I assume this is fine, but double checking...

[rpe290]

Brewing on saturday...dropped the digital thermometer in the wort, didn't get it out for 20 seconds or so, now the thermometer is junk (sucks but just a $10 digital), but I assume there was nothing real bad in the wort that came out of that, given a sealed battery and the simple electronics in there.

Still had 20 mins on the boil to go, was just kind of checking temp (was just curious if the sugar/malt affected the 212 boil temp lower or higher).

Figure that its fine. Anyone think not?

 

[SilverZero]

If it was boiling, you're fine.

As for temperature, solutes in water will elevate the boiling point, so assuming you're at sea level you would be boiling a bit higher than 212F.

 

[djfriesen]

So you boiled a digital thermometer for ~20 seconds? Hmm, I doubt the casing and/or seals are high-temp plastic, so you might get some chemicals leeching into your beer. It's hard to say for sure, so I guess time will tell.

I guess it's time to pick up a thermomter clip or thermowell for your pot, huh?

 

[Sardoman]

You're probably fine. Electronics contain small amounts of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, but as with most things, the main concern is dosage. You're very likely getting these chemicals in your air, water and food as well. How paranoid are you about these things? That's the question you have to ask. It's a personal thing. You are probably fine with this one batch, but if you made "digital thermometer" your secret ingredient in every batch then you would be taking a risk with long-term exposure.

Something that not enough home brewers think about is: "Who will be sharing this brew with me?" I have a coworker whose wife is extremely allergic to iodine, to the point that she can't eat seafood. I don't give them my brews because I use iodophor to sanitize my bottles. I also don't use gelatin or isinglass finings because they are animal products and I have a lot of vegetarian friends who I want to share my brews with. So who will be drinking your beer, and will they be comfortable with digital thermometer brew? Most people probably won't have a problem with it, but giving them the knowledge to make their own choice is the right thing to do.

 

[spokaniac]

Most of the stuff that would come off electronics in a 20 sec immersion (not much in the first place) in boiling wort is pretty volatile (has a boiling point lower than water) and will have boiled off into vapors during your remaining 20 minutes of the boil.

 

[TTB-J]

If you drink that beer, you will become a robot. It's science.

 

[rpe290]

Thanks all