Thermometers and Accuracy and Price

[Dave46382]

Thermoworks therampen costs around $100 and is accurate ±0.72°F from -58 to 392°F. (4 seconds to read)

Thermoworks RT600 series costs around $30 and is accurate ±1.8°F from -3.8 to 247.8°F (6 seconds to read)

Do I really need ±0.72°F accuracy or is ±1.8°F good enough?

 

[lschiavo]

I just bought the Thermapen. I got fed up with cheap unreliable therms. This thing is nice. I guess it depends on your brewing process and how accurate you need to be.

 

[Dave46382]

I guess it depends on your brewing process and how accurate you need to be.

Just a guy who brews in his garage; igloo cooler for a mash tun; 40 qt aluminum pot for a brew kettle.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I have forund the inexpensive accu-rite digital therms work pretty damn well...they even can be calibrated I believe...around 10 bucks at wallmart. Dropped mine in my strike water a few weeks ago without issue.

http://www.shopwiki.com/_Acu-Rite+Digital+Instant+Read+Thermometer?o=324264789&s=254258&

Also, IMO whatever kind of thermo you use, you should have a backup...at ten bucks you can keep two around to verify each other...also test them occasionally in crushed ice and at boiling. Certainly not the best approach, but works for me.

 

[HairyDogBrewing]

I am very happy with my Thermapen and I don't regret spending 100 bucks for it.
I think the cheaper one would also work just fine for brewing.

 

[lschiavo]

I started with a bunch of cheap thermo's. Just make sure you are accurate. You probably dont need to spend much but temperature is very important.

I just checked our go to thermo against the Thermapen. 10 degrees off! Yeah we made beer, but I could have got within 10 degrees dipping my finger in.

If you want to be within a degree, get a thermo that will guarantee that!

 

[goodham]

I was looking at the Thermopen and shopping for other alternatives. In checking specifications, I found some with thermocouples list accuracy as +/- 1%. What does that mean? 1% of the range? Surely not.

For example, one reads:
Temp 60 to 750 degrees F +/-(1% reading + 5 digits)

I have no idea what that means....

 

[Cliff897]

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[Mista_Sparkle]

If you are electrically inclined, or just good at following directions, here's a DIY solution somebody posted a while ago. I think it cam out to like $15 and should be plenty accurate for your applications

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-15-temperature-probe-readout-157013/

 

[archiefl98]

I bought the thermapen after recommendations on this site.

It is, by far, the most valuable piece of equipment I have. It has GREATLY improved my AG brews. I also use it for checking temps on foods and have realized that all of my other thermometers vary greatly in accuracy above 100F

 

[Cliff897]

If you are electrically inclined, or just good at following directions, here's a DIY solution somebody posted a while ago. I think it cam out to like $15 and should be plenty accurate for your applications

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-15-temperature-probe-readout-157013/

Or even cheaper, get a copper constentan thermocouple and a multimeter.

You don't need anything more. It's as accurate as the $140 thermapen or anything else out there.

Omega kindly publishes this sort of information for free.
For free.
http://www.omega.com/temperature/z/pdf/z021-032.pdf

 

[Sawdustguy]

Or even cheaper, get a copper constentan thermocouple and a multimeter.

You don't need anything more. It's as accurate as the $140 thermapen or anything else out there.

Omega kindly publishes this sort of information for free.
For free.
http://www.omega.com/temperature/z/pdf/z021-032.pdf

I doubt your everyday multimeter is sensitive enough or has enough resolution to read the voltage out of a thermocouple. It will also be very inaccurate because a new junction will be created by the connection from the thermocouple to the multimeter. This is because the terminals of the multimeter are not the same metal as the thermocouple therefore another junction is formed.

 

[Cliff897]

I doubt your everyday multimeter

What's an "everyday" multimeter?


The multimeter & TC approach is good enough for an R&D UHV physics lab where I worked.

 

[jfkriege]

I have one of the Thermapens and love it. I am actually going to be ordering a second soon. With that said, I do a lot with culinary arts and they are valuable to me for far more than just brewing.