# Temp probe location



## Foster (17/2/14)

Is it better to postion a probe into the beer, or tape it to the side of a plastic fermenter when fermenting in a fridge controlled by a STC 1000 or other controller.

Cheers, Fozz


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## TheWiggman (18/2/14)

Happy to be proven wrong but in the beer would be ideal, not dead-centre but offset towards the edge. It's not done that much though so maybe there's a good reason for it or it's not worth the hassle.

My logic...
Assume it's in a fridge and the weather is hot. There will be some lag during cooling which would mean the outside will be cooler than the middle of the fermenter. However, I can't imagine a huge heat gradient across the beer so this _should_ be negligible.

If on the other hand the probe is on the outside then the plastic will be cooled and then the fridge will stop once reached. The beer will then heat it up the plastic slightly and the fridge will turn on again. Overall it will take longer to reach the desired temp but will never over shoot.


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## Rodolphe01 (18/2/14)

Probably 'better' in the beer, however I jam mine up against the side with a block of styrofoam though as I reckon dangling less things in my beer is better. Thermowells etc can obviously be used to house the probe.


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## Spiesy (18/2/14)

In the beer. Thermowell enabling the probe to sit in the middle of your wort/beer.


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## DJ_L3ThAL (18/2/14)

Anyone know of a good priced quality fermenter thermowell?


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## Yob (18/2/14)

would have to be a pretty long thermowell to get near the middle of a standard FV... 

I just jam mine up against the side of the FV and the fridge, (Foam insulated probe) Id thought about a thermowell in the FV ages ago but decided it was another thing to clean / place for nasties to hide...

wasnt broke.. didnt fix it. 

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=62449


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## Truman42 (18/2/14)

In the beer = better (Although with a thermowell even better)

taped to the side and covered with foam = easier.

I use gladwrap so dont really have a lid to mount a thermowell to. if I swicthed back to lids I then need to stuff around with airlocks and all the fun with that. So gladwrap on top and probe taped to the side with a piece of foam taped over that to insulate the probe is what I do.


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## DJ_L3ThAL (18/2/14)

Yob said:


> would have to be a pretty long thermowell to get near the middle of a standard FV...
> 
> I just jam mine up against the side of the FV and the fridge, (Foam insulated probe) Id thought about a thermowell in the FV ages ago but decided it was another thing to clean / place for nasties to hide...
> 
> ...


I like that logic. Every time I see this mentioned I think, shit, better measure accurately.

Also love the Krausplosion!


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## spudfarmerboy (18/2/14)

I did a few experiments on fermenter temps about 6 months ago.
I had 2 STC1000's. At 20C they read within .2C of each other.
I had one temp sensor on the outside of the fermenter, covered with 2 layers of camping mat and held tight against the fermenter with a ratchet strap.
The other STC1000 temp sensor was tangled under the Glad Wrap and positioned in the middle of the fermenting beer.
Through out the fermentation time, which was about 10 days, both sensors read within .5 degrees of each other.
I know this isn't a thorough experiment, but it showed me that with the sensor held tight against the fermenter it was accurate enough in a homebrew enviroment.


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## Yob (18/2/14)

Must note that I dont use that elastic anymore either, or ocky straps, or blutak, or tape... all of those methods become a PITA and have pitfalls associated with them in one way or another... simply wedged against the side is the easiest, fastest and cheapest and will last for the life of the fridge 

Ocky strap - becomes gunked up with crap if you get a yeats explosion
Blutak on probe - transmits temperature and isnt a good insulator, it also has a tendency to drop off if there is any condensation build up underneath.
Elastic - stretches and needs replacing (and becomes gunked up)


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## DJ_L3ThAL (18/2/14)

Awesome, making life simpler with a hobby that can otherwise become more complex than your life!!

I scored a free chest freezer last weekend (390L!), did someone say fermeezer and keg conditioning/lagering chamber?!?!


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## Kingbrownbrewing (18/2/14)

I use old corny dip tube from ross (he charges me bugger all for them) and cut them and crimp them at the bend. Seal the tube with food grade silicon before crimping and you have an awesome budget thermowell that will reach into the beer from the lid.

Great control and the probe doesnt touch your beer!


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## booargy (18/2/14)

King Brown Brewing said:


> I use old corny dip tube from ross (he charges me bugger all for them) and cut them and crimp them at the bend. Seal the tube with food grade silicon before crimping and you have an awesome budget thermowell that will reach into the beer from the lid.
> 
> Great control and the probe doesnt touch your beer!


would it be better without the crimp?


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## DJ_L3ThAL (18/2/14)

booargy said:


> would it be better without the crimp?


If you didn't crimp then the probe would be in the wort anyway and no need for the dip tube part?


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## Black n Tan (18/2/14)

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Anyone know of a good priced quality fermenter thermowell?


I got one from beer belly, $18 and 40cm long.

http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/fermentor-thermowell-9-53mm-x-400mm-stainless-steel-with-grommet.html


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## TheWiggman (18/2/14)

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Anyone know of a good priced quality fermenter thermowell?


http://www.ibrew.com.au/collections/temperature-control/products/ntc-temperature-probe

200mm, only good for full batches. Looks good for the price though and suits STC.


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## superstock (18/2/14)

spudfarmerboy said:


> I did a few experiments on fermenter temps about 6 months ago.
> I had 2 STC1000's. At 20C they read within .2C of each other.
> I had one temp sensor on the outside of the fermenter, covered with 2 layers of camping mat and held tight against the fermenter with a ratchet strap.
> The other STC1000 temp sensor was tangled under the Glad Wrap and positioned in the middle of the fermenting beer.
> ...


Did the same experiment some time ago. Got the same results. Came to the same conclusion.


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## Scooby Tha Newbie (18/2/14)




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## beermeupscotty (18/2/14)

Just set up my fridge+temp control recently and was considering probe placement and whether to get a thermowell. Decided to keep it simple at first and so for my first TC'd brew, I had my temp probe taped to the side of FV with insulation. I took 7 samples over the fermentation period and each time I filled the measuring cylinder I took a temperature reading of the beer with my electronic BBQ thermometer (which my STC is calibrated to). The maximum difference between the beer and side of FV was 1.1°C with an average difference of 0.55°C.

I decided an insulated probe stuck to side of FV was fine for my requirements.


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## stm (18/2/14)

What's the minimum difference value on these STC 1000s?


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## Spiesy (18/2/14)

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Anyone know of a good priced quality fermenter thermowell?


BeerBelly's is well priced.

It takes literally 5 seconds to clean, I just soak it in the fermenter with everything else. And honestly there's not really any more chance for infection… it's a sealed stainless tube sitting inside your fermenter.

I also use a blow off tube, to prevent krausen explosions, due to using fermenter lid - also saves any air being sucked into the fermenter when moving.


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## elcarter (18/2/14)

I've done 5 batches with the STC probe in the beer with glad wrap top.

Fridge hardly tuns on.

No infections. Beer has improved possibly fermenting a little too cleanly for some styles.

Might be a cowboy move but they are aquarium probes and the plastic's not in 20%+ alcohol at any elevated temps so don't think it's leaching anything to harmful.

The beers artificial preservative free so that rounds it our right?

* my personal view and it's your health ect...


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## Foster (18/2/14)

Black n Tan said:


> I got one from beer belly, $18 and 40cm long.
> 
> http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/fermentor-thermowell-9-53mm-x-400mm-stainless-steel-with-grommet.html


does the probe from Beerbelly have to be wired to the STC 1000, or does it just plug staright into it?


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## Black n Tan (18/2/14)

the thermowell is open at one end and you just feed the probe that comes with the STC1000 through the opening to the bottom of the thermowell. The outside that is contact with the wort is sealed and polished so there are no crevices or gaps which could harbour nasties.


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## Yob (18/2/14)

stm said:


> What's the minimum difference value on these STC 1000s?


0.3'c giving a Max +|- of 0.6 

There are more precise devices but not near the same price.


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## rusty274 (18/2/14)

I got the beerbelly thermowell. Very happy with it. Easy to clean and install.


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## Foster (20/2/14)

Black n Tan said:


> I got one from beer belly, $18 and 40cm long.
> 
> http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/fermentor-thermowell-9-53mm-x-400mm-stainless-steel-with-grommet.html


Does the probe from Beer Belly have to be "hard" wired to the STC 1000 or does it have plug?


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## Spiesy (20/2/14)

Foster said:


> Does the probe from Beer Belly have to be "hard" wired to the STC 1000 or does it have plug?


As others have mentioned. It's a cylinder with one end open. You simply insert your temp probe into one end, easy.


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## Foster (21/2/14)

Sorry for the double post..... Thanks B & T & Spiesy for your replies.


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## wbosher (21/2/14)

I've got one of the beer belly long thermowells but never used in in the fermenter...did use it in the mash once or twice. Now just put the probe directly in the mash.

Difference in temp between actual wort temp and probe stuck to the side is exactly +/- bugger all...


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## brentice (3/4/14)

I use duct tape on the side of the fermentation vessel....................... story that is full of trueness


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