looking for a thermometer.

[jonp9576]

i have the sight glasses from bargain fittings right now. i plan on switching to the T style to screw in a thermometer. does anyone have a good recomendation on an accurate thermometer to scres into this 1/2" fitting

 

[jonp9576]

anyone have this?
Austin Homebrew Supply
is it any good?

 

[FSR402]

I have one of those and it's nice but the probe is not long enough for what you want to do with it.

 

[jonp9576]

oh, i didnt notice its only a 2" probe. i would need like 3 or 4. any ideas?

wow, i am gonna get it for that one

 

[FSR402]

yeah I got an idea. Don't change your sight glass and just drill another hole. Then use the one you posted.

 

[jtucker101]

I'm adding a similar setup to my keggles. I ended up ordering two thermometers off ebay. They have 4" stems. I think these are about as cheap as I've seen them. Here's the link:

Zymico-Dot-Com

 

[jonp9576]

wow, great find. i might get those ones from ebay. let me know how thay work when you get them

 

[FSR402]

wow, great find. i might get those ones from ebay. let me know how thay work when you get them

I have one of those on my out end of the CFC and it sucks. I have to recalibrate it every time I use it. It's off 10-15*. So it ends up being there for looks and I just use my mash thermometer to check the temp coming out.
Hope yours is better.

 

[bendavanza]

I have the Austin Homebrew labeled Thermometers and they work fine.

 

[jonp9576]

crap. i just bought 2 of them. how do you calibrate, just boil water?

 

[FSR402]

crap. i just bought 2 of them. how do you calibrate, just boil water?

check it in boiling water and ice water. Then if you have one that you know is good you can check it at all different temps.

 

[Catt22]

crap. i just bought 2 of them. how do you calibrate, just boil water?

You can calibrate with either boiling water or ice water. The ice water should ideally be a finely crushed ice and water slush. The ice slush will be very close to 32 F. The easiest method I have found is to use a lab type glass thermometer as the standard. These are usually quite accurate and inexpensive. Boiling water temperature is affected by altitude, so depending on where you are and the elevation, you may need to take this into consideration. It's a good idea to check the bi-metal thermometers for accuracy in the critical 150 F mash temperature range. Some of these thermometers are not accurate throughout their full range. I have also found that these thermometers are rather fragile. Bumping the stem with a mash paddle, for instance, can throw them off or even damage them beyond repair. I damaged one this way and even though it shows no sign of phyical damage, it is way off. I have tried to re-calibrate it without success. It's a good idea to protect the stem with a thermowell.

The quality thermocouple type digital thermometers are very accurate IMO and once properly calibrated they are reliable and tend to stay that way. The traceable models are factory calibrated and shouldn't require further adjustment. You may need to recalibrate if you switch probes. It's still good practice to check them occasionally.

After recently discovering that my expensive dial thermometer was out of wack, I'm about to give up on them entirely. Mine was way off and I don't know how long it had been that way. You would think that a such a simple device would be more reliable, but IMO they are not.

 

[jonp9576]

oh ish. not i just dont know what to do. do i buy a probe one and just let it sit in there. or do i mess with all this calibration.