Water Proof Thermometer Probes

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nick79brew

nick79brew

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Does anyone know where to find a waterproof themo probe? my understanding is that the point where the thermo probe connects is the "achilies heal" of these instruments ( ive gone through 3). There has to be a water proof one out there!
thanks
nick

On Tap:
Dunkelweizen
Pale Ale #2

Secondary:
Oreon Strawberry Ale
 
I have a sabco thermometer/probe that I had to unfortunately submerse in water yesterday because of a mishap with wort chiller. When I brewed again today, it was fine. Don't know your exacts specs or what you're looking for, but sabco's website (www.kegs.com) might be worth a try.

BREW ON:mug:
 
I have un-waterproofed kind that I learned about needing to be water proofed my first AG. National Homebrew day I saw the same probe and the guy put it in a small diam cooper tube and filled it with something.. no idea what... it was white..... Anyone know a filler that would be safe to use.... wish I got his name...... How about epoxy?
 
Oh geez, that kind of temperature probe. I'm sorry; I feel like a real dumba$$ now. Haha.

Good luck with it, though!

BREW ON:mug:
 
I have a temp probe like the one on the link. Its not "waterproof" that I know of but I figured it was close to maybe "water resistant" to be used in the kitchen. I'm not sure what did it in, but I immersed it in Star San and also used it in my boil. When I went to measure the temperature of my wort as I was cooling it I noticed it was stuck at like 120 F. Later that day I decided to see how broken it was and I put it in the oven and turned it up to 400 F and let it sit for a while. It read up around 400 F and when I took it out of the oven it came back down to reading room temperature again. I'm thinking maybe I baked some water out of it that made it work again, but am not sure.
 
Yup thats what I was told to do too. Fixed it right up... now just have to waterproof it somehow....
 
Perhaps a heat shrink kit would work. You might be able to get them at Lowes or Home Depot if they sell submersible well pumps. I'm guessing the plastic used is pretty safe if its sold for use in potable water wells.
 
Chimone said:
i found this one. its only 20 bucks and looks like it should work well enough for now.
Click to expand...

Looks real similar to mine.

2560-100_0476.jpg


It was really awsum till the probe got watercloged.
 
I think there have been other threads on this. Those probes are fine as long you don't allow the braided part of the cord to get submerged...just the metal tip. If you do happen to get it submerged, then a low-temp bake in the oven will often dry it out and return it to working order.
 
That is so awesome. I had a thermometer that kicked the bucket during the last brew. It now reads around 130 at room temperature (obviously wrong). It's good to know that baking it may fix it (of course, since it was wort, it may be busted for good).

Don't tell SWMBO though, I convinced her that we needed another one, and we'll be picking up a remote one sometime this week (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=12123876&RN=210)

Maybe next week sometime the old one will just happen to get fixed...
 
i wonder if one could place the end of the metal probe part in a veryling viynl tube jacket and seal it to the probe itself. that way the braided part would be shielded from any water intrusion.
 
Baron von BeeGee said:
I think there have been other threads on this. Those probes are fine as long you don't allow the braided part of the cord to get submerged...just the metal tip. If you do happen to get it submerged, then a low-temp bake in the oven will often dry it out and return it to working order.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think your the one who told me that. It worked great by the way:)
 
I have a probe that I fried batches ago - I use the unit as a timer now. are you guys saying after months I bake this probe part thing it will work finally? Hmmm

also does anyone know if they are universal? from unit to unit?

thoughts on water proofing - that rubberized coating stuff for screwdriver handles. only for mash not boil but if you painted half the probe up the cord 12inches or so waterproof?

just a late night thought if mine works again that is the plan
jld
 
Has anyone tried to cover the braided part of the probe with that rubber dip stuff like they use for tool handles? I would try something like this if the probe is NOT used for oven situation. Also I am curious what the dangers are of contamination and wonder how it would hold up in brewing temps.
Might help with the wet situations though, I may have to try this with water only boil and see what happens to the stuff.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2686
 
I like how it hovers in space and seems to have its own force field.

oranges.jpg


Seriously, I think ythat the advantage of the one that keeps getting ruined is that you can drop it in and forget it because, if I'm not mistaken, you can set an alarm at say 145. That way you can regulate your temp before it gets too hot.
 
Two things should work :

use the liquid rubber that comes in a can to dip tool handles in.

or

get epoxy filled shrink tubing that is rated for water. They use it for making electrical connections to submersible well pumps.
 
I have had one of these for 2 years and it has not failed. It is a scientific thermometer and costs $35. It is way more accurate then the kitchen thermometers and is completely waterproof.

Even if you manage to bake your probe and make it work, it will fail again.

T100-4039_product.jpg
 
opqdan said:
That is so awesome. I had a thermometer that kicked the bucket during the last brew. It now reads around 130 at room temperature (obviously wrong). It's good to know that baking it may fix it (of course, since it was wort, it may be busted for good).

Don't tell SWMBO though, I convinced her that we needed another one, and we'll be picking up a remote one sometime this week (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=12123876&RN=210)

Maybe next week sometime the old one will just happen to get fixed...
Click to expand...
Well, it worked. I'll have to be more carefull with the probe in the future. Normally, the braid never touches the liquid, and is not in contact with the steam either, so it should be good for a while.

Unfortunatly, SWMBO found out that I fixed it, so no new thermometer for me.
 
I used mine again and it worked great! Here is what I did to it.

Tape the wired end with teflon tape. Then get one of them cheap throw away rubbermaid containers used for leftovers. You can get them in the grocery stores. You need one wide enough for the entire probe. Puncture a container with the probe on the bottom. If your real quick the hole stays watertight around the probe. I pushed the probe all the way so that it sticks out the bottom like 10 inches or so then put the lid on it. You can pour water right over this thing. Not one drop entered mine! WORKED FANTASTIC!
 
What is the cable made of? I wonder if it can withstand boiling wort. The temperature range of the thermometer suggests that it would.
 
erbiumyag said:
What Monster Mash has is exactly what I've pulled up. When searching for a good thermometer, its got to be more than "water proof". What you really want is something that is "submersible". Here's another link for this one.

http://www.sciencelab.com/page/S/PVAR/21811/45-4039

"Probe and 10 ft. cable perform accurately even when BOTH are under water."
Click to expand...

I was all ready to order until I saw that the LCD readout only works when ambient temp is above freezing. That won't work for me when I am brewing in my garage in January and the temp is in the single digits or colder (yes I really do brew in that weather!).
 
Abirbrau, you could suspend the readout inside your mash tun. If you keep the lid on, the ambient temp should definitely remain above freezing. I would seal it in a zip lock bag to protect it from condensation to be safe; or I would keep it outside in a zip lock bag with a hand warmer inside...just a suggestion.
 
erbiumyag said:
Abirbrau, you could suspend the readout inside your mash tun. If you keep the lid on, the ambient temp should definitely remain above freezing. I would seal it in a zip lock bag to protect it from condensation to be safe; or I would keep it outside in a zip lock bag with a hand warmer inside...just a suggestion.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea, but it kinda defeats the purpose. I mean, the reason I have such a thermometer is so I don't have to lift the lid of the mash tun to check the temp, thus letting the heat out.........
The hand warmer idea might work, tho..........
 
So, has anyone actually tried shrink plastic or tool handle stuff on the braided part? I'm kinda sick of throwing the probe in the oven during a brew day and pulling out the old school red goo therm. (even still i'm guessing it'll cost $10 to "proof" it - on a $12 therm I'm not sure this is better than getting a submersible.)
 
Beer Snob said:
I used mine again and it worked great! Here is what I did to it.

Tape the wired end with teflon tape. Then get one of them cheap throw away rubbermaid containers used for leftovers. You can get them in the grocery stores. You need one wide enough for the entire probe. Puncture a container with the probe on the bottom. If your real quick the hole stays watertight around the probe. I pushed the probe all the way so that it sticks out the bottom like 10 inches or so then put the lid on it. You can pour water right over this thing. Not one drop entered mine! WORKED FANTASTIC!
Click to expand...

I'm having a difficult time wrapping my mind around this. A picture would go a long way. Any one else know how this works?
 
AHammer16 said:
Two things should work :

use the liquid rubber that comes in a can to dip tool handles in.

or

get epoxy filled shrink tubing that is rated for water. They use it for making electrical connections to submersible well pumps.
Click to expand...

I did the liquid rubber thing. I put two coats on, let it cure, and then dunked it in water. Worked like a charm.
 
ablrbrau said:
I did the liquid rubber thing. I put two coats on, let it cure, and then dunked it in water. Worked like a charm.
Click to expand...

Does this work in boiling wort temps? I don't think we'd want liquid rubber goo coming off in beer...
 
Beer Snob said:
Read my post in #24 and you'll have an answer to this problem without the goo.
Click to expand...


I did read your post #24. But I don't want to do that. I won't have room in either my mash tun or my kettle for floating tupperware. Nor do I want to take the lid off of my MT to check the temp (running a waterproof probe w/wire out under the lid doesn't lose much heat).
 
olllllo said:
I'm having a difficult time wrapping my mind around this. A picture would go a long way. Any one else know how this works?
Click to expand...

Sorry... camera is not here at home that is why I did not take pictures of the whole day let alone the probe. The probe is shaped like an L right (or at least mine is). You take one of those rubbermaid containers... they come in a package like... 5 or so... you find them in the grocery store next to the foil and syran wrap stuff. You just get one big enough so that the probe can sit inside it at the L junction. You take the probe and poke it right through the container (if your thinking that there is no way that a probe will poke through a rubbermaid container you have the wrong type of container in mind... this is just cheap very thin plastic). Mine did not leak at all, but you could always use a bit of teflon tape. So you push the probe all the way through and put the lid on. The container is only about 3 inches deep or so. PUt the top on and it will float with plenty of room to spare in a 5 gal water cooler. I poured my hot water right ontop of it.... never took it out.
 
ablrbrau said:
I did the liquid rubber thing. I put two coats on, let it cure, and then dunked it in water. Worked like a charm.
Click to expand...

I was looking for this... the Ace guy did not think they had it, but wondered if this would be safe to do (not that I trust a lot the Ace guy tells me). But this did lead me to thinking of another method.
 
Teedocious said:
Does this work in boiling wort temps? I don't think we'd want liquid rubber goo coming off in beer...
Click to expand...

Ya know, I could have sworn that there was a temperature range printed on the can somewhere, but now I can't find it. I even went to the website (Googled Plasti-Dip) and couldn't find it there, either. I haven't yet used it in a batch of beer, I just dunked it in water to see if it was waterproof. Maybe I'll have to test it in some boiling water later on. I'll keep you posted........
 
Did a quick experiment-Boiled the probe and the Plasti-Dipped portion of the cable in plain water for about 5 minutes with the readout hooked up. Woked perfectly- temp was good, and the coating wasn't gooey or even soft, so I won't be afraid to use it in my next brew. :tank:

BTW Snob I got the stuff at Menard's, and have also seen it at Fleet Farm. I would imagine that Slowe's and Home Despot have it also.......
 
Sounds good. Where did you get the stuff? Home Depot kinda place? Like I said the Ace guy was clueless.
 

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