Other than the obvious essentials - mash tun, big pot & propane burner - an accurate thermometer should also be at the top of the list for must-have's when brewing all-grain. I learned this the hard way.
I have two dial thermometers. I assumed both were accurate, so I have used both interchangeably since I went to all grain a few months ago. But I discovered during my last batch, that one of my thermometers reads about 12-15 deg low. I first noticed this after I had brought my sparge water to a boil (I had left the room for a while and left the burner on high), but the thermometer was only reading about 200 deg. I don't live in the mountains or anything, so I know my water boils at 212. I then realized that my mash temp must have been way too high, because I had overshot it to begin with by a couple of degrees, and if the thermometer was reading low, then the mash temp theoretically could have been as high as 170 deg. That was a week ago and I've been worried about it ever since. The airlock bubbled for a couple of days, but didn't seem as vigorous as usual. I'm concerned that I will have very low ABV and possibly some astringent flavors. But I will let it roll and see how it tastes.
My next purchase will be an accurate thermometer, but I don't want to spend a fortune on one. Walmart and Target sell the instant read digital thermometers (like you use for meat and such) for about 10 bucks. Would one like this be OK?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Taylor-TruTemp-Digital-Instant-Read-Thermometer/16541966
I have two dial thermometers. I assumed both were accurate, so I have used both interchangeably since I went to all grain a few months ago. But I discovered during my last batch, that one of my thermometers reads about 12-15 deg low. I first noticed this after I had brought my sparge water to a boil (I had left the room for a while and left the burner on high), but the thermometer was only reading about 200 deg. I don't live in the mountains or anything, so I know my water boils at 212. I then realized that my mash temp must have been way too high, because I had overshot it to begin with by a couple of degrees, and if the thermometer was reading low, then the mash temp theoretically could have been as high as 170 deg. That was a week ago and I've been worried about it ever since. The airlock bubbled for a couple of days, but didn't seem as vigorous as usual. I'm concerned that I will have very low ABV and possibly some astringent flavors. But I will let it roll and see how it tastes.
My next purchase will be an accurate thermometer, but I don't want to spend a fortune on one. Walmart and Target sell the instant read digital thermometers (like you use for meat and such) for about 10 bucks. Would one like this be OK?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Taylor-TruTemp-Digital-Instant-Read-Thermometer/16541966