What thermometer do you use?

I have had good luck with this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Comark-58-deg-Waterproof-Thermometer/dp/B001U59MDA

Cheers!

 

Analog FTW!


Just like a store-bought woman...it never lets you down.
-apologies to N. Diamond

 

I use a Taylor digital thermometer. It's accurate but takes some time to register. I use it to calibrate my analog thermometers on my kettles, and to double check sparge water temps; the one on my HLT is pretty poor, but the Blichman that came with my Boilermaker is great.
I've used Thermapens in professional settings and agree they're nice.

 

Thermapen and Blichmann Brew-mometers on all my kettles.

 

LOL! The funny thing is, I have a digital thermometer, which works fine, is accurate at 0 and boiling, yada yada yada. Well digital thermometers have one serious weak spot - battery power. If they're not plug-in, and you for some strange reason didn't bother to keep extra batteries handy, perhaps because you're friggin' high and think that one set of batteries last forever for instance, well, I think you know where this story is going.

So then there's the thing about timing. See Murphy's law. Precisely when you need it most will be the exact time your batteries die, should you fail to have spare batteries handy for your thermometer. True Fact.

So being that I have a turkey fryer for boiling wort, it came with a thermometer. The exact one pictured here. And you know what, it does work like a champ. The day I was forced to use it as a backup I couldn't help but notice that boiling was slightly to the low side of halfway between 210 and 215 F. When I got the digital one back running, it seems the analog one works every bit as well, save for the decimal places.

Now if you don't have a backup thermometer... you're spending too much time smokin' sumpin'.

 

This. It's was a few bucks cheaper than the Termopen.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015SGSZ2/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used to use the Polder/Taylor meat thermometers with the probe on a wire and the readout that could sit outside the oven. The probes stop working if the slightest bit of water gets between the metal end of the probe and the platic coating. I got tired of replacing the probe every few months.

 

A cheap Polder after my cheap Taylor probe crapped out - after 20+ batches.

 

Although expensive, I think Thermapen is the best.

 

Thermapen. It's pink.

 

Same here which is why I ditched Teh Digital. That and replacement button batteries were impossible to find.

Calibrated my analogger against a vintage mercury Taylor candy thermometer. The dialer reads ~2°F high in the lower end of the register where accuracy is less important. Some minor lag reaching the beta-sphere and alpha-sphere but its readings are real good.

 

That's good to know. Even being off one or two degrees won't make or break a beer, and if you have two thermometers that are calibrated similarly, you should be golden for homebrew.

I'm actually happy that the turkey fryer thermometer is in fact pretty darn accurate. After all, I wouldn't want those drunk morons trying to fry a frozen turkey in their freshly constructed wooden shed (right next to a leaky mini-bike and a couple of gas cans) to be a couple of degrees off in their temperature readings!*

*did I mention that in general I think turkey fryers are a bad idea, at least where the "general public" is concerned?**

**but they work great for beer

 

You make an excellen point regarding spare batteries. Fortunately, another of my hobbies is PC building/hacking or whatever you want to call it. Thus, there's no shortage of CR2032 button cells at my house - the same battery that is used in the Thermapen.

That said, I tend to rail against digital temperature controllers (why would they take one of the most elegantly simple devices ever invented - an analog temp controller - and add digital electronics to it?). A digital thermometer is identically crippled, IMO. Nevertheless, I'll never part with my Thermapen.
So sue me!

 

My temperature controller is analog.

 

Love my thermapen. As others said, you get what you pay for on it.

 

Another Thermapen user here. I probably will never need another thermometer, and if I did I would buy another Thermapen in an instant. An awesome thermometer both in the brewhouse and in the kitchen.

 

I didn't buy it with the intention of using it in the kitchen, but I don't know how I managed to cook without it.

A lot of people seem to be gushing over the Thermapen. The surprising thing is that it's really that good! It's one of a handful of products I've bought in my lifetime that truly lives up to the hype.

 

Agreed.. I don't need one to grill a steak to figure out what it's cooked to, I'm just used to my BGE and how I cook on it. However, I will say, that when I'm smoking something, like a brisket, that I'm shooting for a temp to pull it at.. Thermapen is the best. I'm in and out of the smoker, no sitting with it open losing the heat and smoke, and the small tip doesn't puncture the meat as bad allowing those precious juices to go into the drip pan.

 

I love my thermapen for smoking too. But going a bit off topic, I only use it to tell whether there's a stall that needs to be powered through. 'Done' for a brisket is all about texture rather than temperature. i.e. it could be done at 190F or not done at 205F. Oh yeah...ahem... I also enjoy homebrew when I barbecue.

 

Agreed.. I didn't really elaborate. Used brisket as an example.. I do judge temp as a slight indicator, but.. for instance, I also use it on my picnics and butts to see where it's at, and if it'll also stall, where I need to wrap it to shoot past. Much like brisket, just because it's at a certain temp, doesn't always mean it's gonna be tender.

And uhh, I'm with ya. I generally fire up the BGE next to the kettles most brewdays.. 7 times out of 10 atleast.