Brew in a bag and Thermometer..

[blackstrat5]

So I'm going to take a crack at AG brewing in a bag...just a small 1.5 gallon batch just to test a couple of malts/ recipes out. I have a stainless pot with a glass lid. The glass lid has a metal grommet for the steam. I thought it would be cool to put my stem thermometer in there, and after having wrapped the pot in blankets and towels for the mash, I could have that stem thermometer coming through the grommet giving me a temperature for the duration of the mash.

Now, is it safe to remove the metal grommet from the lid, and putting the thermometer through that for the mash, or is even worth it to do that and I should just stick to the conventional take the lid of and check method?

 

[gio]

sure, stick the thermometer through the hole. if you can limit the number of times you have to remove the lid, that's a good thing.

 

[blackstrat5]

...woops forgot the main question I wanted to ask...one too many beers.
...sorry

Anyway, the grommet isn't large enough, just barely too small for the thermometer to go through. Is it safe to remove the grommet? I would try and just drill it larger but the material isn't all that thick.

 

[Golddiggie]

Without knowing if the grommet is an actual grommet (compressed together) or if it's actually threaded together it's impossible to say if it's safe to mess with it. I would be inclined to think that the parts were pressed together, to prevent it from being removed without doing damage to the lid.

I have a pot that has a lid with the same vent hole in it. I just checked it, and it appears just like a rivet would, with the stem removed (compression fitting)... So, unless you have a spare lid on hand, I wouldn't drill it (chances are it's not tempered glass, or you don't have the drill bit needed to drill it out without destroying the lid). Better to get another lid that you can drill (metal) that will fit the pot and you can then just drill a hole for the thermometer. That way, your original lid is 100% intact, but then you have the 'brewing' lid too.

 

[blackstrat5]

It is a rivet style grommet. I was thinking about using an oversized bit, almost in the same sense as using a counter sink, but to take out the part of the rivet that is curled over from being compressed.

 

[Golddiggie]

It is a rivet style grommet. I was thinking about using an oversized bit, almost in the same sense as using a counter sink, but to take out the part of the rivet that is curled over from being compressed.

You're taking a risk with a lid that's not cheap... I think you'd be better off getting a generic lid, that fits the pot, and drill that for the probe to fit through (make it a tight fit)...