Thermometer Brew! The Thing Broke During The Boil!

[bullsneck]

Did a brew tonight. All went smooth. Until the stick thermometer broke during the boil!!

I guessing the brews a throw out. Opinions?

 

[geoffd]

Did a brew tonight. All went smooth. Until the stick thermometer broke during the boil!!

I guessing the brews a throw out. Opinions?

you guessed right, mercury poisoning doesnt sound good.
Commiserations

 

[bum]

Gotta keep an eye on those boiling temps... :blink:

 

[bullsneck]

Gotta keep an eye on those boiling temps... :blink:

I was stirring in the BrewBrite.

 

[bignath]

Depends on the type,of stick thermometer. I was under the impression that some "blue" fluid ones are supposed to be "safe" if they break and therefore lose the contents into food or beverages. I have one of them i got from my LHBS. Its a total immersion safety series thingo with the blue fluid.

Ifits a regular mercury thermo, then id chuck it unfortunately.

 

[kelbygreen]

what thermometer? some dont use mercury, not sure if there better??? but glass in a beer prob wouldnt be good

 

[geoffd]

I was stirring in the BrewBrite.

lol...why?

why stir in brew brite, time will do the same job & why stir witha thermometer, surely you'd get less RSI using a spoon, I am picturing you stirring really really fast with the thermometer & its making me laugh as well as dizzy watching.

 

[bignath]

....why stir witha thermometer, surely you'd get less RSI using a spoon, I am picturing you stirring really really fast with the thermometer & its making me laugh as well as dizzy watching.

How about a whirlpool then?

 

[bullsneck]

There was a little BrewBrite ball. I wasn't stirring like crazy either. The last 15mins of the brew day too!!! (Not including cleaning of course). Will give the kettle an almighty clean now and try again after Christmas.

 

[geoffd]

How about a whirlpool then?

go you good thing, stir like your whipping up a tornado, you might land in Kansas wearing ruby slippers, or worse Alabama where they'll confiscate the brewing equipment & lock you up.

 

[bignath]

go you good thing, stir like your whipping up a tornado, you might land in Kansas wearing ruby slippers, or worse Alabama where they'll confiscate the brewing equipment & lock you up.

Thats pretty funny mate..

Now that weve had a chuckle, how would you go about cleaning up a vessel thats had mercury in it? Any 'special' cleaners or processes the OP needs to be aware of?

 

[MaltyHops]

Have we established it's a mercury thermometer? This page (looks like a US gov
site) indicates thermos where the bulb is not silver coloured is not a mercury type.

If it is really a mercury thermometer, this page states:

"Liquid mercury evaporates at room temperature and these vapors are invisible,
odorless, and, at high levels, are very toxic."

So in a hot kettle, might be good to put a lid on it and get it outside the house.

T.

 

[bum]

My layman's understanding suggests that mercury is not highly likely in a modern (Western purchased) thermometer but the (red) liquid used is still toxic. Totally not worth the risk.

 

[bullsneck]

It has a red bulb and liquid inside

 

[sp0rk]

It's alcohol
if anything, it'll make the brew stronger!

 

[kymba]

looking forward to hearing of you guys in the latest mercury weekly

can't remember what was in the last issue

 

[Amber Fluid]

Slightly OT sorry.... I bought a Spirit Thermometer instead of the Mercury one simply because if it broke around my kids (3 & 1.5yo), and even though glass isn't good, at least there is no chance of Mercury poisoning.

Spirit works as good as Mercury. The only difference I can tell is that one freezes at a lower temp and the other boils at a higher temp but both suitable for the temp range we use them for... can't remember which though.

 

[manticle]

Whether it's mercury or alcohol, the small fragments of glass would also be a concern.

I first joined this forum after breaking my hydrometer in a brew, concerned that the little balls might be lead. It was suggested that the glass might make that question unnecessary. I had considered straining each bottle through a fine strainer and people laughed at me. They were probably right to do so.

I threw it away.

It's rare I'd suggest not trying to salvage a batch that doesn't taste horrible but in this case I'd chuck it.

 

[peaky]

Yeah, the glass shards make attempting to bottle/drink this beer risky at best. I'd tip it and take the lesson learned, better than getting thermometer glass in your drinking glass. The pain of tipping it will surely ingrain the lesson learned. Myself, I'd just give the kettle a good scrub out with plenty of rinsing to clean it up. Getting the hose in there on full blast should remove any unwanted nasties.

 

[RobH]

I don't know what sort of alcohol it is that they use in the thermometers ... but not all types of alcohol are safe to drink.
So if you decided to keep it and it is in the fermenter, just weigh up the possibilities.... a few hours of your time and a few dollars wasted, verses, an unknown reaction to the red spirit ... ranging from no reaction at all through to hospitalisation & death. ... I am not saying that this is what will happen at all because I don't know, just that if you don't know, can't find out, and with the type of substance involved there is a chance of danger, I know that I would be tipping it out.