Thermometers?

I have searched the topic, but there is no consensus (except that all thermometers suck).

Does anybody have a digital that they're happy with?

I think I'm going to try a DeathBrewer stovetop minimash soon and I want to know how much it will hurt if my temp is off 3-5 degrees.

I have no issues with my digital probe thermometer. Just need to make sure you "wort proof" it (search the term to see what I mean).

I use an infrared thermometer. It works great and has the added benefit of being non contact so there is no possibility of contamination. They aren't cheap though. My Raytek MT6 set me back about $50.

Tom

The problem with infrareds is that they will only read the surface temps (I have one too), so if you have a boil going with a frothy head on it, or a large mash with grains on the surface, it can give you only the temp of the top of the mash or boil.

To answer your question, I use a combination of the Taylor waterproof thermometer (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009WE45/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) and the Raytek. The Taylor is great, as it's waterproof and can be calibrated.

Eskimo Spy said:

The problem with infrareds is that they will only read the surface temps (I have one too), so if you have a boil going with a frothy head on it, or a large mash with grains on the surface, it can give you only the temp of the top of the mash or boil.

Click to expand...

This got me thinking so I did a little comparison during today's brew.

The infrared thermometer in fact did only measure the surface. But by the same token, the wet thermometer only measured where the bulb was. I found as much as 10 degrees variation in the pot when I was heating it to steep (there really no reason to measure a full boil), depending on where the thermometer was placed. The coolest area was the center of the pot and the warmest was on the bottom (duh). I found that regardless of which thermometer I used, the most accurate reading was anywhere along the outside of the pot, on the surface or below the surface.

It didn't matter where I checked when I was cooling the wort down to pitch the yeast because I stir it with the the cooling coil to speed up the process.

Tom