RANCO ETC's - NOT sensitive enough?
Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 7:39 am
I've noticed in side-by-side comparisons with digital thermometers, my Ranco etc is very slow to react to finding the actual temp--even when placed directly in liquid. Anyone find this to be true?
It gets even worse when the thing is inserted in a thermowell--it just doesn't pic up the right temp fast enough--it's routinely 5-10 degrees off of what is really going on, indicated by reliable digital thermometers placed in the same location
For instance: I set my ranco to 152 degrees, 1 degree differential, and to "heat." I then start circulating my mash liquid through it @ 152 degrees--understandably, the temp will drop a bit when it first travels through my heat exchanger and then back to my return manifold--but after awhile, the temp display on the ranco should "catch up" right? But it doesn't
so this is what I get: I have the controller set to 152, while the probe sees 145 liquid running past it. My other digital thermometers tell me however, that the liquid running past the probe is really 152. So the Ranco is 7 degrees off. Because the ranco "sees" 145 and the setpoint is 152, it's going to keep increasing the heat in order to get it to 152. But because it's 7 degrees off, when the probe sees 152, the mash has been heated to 159! So obviously, it's not accurate, which is a huge problem.
This is my second Ranco - I returned the first one. Perhaps there isn't enough heat being conducted around the probe? I am affraid to submerge the probe in the mash liquid itself, because I hear the probes can go bad, so I purposely put it in the manufacture's copper thermowell. Not good enough.
Anyone else have temp problems with their RANco's or know of how I can correct this?
It gets even worse when the thing is inserted in a thermowell--it just doesn't pic up the right temp fast enough--it's routinely 5-10 degrees off of what is really going on, indicated by reliable digital thermometers placed in the same location
For instance: I set my ranco to 152 degrees, 1 degree differential, and to "heat." I then start circulating my mash liquid through it @ 152 degrees--understandably, the temp will drop a bit when it first travels through my heat exchanger and then back to my return manifold--but after awhile, the temp display on the ranco should "catch up" right? But it doesn't
so this is what I get: I have the controller set to 152, while the probe sees 145 liquid running past it. My other digital thermometers tell me however, that the liquid running past the probe is really 152. So the Ranco is 7 degrees off. Because the ranco "sees" 145 and the setpoint is 152, it's going to keep increasing the heat in order to get it to 152. But because it's 7 degrees off, when the probe sees 152, the mash has been heated to 159! So obviously, it's not accurate, which is a huge problem.
This is my second Ranco - I returned the first one. Perhaps there isn't enough heat being conducted around the probe? I am affraid to submerge the probe in the mash liquid itself, because I hear the probes can go bad, so I purposely put it in the manufacture's copper thermowell. Not good enough.
Anyone else have temp problems with their RANco's or know of how I can correct this?
