Temp probe location

[Foster]

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

 

[TheWiggman]

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.

 

[Rodolphe01]

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.

 

[Spiesy]

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

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Anyone know of a good priced quality fermenter thermowell?

 

[Yob]

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

 

[Truman42]

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.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

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

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

Also love the Krausplosion!

 

[spudfarmerboy]

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.

 

[Yob]

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)

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

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?!?!

 

[Kingbrownbrewing]

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!

 

[booargy]

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?

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

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?

 

[Black n Tan]

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

 

[TheWiggman]

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.

 

[superstock]

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.

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

 

[Scooby Tha Newbie]

 

[beermeupscotty]

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.

 

[stm]

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