Seeking low tech way to measure brew temperature

[ron45]

The subject pretty much covers it. I saw a reference to using a styrofoam cup but there were no particulars.

Ron

[barry]

foam cup method:

take a small foam cup which will fit up against the group gasket (6oz is about the right size), and push a dial stem thermometer through the side about an inch up from the bottom. angle the thermometer stem downwards across the cup and wedge it into the opposite bottom corner. to measure brew water temp, remove the portafilter from the machine and hold the cup firmly against the group gasket on the underside of the brewhead in such a way that you can see the thermometer dial. run about 2oz of water into the cup and watch the thermometer dial for the maximum temperature reached. it's easy to get burned doing this, so be careful not to let hot water run onto your hand.

i've got illustrations someplace....

[another_jim]

Welcome to the boards.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/techbuys2003/tm-125.html

Cheapest thermocouple and meter on the planet. Greg has no reason to be scared, but it will measure your average shot temperatures to the nearest degree accuracy. Either make up a schomer style temperature measuring PF (or basket if you have a naked one), or just thread the thermocouple (which is a plain wire) up the spout of the PF and stuff some tinfoil into the PF so the TC stays submerged. The water will flow too fast, but the average reading from 3 ounces of water will be within a degree of what you get using more sophisticated devices.

You will need more expensive gear to get a profile over the course of a shot -- a recording meter and a specially made basket either Schomer or Scace style.

For permanent monitoring, many people strip off the outer insulation of the TC's wire pair and run the two thin wires between the group gasket and the PF-basket lip, attaching the probe to the shower screen. The wire will eventually break (mine always within a week), but some people have gotten a few months service out of the arrangement. The more permanent continuous shot monitoring installation requires drilling and plumbing the grouphead. This is well above my skill rating -- check with Barry, Greg, Andy, Sean, Mosfet, Lino or any other mad machine modders I may have missed.

[ron45]

Barry, Jim, Thanks for the info. I neglected to say how pleased I was to come across this forum. The resources area is a machine tweakers delight. I got the link from Anthony at Caffe Fresco. I'm anxious to try his espresso blends as well as the SO one he's roasting in the N. Italian sytle.

Ron