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Hey All,

Sorry I couldn't think of a better name for this ... but it's exactly what it is

I have a Johnson Controls A419 that I use to regulate a heat band in my fermentation box. The regular stick-on thermometers are totally fine but I have to open the box to check it every time ... and that's not very geeky. May have a lot of pictures for this one but I wanted to be as detailed as possible.

All you need is a pair of scissors, clear packing tape, a pencil and a scrap piece of foil insulation


Cut a square approx 4x4 inches


Roll tape around pencil with the sticky side out


With the pencil still inside the tape roll, stick tape to the middle of the foil insulation


Slide the pencil out and you're left with a tape tube stuck to the insulation


Insert the pencil almost all the way leaving a few mm at the end. Tape the entire thing down, sealing one end


You're left with an insulation patch that has a temp probe pocket. My probe is from the A419 fits perfectly, adjust the size of your pocket to fit your temp probe




Finally, attach the entire thing to the side of your fermenter or carboy. I just painters tape but of course ,other tape will work. My goal was to seal out any air that may enter the sides of the pocket and alter the temp reading.

Nice!! Will have to come check it out soon, and give the batch a test to make sure the temp was good

Any chance that you have a caliper to measure the OD of the probe?

I used https://www.everwoodavebrewshop.com/pro ... hermowell/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; on my last project, and well, there's just a sensor in the bottom of the tube, and it's hot-glued at the stopper.

Hey Blacktip,

I don't have a caliper and didn't bother to measure the diameter of the probe at all. I know it was smaller than the pencil I used and was positive it would fit. I went this way because it was basically free and there are no limitations on what I can stick it to

That Thermowell stopper is a great idea as well!! I just read a few reviews and descriptions of it and it appears that the probe that I have will not fit in this tube, but Johnson Controls offers other probe models that will fit.
Copied from williamsbrewing(dot)com .. "Also works with Ranco and Johnson Controls brand digital temperature probes (not the analog grey Controller model with the capillary tube)"