An Intro and a Question

Jasper

Howdy everybody. I have been lurking for a long time but finally decided to come out of the shadows to introduce myself and ask a couple questions (possibly dumb ones). I have a dash 1 and two of my T sections have the thermoports. I like the idea of knowing when the column achieves equalibrium... but i dont like the idea of using those chincy thermometers that came with the sections.

Question 1: if i upgrade my thermometers do i need to use thermal compound? This seems like it would make it a real pain to take apart to clean and store.

Question 2: if they do need to be pasted in there... are there any sort of quick disconnects so i could still break everything down quickly and neatly?

Question 3: with the above in mind, does anyone have any specific product suggestions and/or links??

Anyway - my name is Jasper and I have been brewing beer for about 10 years and distilling for about 2. I look forward to actually participating in the conversations rather than just lurking.

Thanks for any and all info!

Drunkas

Welcome mate. I would not bother with the thermal past. To me its just a wast of time and cash but the pro guys might have a different opinion on it.

Lloyd

Welcome @Jasper, glad you joined the party.

I use a small smear of thermopaste on the cheapo thermometer without any dramas. If I need to remove the probe a quick wipe and its clean.
Lots of nicer thermometers are available through eBay or the like but you'll need a 4mm probe unless you can drill the thermowell larger.

Moonshine

Welcome @Jasper, good to have you onboard. A lot of homebrewers make the next logical step to distilling nowadays. Booze better than beer? How about a beer distillate? Have fun in our exciting global community, and don't be shy, there are never dumb questions, only dumb answers! But I'm sure you will find all the answers here in our midst. :)

CothermanDistilling

I would carefully, and I mean carefully, drill out the thermowell... don't do it the morning before you want to run the still, have a TIG capable welded on call... that is why I like the swagelok/compression fittings, I can move/change the thermowell.

punkin

Any 4mm probe will fit. Pretty sure you can get decent probes in K type easily enough in 4mm.