Digital Thermometer

Thermapen is the best, but $96:

http://thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/

This works nearly as well, $16:

http://www.amazon.com/CDN-DTQ450X-ProAccurate-Quick-Read-Thermometer/dp/B0021AEAG2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399222168&sr=8-1&keywords=digital thermometer

 

I don't ever hear any homebrewers regret buying the thermapen. not around here anyway.
it is expensive though. they occasionally have open box sales, so check the website.

the RT600 is my choice.
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt600c.html
these things are accurate and reliable.
thermo works is a great company too.
Cheers.

 

What's so good about the thermapen that warrants the price?

 

What are people's thoughts on infrared thermometers? I have a pretty quick and accurate thermometer that I paid $40 for, which I like, but I think it would be nice to be able to read temps without putting anything in the wort/beer.

 

infrared is great technology, but the drawback, and it's a big one, is that it will only read surface temp. if you stir the mash/wort/beer etc. an infrared thermometer will get you an accurate temp. but then you have defeated the purpose of the device.

Cheers.

 

it will probably be the last probe thermometer you will ever buy. if you do have a problem, thermo works will send you a replacement without any hassle. accuracy is never an issue. the response is fast. yes, they are expensive compared to what you can get at wal-mart, but this is a professional piece of equipment. we use them in our soils/materials lab because they are rugged. cheap-o made in china digital thermometers are crap.

a homebrewer is probably satisfied with the RT600 which is 75% as good for 25% of the cost. I use this one at home, no problems, $20. that is my opinion anyway.
Cheers.

 

It's fast, accurate, reliable, sturdy, and reputable.

 

I have a Thermapen.

They go on sale regularly, and I've bought stuff from them commercially for our lab- they will occasionally have some deals that are for commercial customers too that are damn good.

I use mine for brewing, and I use it for cooking around the house. Can't beat the rugged design, it's almost waterproof, and it's accurate and fast. It's perfect for checking the mash, and it's perfect for a quick temp reading of something in the smoker/grill when I don't want to be prodding around, or poking a ton of holes in the food.

They are a bit pricey if you are going to only use it for brewing, but it's something I think will last, and if you have issues thermoworks is pretty darn easy to deal with. That said- there are other options out there, and thermoworks has some cheaper stuff. Obviously in brewing the faster read out isn't necessary, but it's helpful.

 

Thermapen because ^^^ what they said ^^^
Frankly, I had a hard time pulling the trigger on that purchase. That's a helluva lot of money for something for which there are a thousand functionally equivalent products on the market. But I don't even think about the price any more. Like others, I also use it for cooking. Very thin probe doesn't bother the steak too much, and I can say now, from experience, that boneless, skinless chicken breast doesn't have to suck! Virtually instant read, dead-on accurate, and I never worry about whether or not it's going to work when I pull it out like I did the ten or so that came before it over the years. I couldn't imagine paying that much for a thermometer, but now I can't imagine being without it in the kitchen or brew house.

 

Thermopen is all well and good until the battery craps out.

 

Not sure if you're being silly here, but that's like saying a BMW is a nice car until you run out of gas. A pair of 2032 lithium cells will set you back a couple of bucks and are available virtually everywhere. It also gives you a warning when it's low, so you've got plenty of time to change it.

 

That is good to know. I do have a problem with mine: bought it about 8 months ago, it doesn't display unless I hold the probe in just the right way, probably a loose wire somewhere in there. I'll write them and see what happens, thanks.

 

If you have an absolute need for quick response then the Thermopen is the digital thermometer for you.

I have the Thermoworks RT301WA-N: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt301wa.html

It takes a bit longer to reach a steady reading (5-6 seconds) but that is quick enough for me. It is being sold for 20 bucks now (I paid about 30 dollars for mine).

Cheers!

 

I have a thermopen, like it, great for cooking, and all that is said above.

On another forum, many like this one from the same company.
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt600c.html

 

Yes have heard a guy swearing how he loved the Thermopen, but the > $90 holds me off. The dude was happy he finally felt he had a handle on mash temperatures. For now happy just parking an old glass therometer vertical in the mash. Heck two nice kits for this, don't think so.

 

Thermapen here as well. You'll probably be able to find an instant read thermometer in the 20$ range that is almost as good (I think the main draw of the thermapen is the quick 3 second read).
I love my thermapen and use it for brewing and checking meat temps. My wife thinks its crazy to spend 100 on a thermometer but if I get 5 years out of it I"ll be happy and buy another.

 

It took me a while to get past the price tag, but I broke down and bought a Thermapen. We use it for many things from brewing to cooking to heating coffee water to the proper temp. It gets used every single day.

We have gone through a few different digital thermometers over the past 4-5 years. I wish I would have just started with a Thermapen.

 

I'm with you on that. A digital thermometer is one of those things that you can buy once, or you buy again ...and again ...and again ...until you end up with right one eventually anyway. I'm convinced that you won't understand it until you've actually bought it.

 

Agreed. If I get a couple years out of it, I'll be fine with buying another. Once you have one, you'll find plenty of uses for it. I like it because it's not just fast, but accurate as shit. I have a toluene filled old glass lab thermometer at the house. It's VERY accurate. I check the thermapen to it sometimes when I'm bored and brewing, and they are spot on to each other.. well, other than waiting for the glass probe to change temp and stabilize.