Thermometer In Boil Kettle ... Yes Or No?

[Carboy]

Hi,

I've seen photos of boil kettles with a thermometer installed and others without a thermometer. Is there a right or wrong way (pros/cons) to setup a kettle? :unsure:

If water/wort boils at 100c and most dial thermometers only read up to 100c, I'm guessing there's no real benefit installing a thermometer.

Thank you in advance for any replies.

Cheers
Carboy :icon_cheers:

 

[Batz]

Hi,

I've seen photos of boil kettles with a thermometer installed and others without a thermometer. Is there a right or wrong way (pros/cons) to setup a kettle? :unsure:

If water/wort boils at 100c and most dial thermometers only read up to 100c, I'm guessing there's no real benefit installing a thermometer.

Thank you in advance for any replies.

Cheers
Carboy :icon_cheers:

If your chilling in your kettle it maybe an advantage, I did have one in an earlier kettle I built but not now. It's not hard to tell when your worts boiling

Batz

 

[Carboy]

Thanks Batz, I will be chilling in my kettle.

Cheers
C

 

[clarkey7]

I have one in my kettle and I find it useful for knowing how much time I have to clean out my mash tun etc.... before the wort begins the Boilover. Oh, I mean Boil.

PB

 

[samhighley]

As others stated, it'll be useful if you chill in the kettle. You can keep an eye on the temperature drop.

 

[woodmac66]

As others have said Yes if you chill in the kettle but if you don't better to attach it on your chill plate!

 

[technocat]

I faced the same question and didn't see the point. You need to be on hand when wort approaches boiling to quell any boil over. As for monitoring the chill I don't stick around and usually pitch yeast the following morning

:unsure:

 

[raven19]

Is it going to be easier to clean the kettle without it? i.e. more nooks and crannies to clean?

If so then I would go without it personally. I just use a probe thermometer to check the wort as it it heating up... but I also no chill in the cube...

2c only.

 

[Guest Lurker]

I used to say no to this question but now I would say yes. I usually clean my fermenters while waiting for the wort to get to the boil, and knowing how long I am safe to turn my back on it would be really helpful to my brew day. No use once it gets to the boil though. Dont see an issue with cleaning, who bothers to keep their kettle spotless?

 

[Batz]

Dont see an issue with cleaning, who bothers to keep their kettle spotless?

Not me but I do know one brewer who does

Batz

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Not me but I do know one brewer who does

Batz

You probably know several...

 

[enoch]

Very handy for chilling in the kettle. Also if you are heating strike water etc.
No extra bits to clean really as it all gets boiled.
If it's an electric kettle then not placed over the element or you will get dodgy readings. When heating you proably should give it a stir to make sure the reading is 100%.
I whirlpool chill (Jamil) so there is always movement during the chill and a failry decent accuracy on the thermometer.

 

[Pumpy]

I always verify the temperature on the dial with the hand held ,I never rely on the dial thermometer but in saying that it is a guide to how it is travelling

pumpy

 

[Kleiny]

The system i have used and built does not contain a thermometer in the kettle and i chill in the kettle.

to me it is not required as at boiling the wort temp will be 100C or there abouts.

At cooling with a n immersion chiller the temperature will never get below that of my tap water 18-26C depending on season.

So if my wort was to be at 18C coolest it is ready to pitch ale yeast

If i wanted to do a lager then i would have to let it sit for a while either in the fermentation fridge or the cooler air temp before pitching.

Kleiny

 

[domonsura]

I would say it's not a necessary item in a (just a) kettle, but it can be very convenient. I'm putting one into a 70 litre kettle for someone right now actually. As the saying goes, a watched pot never boils.......I always have plenty of other things I could be doing other than standing there waiting for the boil to come up, so it's nice to know that a- it's at 95 so I should stay right there (or turn it down a little) or b- it's at 85, and I have a few minutes. For me it's all about versatility - if I needed to know what the temp is in there,all I'd have to do is look. Put simply, it's another point of reference in your brewery that can provide helpful information...I had one in my last brewery, and I miss it because I didn't put one in my latest one however I'm still trying to decide if I should put one in this kettle, or not bother as I want to go bigger anyway.....

If you are chilling in the kettle, I'd definitely put one in for convenience sake. I think you'll kick yourself later if you don't ( I did.) I don't think that judging the temperature of the wort you are pitching into should be a guessing game, or having anything that hasn't been boiled put into it to measure it while it's anywhere near down at pitching temp, otherwise you have immediately (potentially) lost some of the 'sterility' benefit of having chilled it in the same vessel you boiled it in. (depending on how clean & sanitised your thermometer is of course).

Wayne

 

[Batz]

This has got me thinking that I may just stick one in my kettle again, after all I do have a couple sitting around doing nothing.

Batz

 

[randyrob]

who bothers to keep their kettle spotless?

People with electric elements driving their boil kettle

You loose quite a bit of oomph if your element gets a build up on it.

 

[enoch]

At cooling with a n immersion chiller the temperature will never get below that of my tap water 18-26C depending on season.
So if my wort was to be at 18C coolest it is ready to pitch ale yeast
If i wanted to do a lager then i would have to let it sit for a while either in the fermentation fridge or the cooler air temp before pitching.

With the Jamil style whirlpool you can recirc ice water through the coil once tap/tank poops out. Easy to get down to 9-12C.
A thermometer in the boiler is v handy for this.