BeerBorg

Well I got my Blichmann Burner two days ago. I looks like NASA delivered a rocket engine to me by mistake! This thing is amazing.

Yesterday I took it out back and put 4 gallons of water in my 9 gallon pot to boil for an hour so that I could check my boil off rate ( 2 gallons after cooling ).

My kettle has a thermometer mounted on it and a valve. There was a big sale on these about 6 months ago because the thermometer was installed a little too low, putting it closer to the valve and the burner. In my eagerness to see how hot the burner would go I must of lapped the flames up the side of the pot because the dial of the thermometer was melted making the dial useless.

I seem to remember that Northern Brewer sent a follow up email warning that this could happen. I have to look for that email.

I am reluctant to replace the thermometer because it will probably happen again. i need to get a thermometer.
I see my options as:
1. New on-kettle unit
2.Large dial frothing thermometer with 8 in probe ( Northern Brewer's catalog discription )
3. Floating ... not great because I am only brewing 2.5 gallon batches and there isn't enough liquid for it to float freely.
4. Electronic with cord that is put in the kettle
5. KM14 digital


Some advice would be great. The electronic answer sounds good because I believe I could run a probe into the wort and check the temperature remotely.

The digital seems like it gives a fast reading.

Does Radio Shack or some other cheap sourced exist?
Is it a good way go?
Thanks.
Greg

I use the CDN DTQ450X which seems similar to the digital one you mentioned. It gives quick readings. I think 6 seconds is the longest I've had it take to get to a final reading. Waterproof. The probe could be longer, but it's good enough. Overall, not a world-beater, but it gets the job done.

I use #2, it clips onto the lip of the kettle and is accurate. It's cheap and has lasted for years.

I have fried atleast 4 of those digital probes, I don't care how well u take care of them, holding one over the pot to check temps always burns my hand and the steam will eventually enter the head of it, shorting it out.

When I want to use my back-up probe, its one of those laser point and shoot types but it's not as accurate as the analog one (#2).

I'm just wondering if you need to have your burner set so high. I say this for 2 reasons. First, you burned your thermometer. Second, you boiled off 2 gallons in an hour. Now alot of things affect #2 but that does sound somewhat high.
You just need a roiling boil and do not need an eruption.Blichman's are fine pieces of equipment and normal usage should not cause the thermometer to fry. Of course, I don't know how low the thermometer is but usually, they are above the spigot and about 4" or more higher. I'm guessing that's why they were on sale but if above the valve, you should still be ok.
My LBHS sells a decent one for $15 that is pretty accurate for me when tested against my Thermapen (which is another discussion in itself as it's $$$$)



Good luck!

FrozenInTime wrote:I use #2, it clips onto the lip of the kettle and is accurate. It's cheap and has lasted for years.

I have fried atleast 4 of those digital probes, I don't care how well u take care of them, holding one over the pot to check temps always burns my hand and the steam will eventually enter the head of it, shorting it out.

When I want to use my back-up probe, its one of those laser point and shoot types but it's not as accurate as the analog one (#2).

That's the one I was leaning towards. I need a longer probe.( don't we all ) 11 inches would be best.

Banjo-guy wrote:That's the one I was leaning towards. I need a longer probe.( don't we all ) 11 inches would be best.

I am secure with the length of my probe.

Ibasterd wrote:

Banjo-guy wrote:That's the one I was leaning towards. I need a longer probe.( don't we all ) 11 inches would be best.

I am secure with the length of my probe.

Well I guess it all depends on how big of a batch you're used brewing.

Guess I'm lucky, my probe is one of the 11" or so lengths. Makes me happy-happy-happy.

I'm with Paul on this one, LOVE my Thermapen works great.

Interesting to note on the Thermapen website they have a video of a "speed test" for a number of commonly-available thermometers, testing how quickly they get to a known temp. "My" CDN DTQ450X does very well in that test. Not as good as the Thermapen, but not bad at all.