Replacement probe for STC-1000

[MikeMarcus]

My STC-1000 probe finally caved in yesterday so I went looking for a replacement. I read that some of you use the 10K8 sensors from Southern Temperature Sensors but they seem pretty expensive, particularly as they're exactly the same specification as the packaged probe (+/-5% tolerance). For twenty quid, I would hope to see some improvement in performance.

After hours of digging around I found this: http://www.rapidonline.com/electronic-c ... ad-122892/ It's literally 5 times the accuracy of the STS probe (+/-1% tolerance) and a third of the price. The only downside is the short length of wire (60cm) but this is easily fixed with a bit of speaker cable. It has exactly the same resistance value and beta curve as the other two probes but at fermentation temperatures at least, is more precise than a class A PT-100.

[Blackaddler]

Does the sensor need to go in the beer?

[MikeMarcus]

I put it in the beer. You can stick it in a thermowell too if you like. The same goes for all waterproof sensors.

[Blackaddler]

Same here.

Plenty that are waterproof, but the sensors are mostly metal capped items. OK for fishtanks perhaps, but food grade?... ebay sellers generally don't seem to know, when I've enquired.

For an original replacement NTC 10K/3435 sensor for the STC-1000 etc, I'm afraid the market seems to be surprisingly limited.

[Dave S]

Mr Lard has these.

[MikeMarcus]

It honestly never occurred to me that such a tiny peice of plastic should need to be food grade. You think it matters?

[Blackaddler]

Ideally, yes. For me it does, anyway.

It's up to the individual, though.

The other worry for me, regarding the metal capped sensors, was that they may be difficult to clean thoroughly.

[MikeMarcus]

In that case I would suggest using a thermowell.

I'm actually toying with the idea of manufacturing a sensor which is twice as accurate as the above mentioned (10 times more accurate than the sensor supplied with the STC-1000), and designed to be inserted into a thermowell with a special thermal compound. I'm thinking that the kit would cost about 15 quid. If anyone is interested, let me know.