$1 Digital Thermometer With Probe - Question

[bcp]

Looking for a better way to measure temp of mash without holding my Dick Smith digital probe thermometer in the heat waiting for it to get up to reading temperature knowing i'll one day drop the damn thing in. Don't have budget at the moment for bling solution.



I bought this on ebay. About $1 from Hong Kong - so I bought a breathalyzer for $1 and with postage came in somewhere under $10. Figured even if i threw it away i haven't lost anything. Wish i'd bought two, actually.

It's only rated to 70c, but i calibrated it against my other thermometer and it's no more than 0.7 off at any temperature. I mean, at that accuracy, you can always double-check with whatever you trust, but it allows me to track what's happening through the whole mash - and at the bottom of the urn.

The question bit...
Is this kind of probe ok for putting into the bottom of a mash or do i need some kind of stainless steel cover like a thermowell or something? It seemed ok in water, but it wasn't in there for an hour...

 

[QldKev]

Looking for a better way to measure temp of mash without holding my Dick Smith digital probe thermometer in the heat waiting for it to get up to reading temperature knowing i'll one day drop the damn thing in. Don't have budget at the moment for bling solution.

<pic was ere>

I bought this on ebay. About $1 from Hong Kong - so I bought a breathalyzer for $1 and with postage came in somewhere under $10. Figured even if i threw it away i haven't lost anything. Wish i'd bought two, actually.

It's only rated to 70c, but i calibrated it against my other thermometer and it's no more than 0.7 off at any temperature. I mean, at that accuracy, you can always double-check with whatever you trust, but it allows me to track what's happening through the whole mash - and at the bottom of the urn.

The question bit...
Is this kind of probe ok for putting into the bottom of a mash or do i need some kind of stainless steel cover like a thermowell or something? It seemed ok in water, but it wasn't in there for an hour...

I've got about 4 of them; use them for fridge temps etc. I have left one sitting in the mash (the probe) for the full duration, no problems; temperature wise it was pretty close at <30c but at 66c it was about 3c out. I've only tried the one for the mash so far.

QldKev

 

[bcp]

I've got about 4 of them; use them for fridge temps etc. I have left one sitting in the mash (the probe) for the full duration, no problems; temperature wise it was pretty close at <30c but at 66c it was about 3c out. I've only tried the one for the mash so far.

QldKev

Interesting. Did you try calibrating all four of them together? Maybe it can vary from unit to unit, since mine was pretty close at 65 & 90. But I also wonder now if I calibrate these several times do I get the same result?

If it's consistent i can use it for a mash (eg, if it always reads 62.2 for 65, then i just have a table to tell me what the real temp is). If not, i can use it for other things at lower temperatures.

 

[Frag_Dog]

I used one of these for a while until the battery ran out and I dropped it. Seemed to do a reasonable job. It was the only thermometer I had so I couldn't calibrate it but I think it was reading a little low because some of the beers made with it came out sweet. (read 65C, probibly closer to 70C).