catdaddy66
Well-Known Member
Before I begin discussing the issue I am having I will say that a therma pen is on my shopping list so I don't anticipate it will remain an issue.
That being said, I have noticed that my floating thermometer has moments of confusion this year which I haven't had before. Specifically, when I pour my strike water into my (empty) mashtun and place my f.t. inside I have gotten some crazy numbers prior to doughing in the grist. I typically heat 4.5-5 gallons of strike water to 165°-168° so that it can warm up my mashtun. I expect to see it settle 3-5° lower (which has been the case historically), so 162°-165° is what I expect. I have noted about a 1° drop in temp for every pound of grain introduced, and I normally have 10-12# of grain in most of my recipes.
When checking temp before doughing in my temp reads 155°-160°. A head scratcher for sure, but it gets better (worse?). After doughing in the temp will read 158°! Both temps are read after 5-10 minutes to allow for settling. What is the possible causes of the temp being too low before the grain is stirred in and too high afterwards?
I always calibrate the f.t. with another thermometer as I heat the strike water and they coincide within a degree or two. It also hasn't been an issue on my sparges, with water heated to 185° and settling at 168°-170° for the second runnings.
This f.t. is about 3 years old but it works well in every other instance except as described above. A real puzzler for sure.
Again, I will get an update with a therma pen but just hope you smart people can pinpoint the difficulty. Thanks in advance for your responses!
That being said, I have noticed that my floating thermometer has moments of confusion this year which I haven't had before. Specifically, when I pour my strike water into my (empty) mashtun and place my f.t. inside I have gotten some crazy numbers prior to doughing in the grist. I typically heat 4.5-5 gallons of strike water to 165°-168° so that it can warm up my mashtun. I expect to see it settle 3-5° lower (which has been the case historically), so 162°-165° is what I expect. I have noted about a 1° drop in temp for every pound of grain introduced, and I normally have 10-12# of grain in most of my recipes.
When checking temp before doughing in my temp reads 155°-160°. A head scratcher for sure, but it gets better (worse?). After doughing in the temp will read 158°! Both temps are read after 5-10 minutes to allow for settling. What is the possible causes of the temp being too low before the grain is stirred in and too high afterwards?
I always calibrate the f.t. with another thermometer as I heat the strike water and they coincide within a degree or two. It also hasn't been an issue on my sparges, with water heated to 185° and settling at 168°-170° for the second runnings.
This f.t. is about 3 years old but it works well in every other instance except as described above. A real puzzler for sure.
Again, I will get an update with a therma pen but just hope you smart people can pinpoint the difficulty. Thanks in advance for your responses!
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