I am new to homebrewing (not homebrew drinking) having just bought an off the shelf coopers beer kit.
My second concern (with the first being the dodgy/generic yeast, sugar, etc and instructions it comes with, but I can work most of that out with some reading and careful buying for future brews) is the stick on digital thermometer. I would like a more accurate measure of temp from the fermenter. At this stage I don't have a fridge or other method of insulating/cooling the fermenter from ambient air temp, so a more accurate reading won't be overly beneficial given that I'm simply going to wrap it in a wet towel if its too warm... Regardless, this is something I can afford to do now and will have use for in the future.
Some quick googleing led me to this DIY temp sensor: http://martybugs.net/electronics/tempsensor/hardware.cgi
(The above pictured sensor can be made to read temps from more than one sensor along its length)
What I am aiming for is a single cable with one sensor outside the fermenter and another inside submerged in the wurt, probably through a second rubber grommet like the airlock one.
With such a setup hooked up to a comp in the downstairs brew room I will be able to monitor ambient and brew temps from upstairs.
My concern with this idea is food / beer safe waterproofing for the section of cable that will be inside the fermenter. Is there a readily availiable silicone, epoxy or heatshrink that will be food safe, waterproof, easy to sanitize and not impart any taste to the beer?
Cheers for any input
My second concern (with the first being the dodgy/generic yeast, sugar, etc and instructions it comes with, but I can work most of that out with some reading and careful buying for future brews) is the stick on digital thermometer. I would like a more accurate measure of temp from the fermenter. At this stage I don't have a fridge or other method of insulating/cooling the fermenter from ambient air temp, so a more accurate reading won't be overly beneficial given that I'm simply going to wrap it in a wet towel if its too warm... Regardless, this is something I can afford to do now and will have use for in the future.
Some quick googleing led me to this DIY temp sensor: http://martybugs.net/electronics/tempsensor/hardware.cgi
(The above pictured sensor can be made to read temps from more than one sensor along its length)
What I am aiming for is a single cable with one sensor outside the fermenter and another inside submerged in the wurt, probably through a second rubber grommet like the airlock one.
With such a setup hooked up to a comp in the downstairs brew room I will be able to monitor ambient and brew temps from upstairs.
My concern with this idea is food / beer safe waterproofing for the section of cable that will be inside the fermenter. Is there a readily availiable silicone, epoxy or heatshrink that will be food safe, waterproof, easy to sanitize and not impart any taste to the beer?
Cheers for any input