Keeping my steep hot constant for an Hour

[sgawt]

Hopefully an easy one to answer guys.

Just about to do my first Extract brew and my recipe calls for me to steep my grains for an hour at 60C in 4L of water. My question is, what's the easiest way for me to pull this off with out the temperature dropping over the hour?

Also I'm looking to buy a digital thermometer to make sure I've hit my 60C mark. What's the forum collective thoughts on something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kitchen-BBQ-D ... 414ee53461

Cheers all!

 

[jonnymorris]

I may not be the best person to answer having only done my first extract last night but I managed to steep the grains at 65degC for 30mins simply by leaving the top off the pot. I did fiddle with the gas a bit but it was easier than I was expecting. I imagine a mash tun or a boiler with a thermostat might make the process easier.

Regarding the thermometer... I used a standard one which was a bit of a nightmare to read and keep upright. I think the one you've linked might suffer from the same issues and, personally, am planning on buying something with a probe at the end of a lead so I can dangle it in the pot and keep the display remote. I'd be interested in more experienced opinions...

 

[sgawt]

Hey Jonny.

Thanks for the response. What you've done is exactly what I was thinking of doing. So it worked out quite well then? Minus the thermometer issue? Have you done any research in to finding one that would have worked out better for you? Interested in seeing what you've come across.

 

[Mr BR]

what i did was get the grains up to temp on the hob checking with a thermometer once up to temp have the oven pre heated to around 60c you can check with thermometer or trust what it said on the oven dial stick your pot in and hey presto your temp will stay bang on 66c it worked a treat for me good luck and let us know how you get on and dont get to hung up on getting things completely bang on first time plenty more time and brews to fine tune it :thumb:

 

[jonnymorris]

So it worked out quite well then?

It was a doddle.

I'm considering a 'chefs thermometer' as listed on Amazon. Looks like it'll do the job.