New guy with a temp question.

[Luke Cooper]

Hi all.
About to bottle my first brew this weekend. Extract and steeping grain amber ale using a Gen3 Robobrew. Very excited in my new hobby.

But......

I have used a fridge controlled by the KegKing MK2 temp controller as a fermentation chamber. The fermenter has a stainless thermowell I installed. I'm confident in the setup Ive put together but in my enthusiasm I didnt even think about calibrating the MK2 controller before starting fermentation.

I have found that the controller has been out by 2 to 3 degrees so the ferment has been on the cold side. Probably 15.5 to 16 degrees. I had been wondering why the ferment was coming along so slowly.

I would love any recommendations of trusted handheld digital thermometers I could buy. Preferably one which I can calibrate and then use as a "master" which I will check the Robobrew and fridge controller against.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

A few guys have the thermo pen. They're a but hexy but everyone that owns one says they're the bees knees. Good warranty and very fast at reading temp.

 

[Brewno Marz]

I have found that the controller has been out by 2 to 3 degrees so the ferment has been on the cold side. Probably 15.5 to 16 degrees. I had been wondering why the ferment was coming along so slowly.

Sorry, I don’t have a recommendation for an accurate digital thermometer. However, maybe check the MkII against boiling water (100 deg C) and with ice water (0 deg C). I did this with my MkII controller and found negligible offset...maybe 0.2 deg.

 

[Luke Cooper]

Sorry, I don’t have a recommendation for an accurate digital thermometer. However, maybe check the MkII against boiling water (100 deg C) and with ice water (0 deg C). I did this with my MkII controller and found negligible offset...maybe 0.2 deg.

I will do that this weekend.