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Author Topic: Ambient Air Thermometer  (Read 997 times)

Offline Dave_in_Indiana

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Ambient Air Thermometer
« on: November 02, 2020, 01:41:47 pm »
As the weather gets colder in the USA Midwest - I am trying to ferment in the colder rooms in the house.

Is there a more accurate thermometer to measure ambient room temperature?

Offline denny

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2020, 02:16:08 pm »
As the weather gets colder in the USA Midwest - I am trying to ferment in the colder rooms in the house.

Is there a more accurate thermometer to measure ambient room temperature?

It's beer temp that matters.  Check that, not room temp
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Offline pete b

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2020, 02:20:54 pm »
I use the same digital quick read thermometer to take the temp of the air as i do the beer. Denny is right that its the beer temp that's more important but of course if you don't have a temp controlled fermentation chamber you will want to see what the temp of the potential areas you are contemplating fermenting in.
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Offline kramerog

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2020, 04:36:29 pm »
The LCD thermometers used for measuring fermentation temperatures are accurate enough for measuring ambient temp.

Offline Bob357

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2020, 05:10:06 pm »
Any thermometer will measure air temperature. It just takes longer for the reading to settle in due to the lower density when compared to liquids.
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Offline Dave_in_Indiana

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2020, 05:13:58 pm »
thanks, guys, appreciate it.

Offline mabrungard

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2020, 06:02:33 pm »
I trust the cheap Thermoworks thermometers.  They are the same people that make the highly overpriced Thermapen, but they do have less expensive instruments that are reasonably priced and accurate.
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Offline pete b

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2020, 06:14:41 pm »
I trust the cheap Thermoworks thermometers.  They are the same people that make the highly overpriced Thermapen, but they do have less expensive instruments that are reasonably priced and accurate.
+1 here, that’s what I have.
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2020, 04:14:25 am »
I have a few Thermoworks products, mainly for precision smoking and cooking meats.  My old Thermapen still works well enough for brewing, but we have a separate one in the kitchen for general cooking (no dried out cuts of meat anymore - my wife loves it).  They were Christmas gifts, which lead to the other products as gifts.  Even the cheap infrared that I occasionally use.  All work extremely well.
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Offline BrewBama

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Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2020, 05:57:21 am »
I use the Thermoworks Chefs Alarm in the brewery for temp and time signals to move to the next process.

I use the Auber Plug n Play programmable controller for fermentation and cold crash/lager/condition/service fridges. I put the probe for fermentation in a thermowell I installed in the FV. The cold crash/lager/condition/service fridge temp probe just senses the temp on the side of the keg.

I do have a Thermopen that was a Christmas gift. It’s black with flames on it.


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« Last Edit: November 03, 2020, 06:02:02 am by BrewBama »

Offline jeffy

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2020, 09:40:30 am »
I use the Thermoworks Chefs Alarm in the brewery for temp and time signals to move to the next process.

I use the Auber Plug n Play programmable controller for fermentation and cold crash/lager/condition/service fridges. I put the probe for fermentation in a thermowell I installed in the FV. The cold crash/lager/condition/service fridge temp probe just senses the temp on the side of the keg.

I do have a Thermopen that was a Christmas gift. It’s black with flames on it.


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Offline erockrph

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Re: Ambient Air Thermometer
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2020, 11:19:33 am »
I trust the cheap Thermoworks thermometers.  They are the same people that make the highly overpriced Thermapen, but they do have less expensive instruments that are reasonably priced and accurate.
+1 here, that’s what I have.
Same here. I have multiple Dots and Pops and they are an excellent value.

To the OP, while the beer temp is ultimately the most important thing, I walk around my basement with an IR thermometer and check the floor temp to pick the spot to set my fermenter when I'm brewing ales at ambient temps. That at least gives me an idea what the cold or warm spots are at that time. It's not the same as a temperature controlled fermentation chamber, but it does give you some options.

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