Thermometers are tricky. First finding them that read accurately, then finding a way to keep from jangling and flopping and drowning and generally getting in the way or the whey.
I've been using a long stemmed analog one and a pretty decent digital, but it's really a meat thermometer and there's no easy way to get it to sit where I want it to without reading the pot rather than the milk.
I feel sure I've seen a picture of one floating on the surface of the milk, but don't recall where.
So what are you all using? Anyone have any good thermometer solutions?
I'm quite happy with this digital one (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,77.0.html), but it has no auto power-off.
I use analog and digitals. I don't leave either in the pot.
I have only made a few cheese but I have this digital candy thermometer :
http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-CT-03-Digital-Candy-Thermomter/dp/B0000AQL25/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268355150&sr=8-4 (http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-CT-03-Digital-Candy-Thermomter/dp/B0000AQL25/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268355150&sr=8-4)
So far it has worked fine.
I also have a thermapen that I love http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/thermapen_original.html (http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/thermapen_original.html)
When you say floating, I keep thinking about taking my digital or analog thermometer and stabbing it through a piece of styrofoam or foam rubber and letting it float in the pot.
Then I imagine that the foam is like an inner tube, and the thermometer is lounging around the milk pool with an umbrella, sunglasses, and a fruity drink...
Er... sorry... my mind wandered a little there.
The only thing is that foam is porous and would harbor bacteria or other little nasties because it would be impossible to sanitize.
While looking for molds again I ran across this:
floating thermometer (http://www.homesteadersupply.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=20)
Does your cheese vat have a lid? You could make a hole away from the edge for the stem of the thermometer.
The six gallon stainless pot I use most frequently has no lid, so I improvise with clingwrap. It's quite convenient as I can leave my skimmer in the pot except during rennetting and even stir without exposing the surface of the milk to all the natural yeasts and bacteria floating around in my house. I just poke the instant read thermometer through the clingwrap and leave it there. If the pot is not full, I let the clingwrap droop in the middle until the stem is sufficiently submerged.
Mark,
I was thinking of a digital one that sort of sits on the surface, but at eleven bucks I might just give it a whirl.
HAM,
that's an interesting idea. I'll have to mull over the options for my pots.
I use a digital thermometer. One that has a stainless steel probe. That probe stays in the milk most of the time.
It is much like this one:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DppVFaqzL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
This is on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer-Timer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=pd_sim_k_1).
I keep 3 of them. One as a spare, and one to validate.
Why? Every so often I get a burr under my saddle and don't trust my thermometers. So I quickly validate the thermometers meters by using another, and comparing them to each other.
Actually, I just noticed that in my profile picture, you can see an early version of my cheese rig to include the temp probe wire going into my cheese.
Wayne I have that exact one, but leaving it in the milk means it's always getting in the way of stirring and when it hangs I'm always worried that i'm gettting a reading of the pot rather than the milk. That's why I was looking for something like this.http://www.amazon.com/Hydrotools-9250-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B000P6DHJA/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1269438573&sr=1-25 (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrotools-9250-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B000P6DHJA/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1269438573&sr=1-25) But the reviews say it doesn't work well.
A couple of things.
I have found that in practicality, I rarely get it tangled up while stirring. If you watch any of my videos, you will see me stirring my pot and not getting tangled up.
However, I'm not sure I understand what you mean, temperature of pot, not the milk. To be clear, the probe, as I use it, is suspended in the milk. It touches neither the sides, nor the bottom.