Sightglass and Thermometer Alternative for HLT

[gregboyd3rd]

As always I first want to say Thank You to this forum. There is so much information/ideas I have used and I like to try and contribute to maybe help someone else out. So...

Being the cheapskate that I am I was looking around for ways to not buy a sightglass with thermometer for $50+ but couldn't really find anything. I have had really good luck with PEX fitting and 600degree JBWeld. (Note: I do use an extra amount of JBWeld and also as an FYI those barrels do get hot so I would advise not to mess with the fitting if at all possible once you set it in place because this could cause cracking....and as another side note my boil pot has a 1/4 turn PEX valve with JBWeld and it's held up over a year now). With that said, here are a few pictures of what I've done. I just finished up a recent batch and this worked perfect for the HLT. I am sure you can figure out a different way to do it w/out using JBWeld but like I said it's worked for me so far. Enjoy!

Parts:
90degree PEX fitting, 220degree tubing, clamp, thermometer, 600degree JBWeld, step drillbit.

The last pic is my finished 3-tiered setup with my hanging HLT from a previous post just to show my setup.

 

[alien]

I have thought of using flexible tubing for a sight glass myself because I also have a keg with bulgy sides like yours.

But why do you have the sight glass connection half way up the keg instead of at the bottom?

 

[gregboyd3rd]

I do 10 gallon batches of brew at a time plus I wanted to keep at as far away from the flame heat as possible but still be effective since I am using that flexible tubing. I also have exact marking in my mashtun for both 5 gallon and 10 gallon batches so I really don't need to be exact on how much water I heat up in the HLT. Lastly, I fly sparge so heating up a bit more water then needed isn't a big deal either way.