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Broke thermometer — in brew!!

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Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Disaster struck this evening near the end of cooling a 5 gallon batch, Yes, definately tense up, worry, and don’t have that homebrew! After going through 4 thermometers in my first year of brewing (three glass and one electronic) I finally found a (hopefully) unbreakable analog dial thermometer with a 12" probe. I’ve been a happy camper ever since! You might want to try and find one. The alternative is an enclosed mercury thermometer, commonly sold as "candy thermometer" in cooking shops. It is mounted in a groove on a metal plate, with a convenient clip to attach it to the edge of the kettle. Pierre

another alternative (although i think that a metal food thermometer is the better option) is to use an alcohol thermometer (one of the ones with the red liquid in it). working in a lab where thermometers are broken on a weekly basis, we went for alcohol thermometers simply because it started to scare the shit out of me to have to clean up all that mercury. eric — Eric C. Anderson Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Sloan-Kettering Institute 1275 York Ave. Box 470 New York, NY 10028 (212) 639-2977

Response:

[broke thermometer in brewpot]

Is the kettle safe to use, after you break a mercury thermometer in it? In other words, will a good scrubbing remove *all* traces of mercury? If you have to replace the pot as well as the thermometer, this could end up being an expensive accident indeed (but *still* less expensive than a case of mercury poisoning). The metal probe type theremometers are much better, IMO. They respond much faster (within a few seconds), and won’t break if you drop them. Mechanical ones can be had for $10 or less; accuracy seems to be only fair, but they’re waterproof. Taylor makes a metal probe digital thermometer which retails for around $15 (I got mine in a kitchen gadgets store); I’ve checked the calibration against a laboratory-grade mercury thermometer, and it seems to be pretty good — within a degree or so. Unfortunately, the digital one is *not* waterproof… —

Response:

Good point, We should all be aware that Mercury is indeed dangerous, though I have gotten one response from one individual who IS willing to risk his kidneys for a batch of brew. I just wanted to add something here. I am an environmental chemist with a hazardous waste treatment facility in Pa. There are laws about these type of things. Please if any else ever breaks a thermometer do not!!! dump down the drain. Please call the local hazardous materials office in your area. Mercury is a very funny thing. It will never break down and it is very toxic in very small amounts, evey the vapors are toxic. Sorry for the lecture, I just wanted to try to inform my fellow homebrewers of a potential hazard. Cyril Timko www.repenv.com

Response:

<snip I am surprised your brewing thermometer was mercury based. Alcohol has been used in thermometers for decades because of environment and health concerns.

I’m so glad someone else (you) brought this up. I thought I was nuts, because I haven’t seen a mercury based thermometer as long as I can remember. To avoid a total loss, feed it to the neighbors dog.

You must really hate the neighbor’s dog. Charley

Response:

Well, it seems that this horse has been beaten to death, but let me tell you what I know about mercury. . . In the Discover magazine, there is an article called vital signs. Best Monthly article I have ever read. I strongly recommend it. Several years ago it had an article about a guy who was melting the silver out of teeth. The mercury that is added for machineability evaporated, and he inhaled it in the process. To make a long story short, he died a horrible death from the mercury. It wasn’t a pretty article, but you can learn a lot from it. Although the article mentioned that mercury is harmless when ingested SOMETIMES. It pointed out that mercury vapor is FATAL. Do not use mercury thermometers in cooking please!! I don’t want to read about it in the newspaper tomorrow. Eric B. — I have come to know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good during one’s life; and also that every man should eat and indeed drink and see good for all his hard work. It is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3;12,13

Response:

I just wanted to add something here. I am an environmental chemist with a hazardous waste treatment facility in Pa. There are laws about these type of things. Please if any else ever breaks a thermometer do not!!! dump down the drain. Please call the local hazardous materials office in your area. Mercury is a very funny thing. It will never break down and it is very toxic in very small amounts, evey the vapors are toxic. Sorry for the lecture, I just wanted to try to inform my fellow homebrewers of a potential hazard. Cyril Timko www.repenv.com

I came across an old bottle of mercury in my garage not long ago, maybe 50ml. I was figuring to pass it off to a local chemistry teacher. What has me concerned is a red residue around the bottle. The bottle (in which the mercury was originally sold) appears to be polyethylene. I’m assuming mercury has leached out and oxidized. How do you recommend I deal with the mercuric oxide (assuming that’s what the residue is)? And how much sleep should I be losing about mercury that might have vaporized before it oxidized? Is there anything I can do about it? Trey Fore

Response:

A strange story: I finally invested in a digital thermometer. It’s great to look down and see that the wort is now 123.6 degrees! However, I dropped it in the wort and the LCD display became a little scrambled. So I take the top off and let it dry. When I did this, a wire came off the circuit board. The next day, I solder it back on the board, and put it back together. Looking good. One problem. It now reads in Celsius! I tested it at freezing, and at boiling and it’s within 1/2 a degree..close enough. However, I now have to suddenly switch to the metric system.. Agh… Anyone have a clue on how to get this thermometer back to Farenheit?

I dropped mine in the mash a couple of times. It scrambles, shuts off and come back after it dries out. The last time it came back in Celsius… I dropped it yesterday and it switched back to Farenheit. Try that and see if it works. — John Varady http://www.netaxs.com/~vectorsys/varady/index.html Boneyard Brewing Co. "The HomeBrew Recipe Calculating Program" "Ale today, Gone tomorrow."

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Toss it and don’t touch it. Mercury is very hazardous!! I have indeed tossed the beer, along with the plastic fermentor just to be extra careful. The brew pot and wort chiller are due for an extra careful scrubbing next. After some quick searches through some toxic materials databases on the net, brain and kidney damage didn’t sound like something to toy around with. I’ve also got my new _metal_ thermometer! — Robert Dominy Director of Product Development PictureWorks Technology, Inc.

Response:

If you prefer a glass thermometer for brewing, use alochol next time. Most lab thermometers are alcohol based. You can tell an alcohol thermometer because the fluid inside is red or some other color. Mercury is obviously silver. I am surprised your brewing thermometer was mercury based. Alcohol has been used in thermometers for decades because of environment and health concerns. I wouldn’t be surprised if mercury thermometers were obselete. Could the metal in the bottom of your pot have been metalic beads used for weighting the tip of your thermometer? Also, a dab of solder is often used to fix the end of the inner tube (the capillary full of alcohol) in place. I would make sure it is mercury before pitching my brew. But then, the metal could be lead based solder or, worse yet, cadmium. To avoid a total loss, feed it to the neighbors dog. Brew on!

Response:

Drop it in the wort again…? Larry Johnson / Athens, GA / http://www.netcom.com/~maltster

Response:

[broke thermometer in brewpot] Is the kettle safe to use, after you break a mercury thermometer in it? The metal probe type theremometers are much better, IMO. They respond much faster (within a few seconds), and won’t break if you drop them. Mechanical ones can be had for $10 or less; accuracy seems to be only fair, but they’re waterproof. Taylor makes a metal probe digital thermometer which retails for around $15 (I got mine in a kitchen gadgets store); I’ve checked the calibration against a laboratory-grade mercury thermometer, and it seems to be pretty good — within a degree or so. Unfortunately, the digital one is *not* waterproof…

While we’re on this thread, how does one calibrate an analog dial thermometer? I realize that there’s a "calibration nut" on the back of the dial, but I don’t have any idea what it does. Gary Eckhardt | "in this day & age…music performed by Database Consultants, Inc. | humans…hum!?" –wilde silas tomkyn Quick." (210)344-6566 | http://www.realworld.com/

Response:

There’s probably a pair of connection points on the circuit board, that the manufacturer uses to configure the thing for Farenheit or Celsius. The wire you re-soldered may have even been the one that determines which mode the thermometer operates in — are you *sure* you reconnected it exactly where it came off from? Either that, or you may have accidentally shorted out the C/F selection circuitry when you made your repair… —

Response:

After going through 4 thermometers in my first year of brewing (three glass and one electronic) I finally found a (hopefully) unbreakable analog dial thermometer with a 12" probe. I’ve been a happy camper ever since! You might want to try and find one.

David Finlay Phone: (513) 445-2677 TOP END Marketing Fax: (513) 445-2209 email: NCR Corporation 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., WHQ/4 Dayton, OH 45479 "When I die I hope I go peacefully, in my sleep, like Grandfather, not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car."

Response:

Toss it and don’t touch it. Mercury is very hazardous!!

I have indeed tossed the beer, along with the plastic fermentor just to be extra careful. The brew pot and wort chiller are due for an extra careful scrubbing next. After some quick searches through some toxic materials databases on the net, brain and kidney damage didn’t sound like something to toy around with. I’ve also got my new _metal_ thermometer! — Robert Dominy Director of Product Development PictureWorks Technology, Inc.

Response:

Wow! Mad Hatter Ale! Notice to all brewers using mercury thermometers: Is $10.00 to little to spend for a little insurance? Buy some metal thermometers. Thanks for the story, Robert

Or an alcohol thermometer.

Response:

: choice but to toss the whole batch. Anyone know their chemistry to : convince me otherwise (I hate blowing a full batch of beer)? : In any case I’m ordering a metal thermometer and would advise others to : either avoid glass or be very carefull. This happened to 2 guys in our club on their very first mash about 4 months ago. Fortunately we have a PhD in Chemistry in our club who’s specialty happens to be mercury. He verified that the batch should be dumped out, and also verified the the rest of the equipment would be fine as long as the gave it a decent scrubbing. -Alan — as this email account will not be valid as of Dec 20th, 1996 http://alpha.rollanet.org/~mckay/brew/tips/

Response:

Disaster struck this evening near the end of cooling a 5 gallon batch, Yes, definately tense up, worry, and don’t have that homebrew! After going through 4 thermometers in my first year of brewing (three glass and one electronic) I finally found a (hopefully) unbreakable analog dial thermometer with a 12" probe. I’ve been a happy camper ever since! You might want to try and find one.

To say nothing of the speed of a dial vs. bulb type, seconds… TimW

Response:

Explosive and Toxic Hazardous Materials, by James Meidl page 205 "..metallic mercury and it’s compounds can be absorbed through the skin in hazardous amounts." " …ingestion, even in small quantities, can be poisoness."" Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, page 900 " Mercury is a general protoplasmic poison." I’d say that ingesting Mercury COULD be hazardous to ones health. Why risk it?

Response:

The alternative is an enclosed mercury thermometer, commonly sold as "candy thermometer" in cooking shops. It is mounted in a groove on a metal plate, with a convenient clip to attach it to the edge of the kettle. Pierre — Pierre Jelenc Know what’s weird? Day by day nothing seems to http://www.columbia.edu/~pcj1/

Response:

Disaster struck this evening near the end of cooling a 5 gallon batch, when I noticed that the temperature had stopped dropping because the bottom of the glass thermometer had broken off. Apparently it got caught in the coils of the work chiller during a swirl. I went ahead and finished the brew process and very carefully inspected the trudge at the bottom of the kettle. At the bottom there were several little balls of mercury sliding around. Given that mercury is a pretty toxic substance I don’t see any choice but to toss the whole batch. Anyone know their chemistry to convince me otherwise (I hate blowing a full batch of beer)? In any case I’m ordering a metal thermometer and would advise others to either avoid glass or be very carefull. — Robert Dominy Director of Product Development PictureWorks Technology, Inc.

Response:

Agreed — I had a real scare a few weeks ago when the glass hook at the top of my thermometer broke and it fell straight into the carboy with a clink. Being a dark beer, I couldn’t tell if the thermometer broker or not, so I pitched the yeast anyway and crossed my fingers. Luckily the trub broke the fall, and the thermometer hadn’t broken, and no glass shards from the top had fallen in. What a relief that was.

Oddly enough, I personally wouldn’t worry about glass shards. They would be sterile, inert and would sink to the bottom. Siphoning would leave them there. It would be subsequent cleaning that would be a problem, but no worse than cleaning up after a broken glass in the sink. The mercury, however…. any gets in your beer… dump it. The expression "mad as a hatter" comes from old-time hatters using mercury treated felt all the time. (The is a cool photo of a guy sitting on a vat of mercury looking like a human water-bug. Not exactly a healthy thing to do, but it made for an interesting picture.) | Tim Robinson | Lonely Web page. Please visit. | | "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by | | men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." L. Brandeis | Sorry about the bogus e-mail address. I get too much e-mail spam. Just use the one in the sig. Brewers, check out http://www.ionet.net/~timtroyr/beer

Response:

Toss it and don’t touch it. Mercury is very hazardous!!

Response:

Wow! Mad Hatter Ale! Notice to all brewers using mercury thermometers: Is $10.00 to little to spend for a little insurance? Buy some metal thermometers. Thanks for the story, Robert

Response:

Disaster struck this evening near the end of cooling a 5 gallon batch,

Yes, definately tense up, worry, and don’t have that homebrew! After going through 4 thermometers in my first year of brewing (three glass and one electronic) I finally found a (hopefully) unbreakable analog dial thermometer with a 12" probe. I’ve been a happy camper ever since! You might want to try and find one. Gary Eckhardt | "in this day & age…music performed by Database Consultants, Inc. | humans…hum!?" –wilde silas tomkyn Quick." (210)344-6566 | http://www.realworld.com/

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Disaster struck this evening near the end of cooling a 5 gallon batch, when I noticed that the temperature had stopped dropping because the bottom of the glass thermometer had broken off. Apparently it got caught in the coils of the work chiller during a swirl. I went ahead and finished the brew process and very carefully inspected the trudge at the bottom of the kettle. At the bottom there were several little balls of mercury sliding around. Given that mercury is a pretty toxic substance I don’t see any choice but to toss the whole batch. Anyone know their chemistry to convince me otherwise (I hate blowing a full batch of beer)? In any case I’m ordering a metal thermometer and would advise others to either avoid glass or be very carefull. — Robert Dominy Director of Product Development PictureWorks Technology, Inc.

Rob, Mercury is nothing to mess around with, unless you want to end up spending the rest of your life "crazy as a mad-hatter". That term originated from some kind of hats lined with a mercury substance…which leached into the skin and drove these people insane. Technically, the mercury shouldn’t even be allowed to go down the drain….but whatever you do, don’t drink that beer! Scott

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