Thermapen sucks

[podz]

How many times are you going to troll this thread, dude?

Probably every time I feel like it.

 

[bob1852]

Go away.

 

[podz]

Go away.

Shave.

 

[thekraken]

Finally sent my Thermapen back in. Was sick of it not working.

So, with the shipping cost to send it back, and the repair cost (probably at least $25), I could've got a couple more thermos that actually work.

I just sent mine back last week too. I purchased it used from a member on this forum thinking I was getting a good deal. Didn't work right since I got it, and now the price on them new has dropped...

 

[hunter_le five]

I've been using my $20 ThermoWerks RT600B for years. Great probe. No issues.

The ThermoWorks RT600C has worked great for me for years and it's like, $18. Not sure why anyone would need to make the jump to ThermoPen unless your working in a super high paced environment (i.e. not a garage).

Hmm... first it was $20, now it's $18? Well, which is it?! Seems like your story is full of holes! I call shennanigans!

 

[KPBrews]

I'd rather pay more and get some something that requires less worry. I just don't have to wonder whether my Thermapen is calibrated correctly. That's worth a premium. I use it for brewing, cooking, bbq, etc, and it's been great in every situation. I've thrown away at LEAST $100 worth of cheap thermometers that stopped working reliably over the past 10 years. Tons of examples of Thermapens lasting that long, even with hard daily use in commercial environments. I'm happy to invest in quality, especially when it means I have one less thing to worry about. My list of stuff to worry about is long. And honestly, in the long run, the $60 difference between a cheap $20 thermometer and a $80 Thermapen (I got mine for 20% off: sales are frequent, just sign up for the newsletter and you'll have one within a few months, or less) will be long forgotten within a year.

 

[Brettomomyces]

http://www.cooper-atkins.com/Products/Digitals/Waterproof_Pen_Style_DPP400W/

I work in food service and have to say this thermometer is a true workhorse. Battery lasted me 9 months or so with near daily use. Super fast, reliable (we calibrate daily at work, and I have not actually had to adjust mine yet) and the design fits well in pockets. I think they're between 20 and 30 on fleabay. Cooper thermometers in general are awesome.

 

[day_trippr]

I just sent mine back last week too. I purchased it used from a member on this forum thinking I was getting a good deal. Didn't work right since I got it, and now the price on them new has dropped...

The price on the "old" Super Fast Splash-Proof model has indeed been dropped - but that's because they're "old", and the new Mark 4 model has been released - at the same price as what the "old" model sold.

I have to say I'd never buy something like a thermometer used as it seems unlikely one would actually sell a fully-functional thermometer at any meaningful discount...unless the seller needed to scratch up bail money in a hurry.

Even then I'd be skeptical...

Cheers!

 

[UndeadFred]

I got this one from my grocery store with the grilling stuff. It works so well, I have 3 of them now. Backlight, fast, accurate, waterproof, C/F. Not sure what the allure of the Thermapen is, but I've found a great solution for kitchen, grilling, and brewing.

Shh! Don't tell anyone but that it the exact one I use too! It's very acccurate at mash temps, as verified by several other thermometers.. I think I paid $12 for mine...

Fred

 

[thekraken]

The price on the "old" Super Fast Splash-Proof model has indeed been dropped - but that's because they're "old", and the new Mark 4 model has been released - at the same price as what the "old" model sold.

I have to say I'd never buy something like a thermometer used as it seems unlikely one would actually sell a fully-functional thermometer at any meaningful discount...unless the seller needed to scratch up bail money in a hurry.

Even then I'd be skeptical...

Cheers!

You mean you wouldn't trust your fellow homebrewtalk(ers)?

 

[day_trippr]

When it comes to something like a Thermapen - about as far as I could throw 'em

Cheers!

 

[passedpawn]

Shh! Don't tell anyone but that it the exact one I use too! It's very acccurate at mash temps, as verified by several other thermometers.. I think I paid $12 for mine...

Fred

Waterproof, too! Shhhh.

 

[chisena]

Hmm... first it was $20, now it's $18? Well, which is it?! Seems like your story is full of holes! I call shennanigans!

Yeah, I guess these threads just never die. This thing has been around so long I had to tell the same story again. Must have rounded the first time!

 

[chisena]

Hmm... first it was $20, now it's $18? Well, which is it?! Seems like your story is full of holes! I call shennanigans!

Yeah, I guess these threads just never die. This thing has been around so long I had to tell the same story again. Must have rounded the first time! I guess it's time to unsubscribe and let everyone continue picking on each other for their opinions.

 

[kh54s10]

Let's keep this alive a little longer. I love my Thermapen. It is accurate and FAST. It always starts and stays on for the allotted time. I have a cheap digital that is so friggin' slow that I don't even know where it is anymore.
I was willing to pay some more for the speed and accuracy. I didn't find the same assurance for accuracy, speed and durability with the CDN when I was researching 3 years ago.

 

[UndeadFred]

What I get a kick out of is that it's so easy to make a calibration correction chart for ANY thermometer that is isn't even funny. My MOST accurate unit is a Pt100 RTD hooked to a PID readout that I calibrated. It is what I then use to calibrate other thermometers.

What you do is go to Google Earth, and look up your place. Round to the nearest 100 feet of elevation. Look up the boiling point at your elevation. Boil RO or DI water. Insert the thermometer, and let settle for.. oh five minutes or so. Note the reading on the thermometer if it isn't adjustable.. if it is, tweak the adjustment.

At that point you are probably close enough and good enough to know the correction at mash temperature for the device.

Then put ice into relatively pure water. Up to about 100 ppm TDS is probably good enough (I say this because you generally don't need to freeze DI water for this). Let it settle for 15 minutes. Read the the reading, that is your "cold" correction factor. If, you are, for example setting up a keezer or ferm chamber this one is the likely "close enough" reading.

You can then take the slope of those two points to figure out a better correction at any temperature but I'll leave that exercise up to the reader. On an adjustable unit you can back and forth those two setting adjustments until you get it perfect if you want, but generally the thermometers are linear enough in that range that you will find it to almost be exact anyway.

But you can take a thermometer that reads way off and still use it with the correction factor you just found assuming that it's still linear. And it will indeed be accurate to better than 1F that way.

 

[b-boy]

What I get a kick out of is that it's so easy to make a calibration correction chart for ANY thermometer that is isn't even funny. My MOST accurate unit is a Pt100 RTD hooked to a PID readout that I calibrated. It is what I then use to calibrate other thermometers.

What you do is go to Google Earth, and look up your place. Round to the nearest 100 feet of elevation. Look up the boiling point at your elevation. Boil RO or DI water. Insert the thermometer, and let settle for.. oh five minutes or so. Note the reading on the thermometer if it isn't adjustable.. if it is, tweak the adjustment.

At that point you are probably close enough and good enough to know the correction at mash temperature for the device.

Then put ice into relatively pure water. Up to about 100 ppm TDS is probably good enough (I say this because you generally don't need to freeze DI water for this). Let it settle for 15 minutes. Read the the reading, that is your "cold" correction factor. If, you are, for example setting up a keezer or ferm chamber this one is the likely "close enough" reading.

You can then take the slope of those two points to figure out a better correction at any temperature but I'll leave that exercise up to the reader. On an adjustable unit you can back and forth those two setting adjustments until you get it perfect if you want, but generally the thermometers are linear enough in that range that you will find it to almost be exact anyway.

But you can take a thermometer that reads way off and still use it with the correction factor you just found assuming that it's still linear. And it will indeed be accurate to better than 1F that way.

That sounds like a lot of work. I'd rather pay someone else to do that for me. That's why I bought the Thermapen.

 

[UndeadFred]

That sounds like a lot of work. I'd rather pay someone else to do that for me. That's why I bought the Thermapen.

So are you going to throw it out and buy a new one every six months or so to keep it in calibration? Or send it in?

8 years of being a test engineer has taught me even the best equipment can't hold a calibration forever. And as nice as a thermapen might be, it is crap compared to lab grade equipment...

A homebrewer claiming that boiling water is hard... sigh... stubborn people...

 

[mlafnitzegger]

dropped my Thermapen in hlt last brew session at 165f. took about a minute to get it out and thought for sure it would be in bad shape. Nope, still works like a charm and is all clean.

All my CDN's would be off by 5 to 10 degrees which would most likely affect my mash efficiency.

I would get a Thermapen any day of they week as they are super accurate and tough.

Of course there is the money factor but I love brewing. Any hobby is expensive in some way; money, time, stress. Thermapen makes my brewing less stressful.

 

[passedpawn]

What you do is go to Google Earth, and look up your place. Round to the nearest 100 feet of elevation. Look up the boiling point at your elevation.

I moved to a city at sea level so I never have to perform this step Now to find a way to ignore friction, gravity, and keep ambients at STP and all the math becomes SO much easier.

Regarding the thermapen, I'd definitely buy one but the cheapies work so well that I haven't had the need. Someday maybe.

I had a nice Fluke temp meter (thermocouple). I think it had two channels. One day it fell into the mash and, though I pulled it out really fast, the LCD display was hosed. I took it apart several times to try to get it working, but it was always missing a bunch of segments.

 

[iBrewR]

dropped my Thermapen in hlt last brew session at 165f. took about a minute to get it out and thought for sure it would be in bad shape. Nope, still works like a charm and is all clean.

All my CDN's would be off by 5 to 10 degrees which would most likely affect my mash efficiency.

One up. Seam got too hot on my hand and I dropped my CDN into the boil. Fished it out with a long spoon. Didn't miss a beat. (Yeah, I know. The temperature was boiling. So why was I checking?)

I’ve got to wonder how a calibratable thermometer can be off by 5 to 10 degrees.

 

[b-boy]

So are you going to throw it out and buy a new one every six months or so to keep it in calibration? Or send it in?

8 years of being a test engineer has taught me even the best equipment can't hold a calibration forever. And as nice as a thermapen might be, it is crap compared to lab grade equipment...

A homebrewer claiming that boiling water is hard... sigh... stubborn people...

I'm just making homebrew, not designing a space shuttle. I don't really need lab grade equipment, though I do pick it up on E-bay. All my stir plates, hot plates, etc are used lab grade. You can't beat the quality. It's good stuff, but I wouldn't buy it new for 5x-10x the price.

I worked in a lab for ~6 years. I check my calibration occasionally. So far it's been spot on after 3+ years. I'd say that was ~$90 well spent. In that same timeframe, I've probably tossed 4 other thermometers. If it starts to wander, I'll most likely get another Thermapen.

 

[KPBrews]

What I get a kick out of is that it's so easy to make a calibration correction chart for ANY thermometer that is isn't even funny. My MOST accurate unit is a Pt100 RTD hooked to a PID readout that I calibrated. It is what I then use to calibrate other thermometers.

What you do is go to Google Earth, and look up your place. Round to the nearest 100 feet of elevation. Look up the boiling point at your elevation. Boil RO or DI water. Insert the thermometer, and let settle for.. oh five minutes or so. Note the reading on the thermometer if it isn't adjustable.. if it is, tweak the adjustment.

At that point you are probably close enough and good enough to know the correction at mash temperature for the device.

Then put ice into relatively pure water. Up to about 100 ppm TDS is probably good enough (I say this because you generally don't need to freeze DI water for this). Let it settle for 15 minutes. Read the the reading, that is your "cold" correction factor. If, you are, for example setting up a keezer or ferm chamber this one is the likely "close enough" reading.

You can then take the slope of those two points to figure out a better correction at any temperature but I'll leave that exercise up to the reader. On an adjustable unit you can back and forth those two setting adjustments until you get it perfect if you want, but generally the thermometers are linear enough in that range that you will find it to almost be exact anyway.

But you can take a thermometer that reads way off and still use it with the correction factor you just found assuming that it's still linear. And it will indeed be accurate to better than 1F that way.

Linear is not a safe assumption, from reports I've read. Doesn't take much to find plenty of reports of this. You can have the endpoints calibrated and it can be off in the middle range.

Your calibration technique works (for the endpoints, at least) but you need a LOT of ice in the water to ensure the right temp.

I use this as a reference:

http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/ThermometerCalibration__3_.pdf

I learned my lesson about calibrating after my first batch was made using a cheap thermometer that was 10 degrees off.

 

[Johow]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1448403442.612747.jpg

My new thermo is accurate, doesn't require batteries, is SS clad and was only $13.

 

[thekraken]

All the thermometer a truly skilled brewer really needs:

 

[thekraken]

I just sent mine back last week too. I purchased it used from a member on this forum thinking I was getting a good deal. Didn't work right since I got it, and now the price on them new has dropped...

Just an FYI: Thermoworks replaced my thermapen with a new one for free and paid for return shipping. And its warranty had expired almost a year ago.

 

[bob1852]

My thermapen still hasn't returned. Not sure if it's lost in the mail or what...

 

[podz]

My thermapen still hasn't returned. Not sure if it's lost in the mail or what...

It's wandering around, trying to calibrate itself to zero.

My latest investments in brewing are borosilicate airlocks, real lab-grade stuff. I honestly hate those cheapo made in italy plastic airlocks.

 

[b-boy]

All the thermometer a truly skilled brewer really needs:

I don't want that in my wort. Who knows where it's been.

 

[Rev2010]

I don't want that in my wort. Who knows where it's been.

:smack: I thought I had the blinds closed! ipe:


Rev.