Which Thermometer Do You Trust??

[tnsen]

Hello Hop Heads....I have been brewing for a few years now, and and have always used those floating thermometers commonly bought at home brew shops...plastic red ends..small beads in bottom.....anyway, recently I picked up a digital one, brand name is tru- temp (10 bucks)....anyway the digital one is down about 10 degrees...meaning cooler in a side by side comparison...I brew allgrain in a bag...and have never had a bad brew....so in the garbage goes the digital....so my question.....whats the most cost effective, accurate thermometer, on the market, in your opinion...thankx....Tom

 

[TallahasseeBrew]

Honestly the only thermometer I trust is one that has a certificate of calibration, or one that I have calibrated myself within the past month or so.

and i'd never buy a thermometer you can't calibrate.

 

[dwhite60]

I've got a cheap Taylor cooking thermometer (maybe six inches long with a one inch round face, non-electric) and a cheap lab thermometer. They match at low temps <45F but the lab thermometer starts reading lower the warmer it gets. Boiling on the cheap Taylor reads 210F. The lab thermometer reads 200F.

I've used the Taylor for years and it's not failed me.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Calder]

Preferably one you can calibrate.

I have 4 different digital thermometers. Two of them read low at temperature. I have a couple of the 9 inch stem thermometers that you can adjust ..... never needed to adjust them, they read fine.

 

[RM-MN]

Preferably one you can calibrate.

I have 4 different digital thermometers. Two of them read low at temperature. I have a couple of the 9 inch stem thermometers that you can adjust ..... never needed to adjust them, they read fine.

Don't drop them on the floor from counter top height or you will need to recalibrate.

 

[CGVT]

I bought this on Amazon a while ago and like it a lot. It is made by Thermoworks and is a poor man's Thermopen. Only about $25

RT600C Super-fast Water-resistant Digital Pocket Thermometer

I see it isn't available on Amazon right now, but is available other places.

 

[1977Brewer]

I bought this on Amazon a while ago and like it a lot. It is made by Thermoworks and is a poor man's Thermopen. Only about $25

RT600C Super-fast Water-resistant Digital Pocket Thermometer

I see it isn't available on Amazon right now, but is available other places.

You can buy it direct from Thermoworks. I asked for one from Santa yesterday!

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt600b.html

Wait, I asked for the 600b, not 600c.

 

[indymedic]

I am also looking for a thermometer. So keep the suggestions coming. I currently have a dial thermometer. Which I like but I have had to calibrate it to boiling water every time I use it. I am always worried that my temps are going to be off because of this.

Are the glass or plastic mercury (or whatever is in them these days)thermometers more accurate and do they hold there calibration better than other types?

 

[JR_Brewer]

While this isn't the perfect solution, you can at least have a quick sanity check by putting both thermometers into boiling water. Water boils at 212 deg (unless you are at really high elevation).

 

[CGVT]

I don't know what the difference is between the 600b and 600c. It looks as if the C is advertised the read in 5 seconds. I don't see that for the B... Don't know for sure what makes a $6 difference. Ha!

I do know that I had used a bunch of different thermometers before I got the 600C and I am very happy with it

 

[jbb3]

I've been very pleased with my ThermoPop.

 

[1977Brewer]

I don't know what the difference is between the 600b and 600c. It looks as if the C is advertised the read in 5 seconds. I don't see that for the B... Don't know for sure what makes a $6 difference. Ha!

I do know that I had used a bunch of different thermometers before I got the 600C and I am very happy with it

600c has a narrower temp range than the 600b and I somehow overlooked it anyway. Harrumph.

 

[Subdivisions]

While this isn't the perfect solution, you can at least have a quick sanity check by putting both thermometers into boiling water. Water boils at 212 deg (unless you are at really high elevation).

It goes down about 1 degree F for every 500 ft so most people that aren't on the coast are going to have a lower boiling point. Mine is 210F. I like to calibrate it up at this end also since it's closer to the mash temp than freezing is.

 

[tnsen]

Well thanks for the replies...the 600c looks like a winner....plus it's on sale limited time for 15 bucks....Tom