Temperature Coupling For A Cooler

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Trough Lolly

"Drink, Feck, Arse, Girls"!
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Hi all,
Has anyone modified their cylindrical cooler mashtun (eg Gott, Rubbermaid, etc) to allow a temperature probe to be connected to monitor mash temps?

If so, how did you do it?
Do you have a URL that shows how it's done?

Is it as easy as drilling a hole in the side, fitting an O-ring and shoving in a temperature probe? :blink: Or do you have a slightly more elegant solution that won't leak precious fluid all over the place? :p

I've heard of mods to the screw on lid to take a probe vertically, but what about one mounted on the side of the cooler - a la morebeer??? :huh:

Cheers,
TL
 
i would not bother - Promash tells you the temp of the water needed.
You use a digital temp to measure/adjust temp at dough in - put the lid on and leave.
Even doing a step mash - process is the same.
 
GMK said:
i would not bother
Who are you and what did you do with the real GMK. :blink:

Is this not the first time ken has posted in gear and equipment without mentioning 'he has one for sale, ie here GMKENTERPRISES i have this probe that i can sell you, it mounts in the side, its $$$$ and has blah, blah,blah oh yeah it even has a tap font on it' :eek:



Jayse
 
Trough lolly, I tried this with my thermal probe, but was unhappy with the results.

The temp was always all over the joint. I ended up lifting the lid, stirring, and using the regular glass thermometer, wait 20 seconds then take the reading.

I suspect that my probe thermometer didn't like the whole probe and the attached wiring being affected by the heat, and this is why I could never get it to give accurate results. It was fine in a glass of water, but not in the tun.

Your model may be more suitable to sticking in the mash tun than mine was. How about a small groove cut in the lip of the lid to allow the wiring to pass under the lid?

Getting the strike temperature right is more important than measuring throughout the mash as most of the conversion happens in the first 15-20 minutes with our well modified (lots of enzymes) local malts.
 
Jayse - Yeah, Ken surprised me too! What's wrong with more equipment, eh! :angry: :) :lol:

PoL - Thanks for the info...I too have a probe that I bought from I-Brew last year. And yes, they do get a bit screwy if you get the braided line wet!

I was thinking more along the lines of a temp guage that stays on the side of the cooler indefinately. Like Morebeer does for their Rubbermaids - A cooler bulkhead fitting where I can screw in a permanent temperature dial - like you see on the fancier SS kettles from St Pats, etc.

I agree about the strike temp - yeah, as long as the strike temp is good (as GMK suggested with Promash) the cooler design takes care of the rest... ;)

Cheers,
TL
 
I also use one of those digital probes (meat thermo.) and it would go silly after a short immersion but would return to normal after a day or so which would indicate that they are susceptible to moisture.
I solved the problem by buying some 6mm. heat shrink tube from D. Smith and covering the braid and all but the last two inches of the probe with it. I can now boil its little heart out with no spurious readings.
 
Here is a pic of the temp probe as Batz described.
Works fine!

Mash_Tun_with_Temp_Guage.JPG
 
dicko - what is taht brass fitting on th eoutlet doing there...

Ken
 
Go on Kenny, pick my equipment to pieces :lol:

When you live in a remote area like I do, you just dont get stainless steel fittings at the local store so you use what you can get.

I had to send away for the food grade silicon to seal the temp probe into the mash tun. :rolleyes:

As a matter of fact I dont use that tun any more because every time I served someone a beer that I had made with that equipment they susequently died. :(

What I have made now is a mash tun out of a stainless steel reject draught beer vessel which enables me to do "big" beers" as well as use the "no sparge" method.

Of course I have used a stainless steel bulkhead fitting, tap and push fit connectors in the new mash tun and apart from speeding up my brew day with the "no sparge" method we have not had one brass related death from the Driver River Brewery products since the change.

Now you know Kenny, that you have ruined any hope I had of selling that old mash tun because everybody knows the tragic history behind that ill fated piece of equipment :ph34r:
So I guess that it will now fade into oblivion under the bench with all the other tried and failed pieces of brewing equipment that one accrues during that transition period from K&K through partials and on to the full mash.

Oh! and by the way, I have asked the owner of the local general store if he would be as kind as to stock a full range of stainless steel fittings in sizes 3/8" and 1/2" just in case another one of our 250 population (including children) wants to build a brewery in the future and he said, YEAH RIGHT!

Hell! if I had my time over I would have used stainless steel, I lost a couple of good drinking buddies and they are really hard to replace. :(

Cheers Ken
 
im in sympathy with ya dicko.us remote brewers have to stick together to counteract the likes of the money hungry brewing enterprizes popping up ;)
ive even heard they sell s/s coated brass fittings to trick us into believing its ridgey didge ss gear.
well us country folk no that a magnet will soon prove that trick wrong. <_<

btw thats why i stayed away from brass as ive heard about them there brewing deaths.cant go affording no deaths and bad names to my brewing up here.they would be running me and family outta town thems would.

cheers
big d :(
 

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