Thermometer Woes!

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hooterjbrew

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I have went through 3 thermometers brewing only 4 batches and cannot seem to find one that will maintain or stay operational! First was one of the long stainless meat type thermos and it hit 300 after about 10min on the first day, then came an OXO digital that is no longer accurate reading about 15 degree to high, then I bought a Taylor digital with extended probe and timer built on the display. Loved that one for 2 brews! Then the readings went sky high going about 50 degrees to high. That was definitely my favorite because I could put it in the mash tun close the lid and get my temp readings to make sure I was maintaining temp.

My question is, what does everyone use for there thermo??? I have a brewometer on my G2 obviously but I like monitoring my temps while mashing and checking my consistency. Has anyone tried the infrared thermometers and how is the accuracy on them? Im willing to fork out some extra cash on one that will work and stay working, or if it breaks have the option to return for replacement. Tired of thermometers!!
 
Are you submersing the end of the probe?

I use a thermoworks dot with the standard and longer 12" probes, has worked good so far.
 
Thermoworks is having a sale on Brown thermapens at the moment as far as I know. $80. I love mine so far. I got a green one in the Paddy's Day sale.
 
I think I've used some of those in the past myself and ran into similar issues. On my brewing setup I use mechanical dial thermometers installed on each vessel, but I use a BCS460 and associated probes for precise measurements. I also have a Thermapen but I don't use it for brewing much since I have the BCS, but it has been very durable for cooking.
 
Thanks guys! I'll check those out and see what I can find. The probe spike is good but I like being able to keep the probe in my mash tun to monitor temp. One day I maybe able to have one on my MLT. Thanks again cheers
 
The 12" long probe dial thermometer I have is quite accurate, but stupidly not water/steam tight. It flooded a few times with condensation. So watch out!

I still have a few of the old dial-type darkroom thermometers. They are sealed, but don't go to mash temps.
 
I've been using a $6 target meat thermometer for over a year now and it's been perfect!
 
Thermoworks ChefAlarm here, with the long probe. The alarm feature is love-hate, but you can silence it.
 
I am one of the cheapest dudes I know...and I was powering through thermometers until my wife bought me a thermapen. Never looked back. Commit!
 
Tired of thermometers!!

I can sympathize, I ran into the same issues. I decided to go ahead and spend some cash on a good thermometer that would be the last one I would purchase. I went with a Thermoworks MODEL #232-101 handheld unit with a PTFE tip thermocouple probe (model 113-372-T). The unit is "waterproof" although I would prefer not to test it out, and supports a ton of different probes. I use the PTFE probe for brewing and it works really well. I drop it in the mash, close the lid on my cooler with the wire hanging out and I'm good to go.

In addition to the brewing probe, I also have a couple meat probes that I use throughout the year. It's a bit spendy, but I know my temps are good and I don't plan on ever needing to replace it.
 
Just curious. Do you submerse the probe. I had one of those many years ago, but it didn't survive mashing.

The probe has been submersed before, but I do my best not to. I've dropped the display in water a few times, it has always sprung back to life after dismantling and drying in rice.

MC
 
Thanks for the heads up!!! Ive wanted one for a while now

No worries, I get their emails as I was waiting for an open box sale. Didn't need to wait. Green on sale for paddy's day and now brown on sale till they are gone. I guess no one wants a brown one. I could care less what color it is.

Works like a champ.
 
No worries, I get their emails as I was waiting for an open box sale. Didn't need to wait. Green on sale for paddy's day and now brown on sale till they are gone. I guess no one wants a brown one. I could care less what color it is.

Works like a champ.

Agreed! Brown is fine with me, my parents use one for cooking, amazing thermometers.
 
Thermoworks ChefAlarm here, with the long probe. The alarm feature is love-hate, but you can silence it.

I have the ChefAlarm as well. I picked up the waterproof probe for it too, so I can just throw it in my water while it's heating up.

I also have a Thermapen that I use to check mash temps and also cooling wort temps.

I was the same as the OP, going threw thermometers pretty regularly. Then my Father-In-Law bought me the thermapen for a christmas gift. After seeing how well it worked, I also bought a ChefAlarm. Thermoworks seems to have their act together. I know the thermometers seem redundant, but I do a lot of cooking as well and having the two styles is very handy.
 
Lavatools Thermowand®

This thing is pretty bad ass and really fast. The only draw back is that the probe length is only about 4-5 inches. So if you start doing all grain youre more then likely going to need a longer one. But for the price, its a great buy

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I have this one, from ThermoWorks (the manufacturer of the Thermapen). About $20 + shipping. Very accurate, and fast.
You can get one of these directly from Thermoworks for the same price and save a couple of bucks on shipping. Better yet, go in with a friend, buy two, and they're only $16 each. I still use my 5 year old CDN-DTQ450X ($17)for backup, but this Thermoworks thermometer just looks classier and works great.
 
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Since the OP is submerging his temp probe in the wort (which is what I do), there is a way to water-proof the probe on a cheap probe thermometer so that the liquid won't touch the braid and cause the thermometer to flake out. I found this old thread a while back and it really does work!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/remote-probe-thermometer-wort-proofing-26905/

I have been using the same cheap thermometer since I followed the steps in this thread with no issues. The only problem I have is that after a while the little O-rings will eventually snap and you need to replace them but the tubing itself has held up over the past few years.

This method is designed to work on "remote" temperature probes - the kind that you use in your oven (the braid gets shut in the oven door). The tubing protects the braid so that liquid will not touch it -which is the primary source of temps getting crazy on these things.

Another tip. If you have a probe thermometer like this that is starting to flake out after getting wet, put most of the probe and braid in the oven (excluding the plug of course) and bake it for like 30 minutes at 350. That will dry out the probe and will usually get it to start working again. Don't do this with the silicone tubing on the probe though or it will melt.
 
The probe is actually only 2-3/4" long.

You are correct. Even with it being that short, it works a lot better then I was worried it would. I have a tri-clad pot as well, so the heat is evenly disrupted.

Whatever temp gauge u go with, remember to move around the probe and dont let it touch the sides of the bottom of the pot
 
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