stick-on thermomter on bucket

[blackbear219]

My stick-on is reading 68-70, both boxes are colored. Are the stick-ons a better reading of the wort temp of the ambient temp?

I'm wondering if I should swamp cooler it, but i think I'm only a degree or two off so I'm not sure if that effort is really necessary. If your stick-on read 68-70 would you call that good or think it was too high?

BTW this particular batch is WLP051.

Thanks!

 

[DoubleAught]

From what I understand it reads the outside temp of your fermentor. Inside the wort is normally a couple degrees warmer

 

[onipar]

It's definitely better to use than ambient; it's much closer to the actual wort temp, though the wort is a little warmer.

I usually like to keep mine reading closer to 64-68, but it really depends on the yeast. WLP051 Optimum Fermentation Temperature is 66-70°F (according to the white labs site), so I'd probably shoot for 64-68 to be safe (assuming at least 2 degrees warmer in the bucket).

Some of the comments on the site indicate getting 70 or above could cause less than desired results: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp051.html

One note about the swamp cooler: it really is helpful, but after a while it tends to screw with the adhesive thermometer (at least it does for me), making it hard or impossible to get an accurate reading. Luckily by time this happens it;'s usually past the first week and it isn't a big deal.

 

[kh54s10]

I looked it up and if you have one that is green that is the temp it is reading. If you have a blue and tan (I think those are the colors) it is the degree between. I think you are probably getting a reading that is somewhere between ambient and the wort at the center of the fermenter so I tend to keep it toward the lower end of the desired range. With my swamp cooler I am only fluctuating 2 maybe 3 degrees.

 

[ozzy1038]

I put my thermometer just below the 5 gallon "rib" on my BB's. This way it is never submerged, and only occasionally gets wet. I also have a thermometer probe in the water so I know that temp as well. The thermometer is usually 1f warmer than the water temp. I too only get slight fluctuation in temps. Swamp cooler costs next to nothing to make and provides peace of mind and a broader range of temperature options for fermenting.

 

[onipar]

Oh, yeah. I don't submerge my thermometer either. i think it just gets wacky from a combination of condensation on the outside of the bucket, and the times when I have it covered with a wet t-shirt.

 

[kh54s10]

They only cost about $3. If one craps out on me I'll just buy another. I will eventually have one in reserve. I had an old wired indoor/outdoor thermometer with the sensor taped to the outside of my carboy. It agreed with the fermometer. It has since died.

 

[nilo]

I have a stick-on thermometer and also a PT100 probe for my temp controller on the same better bottle PET fermenter and I can say that the stick-on indication is pretty good.
One thing you could do to improve its accuracy is to add some insulation on top of the stick-on thermometer, so the external air temp doesn't affect it that much. Remove the insulation when you want to read the temp and stick it back on.

 

[onipar]

I have a stick-on thermometer and also a PT100 probe for my temp controller on the same better bottle PET fermenter and I can say that the stick-on indication is pretty good.
One thing you could do to improve its accuracy is to add some insulation on top of the stick-on thermometer, so the external air temp doesn't affect it that much. Remove the insulation when you want to read the temp and stick it back on.

Interesting idea. That will probably also protect it from some moisture.