Cheap Remote Probe Digital Thermometers

[porky]

The alarm is handy...but does anyone know how to turn it off? Not only the alarm, but the unit itself? I was flicking it over to the timer function just to shut it up.

I raised the set point, it stopped beeping.
I won't turn it off. I have a similar unit that doesn't go above 70 C (so no good for brewing) in the shed and it has been on with the same battery for about three years now.

Cheers,
Bud

 

[porky]

How much currently are they from IKEA does anyone know?

Mine came from Logan and were 15 bucks each.

Cheers,
Bud

 

[DiscoStu]

I bought one of these from Jaycar and I bought the probe thermocouple to go with it.

Works really well, faster to read temp than my old cheap $10 digital, I have the wire type taped to the side of my fermentor and the probe I use in the mash tun and for testing the kettle temp.

 

[cubbie]

I bought something almost identical from CraftBrewer and it's great for strike water, mashing etc and is suitably accurate. However problem is that when trying to get temperature of the current brew in the fridge and holding the probe against the side of the fermenter I don't really trust the reading because obviously there's cold fermenter on one side of the metal and warm air on the other side.....
So the Ikea one would be great to feed down through the airlock hole and just leave it there ... suitably sterilised and the hole stufed with cotton wool whatever.

I know some guys just sit a thermometer in a jug of water in the fridge but that wouldn't give really accurate reading during initial fermentation where the wort is generating its own heat and that's the critical area I need to monitor especially with West Yorkshire yeast.

How much currently are they from IKEA does anyone know?
Advantage of IKEA in Brisbane is that they are just down the road from Ross' store - or maybe a disadvantage as it's a bit of a trap

"Abandon All Dough ye who enter here" :lol: :lol:

I have an old fridge with the old bulb type theromstat. I was able to easily pull the old temp control out and replace it with a new dial (+30 to -50) and probe which sits in a 1.5 litre water bottle. This was cheap and easy, but the dial is in intervals of 5 and it has a slight give (so hard to set), plus I don't think I could easily place the bulb in my fermeter. I try to set the temp to 17-18c to account for the extra temp in the fermenter. As you mentioned the IKEA probe looks like an option to place through the airlock so I can calibrate my temps.

Do the other fridge control options mentioned on AHB involve placing a probe in your fermenter?

 

[maj]

However problem is that when trying to get temperature of the current brew in the fridge and holding the probe against the side of the fermenter I don't really trust the reading because obviously there's cold fermenter on one side of the metal and warm air on the other side.....

i don't quite have such good temp control myself going the frozen water bottles in a broken fridge method BUT I did hear on one of the Jamil episodes - can't remember which - that he tapes his probe to the side of the fermenter and covers that with a curved piece of styrofoam. Assuming he's talking about his thermometer probe i can't see why that wouldn't work for you, Bribie. It's certainly what i'll be doing when i do get a working ferment fridge.

 

[samhighley]

*bump*

There's a new thermocouple thermometer at Jaycar:



Comes with two thermocouples and promises "laboratory accuracy" of 0.5%.

Linky dinky