National Homebrew Club Ireland

i'm going to add one of these to my stc's and will report back on build quality accuracy etc. as I can't be arsed building a 4th box :)
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/261993498352?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.ie%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D261993498352%26_rdc%3D1

Only controls between 16-40C so no good for lagers but should be decent for anything else if it works :)

Good spot!

You guys ever had any issue with bacteria on the probe spoiling your beer or cause fungus on top?

ow do you go about getting the probe into the fermenter?  Bung or just between the lip and lid?

To avoid over or undershoot the best place is freely suspended in an insulation chamber or if you don't have one and are using heat belts Stainless steel thermowell

Yup thermowell. Used to have one strapped to the side of the fermenter but it could be 2-3 off what was going on inside.
The plastic on a probe will eventually absorb the beer is put in without a well, which will probably lead to spoilage over time.

Is this the place for the annual discussion of where to insert or mount the probe ;)

Quote from: CH on November 20, 2015, 08:26:07 PM
Is this the place for the annual discussion of where to insert or mount the probe ;)

I hope so . Where is the best position to insert a thermowell?

In the middle of the lid using a rubber grommet, easier to clean, no leaks ;)

Quote from: CH on November 20, 2015, 11:50:09 PM
In the middle of the lid using a rubber grommet, easier to clean, no leaks ;)

Would you not need a really long one ;) if your going to mount it on the lid? Also I would think your going to have a portion of it exposed to the air. I mounted mine in the middle of the wall of the fermenter about half way up. I have a reverse bushing and a silicone washer that the thermowell screws in to. This acts like a compression fitting. I found that I got almost identical temperature readings from this configuration than when sampling the temperature of the liquid directly. There was no more than .1C degree difference.

Shanna

The lid is handy as it makes cleaning easier. More difficult to clean around a probe half way down that you can't remove (without dismantling).

Probably easier to fit, I use a bubbler bung on a plastic bucket lid & more recently a dual holed cap on a glass carboy.

I got some 10mm stainless tubing (~300mm) & get one end crimped/welded, works great. (Found them on eBay for ~€20 for 600mm & also tried a £10 racking cane from Hop & Grape).

How does one crimp stainless steel to be water tight and not have little areas for bacteria to hide?

Quote from: molc on November 21, 2015, 10:57:50 AM
How does one crimp stainless steel to be water tight and not have little areas for bacteria to hide?

Give it to Will, he will crimp it and then tig weld it

Ooh!

What Pob said especially on the cleaning
You can find them in Ali easy enough
Steel conducts heat and immersed from the top ensures more accurate measurement in case there is any stratification