Ok, so I want to get a decent read of my water temp in the portafilter of my NS Oscar. I can't bring myself to spend $250 for a Scace thermometer, and I don't really have the skills to install a permanent retrofitted thermometer near the HX. On the other hand, I'd like to get some readings that are a little more instantaneous, accurate, and reliable than the "thermometer-in-a-styrofoam-cup" method. My idea is this: I have a K-type thermocouple, and a meter. I was thinking of placing the thermocouple tip in the middle of my unused single portafilter. In order to approximate the location and volume of brewing H2O in the portafilter, I thought I would try to place something in the basket that is similar in size, resistance, and filtering characteristics to a real coffee dose, but is reusable. I know there is something like this in the Scace thermofilter. Any ideas about what to use?? Thanks.

I can't bring myself to spend $250 for a Scace thermometer . . .

Then, why not rent one? - contact Jim Gallt here: http://www.pidkits.com/

OR, practice your epoxy skills like this: Temperature study of Alex Duetto . When all is said and done, that $250 might look like a small expense.

just lay the thermocouple on top of a dose of coffee. it'll get you close enough.

As barry suggests.

I went through the same thought process. I ended up buying the Scace. Although in hindsight, I could have just rented one because I rarely use it now that my PID is set. The benefit of the Scace is repeatability. That's why its become somewhat standard. I found the other benefit to the Scace is that because you can just run shot after shot, you can dial in a pre-brew ritual and standardize your routine. I've found it doesn't really matter if your thermostat is accurate, just that its consistent. If you can manipulate your machine to be consistent shot to shot, it makes dialing in shots much simpler (and even possible). For that purpose, the Scace is priceless!