Hmmm, put probe in water?

[kenpotf]

I just got back from the LHBS and I asked the guy there what they did to keep their chest freezers consistent. He said that they put their Johnson probes in a glass of water. I didn't realize that the probe was waterproof. How many of you really dip the probe in a glass of water?

 

[makomachine]

I use a thermowell carboy cap - keeps the probe dry on my Ranco and works great for my lager fermentations. Not sure about long term reliability of the probe submerged in a liquid itself and will let others comment on that.

 

[lschiavo]

You are talking for fermentation temps right? I tried the water method but found taping the probe to the side of the fermentor and insulating it worked better.

 

[kenpotf]

I have mine taped to the side now with some bubble wrap, but I was getting some wild fluctuations last night. It could be because I was having to open the lid, but when I asked the guy what they did, that's what he told me.

He said that they weren't using a thermowell, just throw the probe in water....I can't find a single thing on this board where it states that the probe is submersible on a Johnson controller.

 

[Stevo2569]

I stick mine to the side of the ale pale with plumbers putty. Adheres and insulates in one shot. Looks like a C-4 bomb. Although I probably shouldn't write that. Thats probably a key word for terrorism watch.

 

[lschiavo]

I have mine taped to the side now with some bubble wrap, but I was getting some wild fluctuations last night. It could be because I was having to open the lid, but when I asked the guy what they did, that's what he told me.

He said that they weren't using a thermowell, just throw the probe in water....I can't find a single thing on this board where it states that the probe is submersible on a Johnson controller.

I actually have a Love controller. The probe was not submersible but I took a short length of copper tubing that just fit over it and filled it with silicone caulk. Submerging it after that has never caused a problem.

 

[kenpotf]

Ischiavo,

Is the probe permanently attached? Does that work pretty close to a thermowell?

 

[lschiavo]

No, it is not attached to a fermentor. It is just a sleeve over the probe. I figured the copper would be a good conductor and not affect the probe accuracy much. I suppose you could make your own thermowell this way. I never thought of doing it. I think I have heard to keep copper away from fermented beer though.

 

[kenpotf]

I'm not changing anything at the moment. I'm going to see if the temps are right when I get home tonight. If not, I'm going to be highly concerned....I have it taped to the carboy right now, but I only have 1 sheet of bubble wrap taped over the carboy.

So what I have is this:

carboy -> probe -> bubble wrap -> tape

Maybe I should do:

carboy -> bubble wrap -> probe -> bubble wrap -> bubble wrap -> bubble wrap -> tape

 

[bluemoose]

I use a hand towel for insulation and it is nearly spot on. Keeps it within a degree of my intended temperature.

 

[lschiavo]

So what I have is this:

carboy -> probe -> bubble wrap -> tape

Exactly what I do and it works great. Fermenting creates heat. It never made sense to me to measure the temp of a jar of water when you want to control the temp of your beer. How long did you actually monitor it? It may take a while to even out. It will probably be fine when you get home.

 

[kenpotf]

It may take a while to even out.

That's what I think happened. It seemed to be stable this morning, but last night when I put it in the freezer the temps went: 72, 68, 58, 62, 79, 61, 65

It finally stayed at 65. When I woke up this morning, it was at 64. My controller is set at 68 now (from 66), so I shouldn't be too far from that when I get home. I'll monitor it throughout the night too.

 

[Buna_Bere]

If you tape the probe to the fermentor, and you're using a chest freezer you're going to get big temperature swings, with a fridge it might be ok, but not a freezer. Tape the probe about an inch off the freezer wall, and a foot from the bottom, and leave it in the air. Then get a separate thermometer sensor and tape and insulate it to your fermentor, just for monitoring the fermentation temps. I've tried both ways, and monitored the temps with a separate thermometer. With the probe in the air, I can keep the fermentor temps +-1 degree F. Set your controller with the 1 deg dif, and 10 min ASD. When fermentation really gets goin I just lower the SP by 2 or 3 degrees F, then raise it back up as fermentation slows. I'm sure somebody will tell you different but try it for yourself with a separate thermometer just for the beer temps.

 

[kenpotf]

Tape the probe about an inch off the freezer wall, and a foot from the bottom, and leave it in the air.

How do you do that? Do you have any pics?

 

[corkybstewart]

How do you do that? Do you have any pics?

I don't have any pics but I took a length of 1/2" ID silicon tubing and glued it in the corner of my chest freezer so it would be out of the way. The temp probe hangs inside the open tube so that it's protected from bumping and also drafts from opening the freezer.

 

[kenpotf]

So that's effectively the same thing as wrapping the probe in bubble wrap? Sounds like a good idea...

 

[Buna_Bere]

Here's a pic of what I use, I just use some painting tape to stick the controller probe an inch or so off the wall. You can see the separate temp probe too, the insulated one taped to the carboy. Don't insulate the controller probe, you want it to measure the air temp.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/come-pacman-eat-237734/

 

[cklages]

If you tape the probe to the fermentor, and you're using a chest freezer you're going to get big temperature swings, with a fridge it might be ok, but not a freezer. Tape the probe about an inch off the freezer wall, and a foot from the bottom, and leave it in the air. Then get a separate thermometer sensor and tape and insulate it to your fermentor, just for monitoring the fermentation temps. I've tried both ways, and monitored the temps with a separate thermometer. With the probe in the air, I can keep the fermentor temps +-1 degree F. Set your controller with the 1 deg dif, and 10 min ASD. When fermentation really gets goin I just lower the SP by 2 or 3 degrees F, then raise it back up as fermentation slows. I'm sure somebody will tell you different but try it for yourself with a separate thermometer just for the beer temps.

I'm going to give this a big +1. The one thing that I do slightly differently is that I tape the probe to the 'ceiling' of the chest freezer in front of the fan. I used to tape a separate insulated thermometer to the carboy to see what was going on in there, but quickly learned that it wasn't necessary. I do use a larger fan than most in my chamber, and use glass carboys which won't insulate the beer like plastic though, so your mileage may vary...

 

[kenpotf]

Here's a pic of what I use, I just use some painting tape to stick the controller probe an inch or so off the wall. You can see the separate temp probe too, the insulated one taped to the carboy. Don't insulate the controller probe, you want it to measure the air temp.

Thanks for the pics! I'm going to try that. I came home and the freezer was at the correct temp, and I have the start of fermentation!

 

[Seven]

I use a small amount of neoprene that I cut from an old wetsuit to insulate the temperature probe against the side of the fermentor. Neoprene is a material that is filled with tiny air bubbles and it works as a great insulator.

Just tape the neoprene against your fermentor then place the probe in between the neoprene and the fermentor.

They also make cheap neoprene cases like this one that can easily be used for this purpose. So far this has been working very well for me.

 

[lschiavo]

Thanks for the pics! I'm going to try that. I came home and the freezer was at the correct temp, and I have the start of fermentation!

Can you measure the beer temp? With the probe on the fermentor, it should be very close to the setpoint. I have never measured mine. I just assumed it was.