Kettle Options - Thermometer on Kettle?

[jjbanks]

I am purchasing a new 16 gallon Bayou kettle. Just wondering if its worth it to go for the temperature gauge installed on the kettle instead of just buying it with the ball valve alone. It's about a $20 difference but will just go for the ball valve only if they are not reliable for long or not super accurate. Whats the preference?

 

[duboman]

If you are using the kettle for a MLT or HLT a thermometer is a nice feature but if it is simply for a boil kettle I don't think it's a necessity, after all, boiling is boiling

 

[jjbanks]

Using it to heat up my mash and sparge water but not as a seperate HLT. I have a cooler mash tun.

 

[Brew_HaHa]

I have one on mine and it comes in handy when cooling the wort. It lets me know when I'm at pitching temperature without sticking in a thermometer every couple minutes. Not needed, but a nice "luxury."

 

[wilserbrewer]

Never had a kettle mounted thermometer, I have always been satisfied using a digital hand held stick thermometer that you can move around the mash to check for hot or cold spots.

personal preference really...

 

[AnOldUR]

If you are using the kettle for a MLT or HLT a thermometer is a nice feature but if it is simply for a boil kettle I don't think it's a necessity, after all, boiling is boiling

Not necessary, but worth having. To speed things up, I put the lid on my kettle until it reached a boil. It's comforting to look over while cleaning up from mashing and see how close it's getting so that I can remove the lid before a boil-over. On the other end, I chill with an immersion chiller while whirlpooling. I like to keep the lid on during this process to reduce the chance of contamination. A kettle thermometer is a great way to keep track of the temperature in this situation.

I have MILJOCO dial thermometers on both my HLT and kettle. Both are very accurate.

 

[rahines08]

If you use a wort chiller it may make it hard to set in and get to the bottom of your kettle. I broke my thermometer doing that.

 

[AnOldUR]

<<<< Look at my avatar. 50' x 3/8" dia IC in a 62qt Bayou kettle. No problem!

Whirlpool tube in lower left. Thermometer stem below that.
The thermometer stems are pretty rigid. You'd have to try really hard to break one.

 

[Renoun]

If you use a wort chiller it may make it hard to set in and get to the bottom of your kettle. I broke my thermometer doing that.

My thermometer is installed with a weld-less fitting and guarded on the interior with a 1/2" coupling and nipple screwed onto the bulkhead fitting. Only about 3/8" of the thermometer sticks out and it can't be hit by the chiller.

My thermometer is low in the kettle to facilitate BIAB brewing. I don't expect extreme precision from it but it was inexpensive and has some utility.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I would get the port for the temp. I like the ease of being able to look and see temp. I use mine on my HLT, and then use my Thermo-pen to check it. I've had the best luck with the dial thermometer made by Taylor. Some do not hold their calibration very well.

 

[broadbill]

I have a combo temp probe and sight glass on my brew kettle. I heat mash and sparge water in it so I use it for temp and volumes there. Neither are really used during the boil as I use a refractometer to track post-boil gravity and I I can tell when the wort reaches 212F.

If I ever buy a dedicated boil kettle it will likely have a port to drain and that will be it.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I have a combo temp probe and sight glass on my brew kettle. I heat mash and sparge water in it so I use it for temp and volumes there. Neither are really used during the boil as I use a refractometer to track post-boil gravity and I I can tell when the wort reaches 212F.

If I ever buy a dedicated boil kettle it will likely have a port to drain and that will be it.

I had the same thing on my kettle that I purchased from Bobby M. Its not perfect though. The thermometer doesnt read the right temperature if its deep into a fitting, and/or if it does not have wort recirculating around it.

I do think that the sight glass though is a great feature to have though... I'd recommend Bobby's sight glass Kit!

 

[broadbill]

I had the same thing on my kettle that I purchased from Bobby M. Its not perfect though. The thermometer doesnt read the right temperature if its deep into a fitting, and/or if it does not have wort recirculating around it.

I do think that the sight glass though is a great feature to have though... I'd recommend Bobby's sight glass Kit!

I don't think I ever noticed an incorrect reading from the thermo, but I'm shooting for approximate temps as I'm using it to know when to dump the strike/sparge water into the cooler.

I will disagree a bit about having this setup on a brew-kettle specifically. The kettle gets gunky after the boil and having to clean in/around the temp probe/sight glass in a bit of a PITA. I end up banging the temp probe and sightglass alot too. I think it would be fine on a HLT since it would only hold water and gets clean by dumping out.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I think its very helpful on either a HLT and in some cases a BK, for final volumes. I personally want to have my next kettle with a sight glass on it that is built in. I could care less about the thermometer.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I am purchasing a new 16 gallon Bayou kettle. Just wondering if its worth it to go for the temperature gauge installed on the kettle instead of just buying it with the ball valve alone. It's about a $20 difference but will just go for the ball valve only if they are not reliable for long or not super accurate. Whats the preference?

My boil kettle has a sight glass mounted on a t, with a 6" thermometer. I prefer having it to keep an eye out for boil-over as it approaches 212F, but more important, while chilling I put the lid on when the wort drops below 140F, and keep it there until I've filled the fermentor. Having a mounted thermometer lets me keep it sealed and still keep an eye on the temp.
Here's what I use: http://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ltsk.htm