a reading. Then I pump the strike water into the bottom of the mash tun and stir. As I was stirring something green caught my eye. WTF I thought. Turns out its my Thermapen. I wiped it off with a damp cloth to get rid of any stickiness. That was about 4 months ago and it's still working fine!

SnallygasterBrewery said:

The probe length on the Thermapen is only about 5", so are you able to switch out the probe? With the way it's designed it looks like that probe is the only one that will work with it, so is a 5" depth reading good enough for mash temp accuracy? I saw the MTC replacement model for the plug-mounted Thermapen... anyone have a recommendation for this one?

Click to expand...

Thermoworks, the makers of the Thermapen, make a huge variety of probes and meters. I bought one of these handheld meters along with a couple of different probes; a "penetration" probe like the one in the Thermapen, and a long waterproof wire probe that I can just stick in the mash tun and close the lid to monitor mash temps. Both sensor and probes are instant read, just like the Thermapen.


Of course, I also have a Thermapen. I use all of them regularly. Probably one of my most-used items in the kitchen.

Yeah, I use my thermapen all the time, more than worth the money. I never use it for brewing (except maybe for rehydrating dry yeast which I usually only use for mead and cider). So if someone has a brewing purpose for it, rest assured you will have many other purposes.

I am trying to find a probe one which can also be used monitoring temps while cool meat and dishes in the oven as well as brewing. Would this Cole-Parmer (and or ebay knockoff) be able to do that, would different probes be necessary? Could the cord withstand oven temps, as well as being closed in the door?

All ones I've seen targeting with probe are all non-waterpoof and non-heat proof. I've been trying to find the perfect solution.

weirdboy said:

Thermoworks, the makers of the Thermapen, make a huge variety of probes and meters. I bought one of these handheld meters along with a couple of different probes; a "penetration" probe like the one in the Thermapen, and a long waterproof wire probe that I can just stick in the mash tun and close the lid to monitor mash temps. Both sensor and probes are instant read, just like the Thermapen.


Of course, I also have a Thermapen. I use all of them regularly. Probably one of my most-used items in the kitchen.

Click to expand...

I have one of those also with the wire probe, and yesterday it was pretty finicky. It looks like I mashed hotter than I planned, and the meter needs a new battery. Hopefully, that is all that it needs.

I used to use the floating thermometers in my 10 Gallon Home Depot MLT and would just lift the lid to check/monitor the temp. Worked great for about 10 batches and then busted (thankfully not in the MLT) in boil keggle while I was heating strike water. I never realized that those floating thermometers are not meant for boiling temps.

I am interested in knowing how the folks that use the Thermoworks unit with the heavy duty wire probes (39" #113-372) keep the wire in the mash. Wouldn't it float on top of the mash? Or do you push it in when you stir? Seems like a solid solution if it works well. I would rather not drill a hole in the side of the cooler if I can avoid it, so a hole in the lid to run this wire seems pretty good.

BadgerBrewer said:

I used to use the floating thermometers in my 10 Gallon Home Depot MLT and would just lift the lid to check/monitor the temp. Worked great for about 10 batches and then busted (thankfully not in the MLT) in boil keggle while I was heating strike water. I never realized that those floating thermometers are not meant for boiling temps.

I am interested in knowing how the folks that use the Thermoworks unit with the heavy duty wire probes (39" #113-372) keep the wire in the mash. Wouldn't it float on top of the mash? Or do you push it in when you stir? Seems like a solid solution if it works well. I would rather not drill a hole in the side of the cooler if I can avoid it, so a hole in the lid to run this wire seems pretty good.

Click to expand...

Although I did have problems with it on the last brew, I can attest to the fact that the wire does not float in the mash, and that it is thin enough that it can easily sneak into the kettle with the cover on. I am going to replace the battery and try another probe, but if it continues to give me problems I will report back.

I also bought a couple of lab thermometers so that I can double check the digital one. I am pretty annoyed that the thermometer flaked out on my first all-grain attempt.