Make sure you know how to use a thermometer
A lot of the negative reviews of this thermometer complain about accuracy. Mine was fine. I can't help but guess some of this may be related to people not knowing how to use a thermometer. I know that sounds goofy, you just stick in the liquid and read it, right? Well, not really.There are two main types of glass/alcohol thermometers, partial immersion and total immersion. The one I got from NB was a partial immersion, but I'm not sure that's always the case; the one pictured in the on-line catalog appears to be total immersion. Partial immersion thermometers will have a line, usually about three inches from the bottom. This is the immersion line, and it marks how deep you put the thermometer into the liquid to get accurate readings. Total immersion thermometers should have printing on them to label them as such, but sometimes they don't. If it isn't marked, but it doesn't have an immersion line, it's probably total immersion. Total immersion thermometers have to be immersed in the liquid as far up as the liquid temperature reading -- i.e., if the water is boiling, the thermometer needs to be in as far as the 212 F mark, or it will read low. There are correction factors you can apply if you can't put it in that far -- Google it if you want to learn how, it's a simple formula. A total immersion thermometer will read several degrees low if only the lower couple inches are in the liquid.Partial immersion thermometers can read incorrectly even if they're immersed to the line. The reason is the calibration assumes the part of the thermometer that's not in the liquid is in room temperature air, which it's not if it's in the steam over boiling wort. This is why total immersion thermometers are generally more accurate if immersed properly. However, the correction for partial immersion thermometers is not huge, so just immerse it to the line; you can get a sense of the error by putting it a pot of boiling water (preferably your brew pot). Wort boils at a slightly higher temp than 212F because of the sugar content. If you're measuring temps close to room temp, then this error is minimal.As far as breakage. . .yes, glass thermometers are fragile, big surprise. I can't see why people complain about it. If you want a thermometer you can bang around, get an electronic or steel shaft thermometer.This thermometer is a perfectly good example of what it is -- a glass thermometer. It has to be used correctly to be accurate. And it's not a stir stick, not matter how tempting it is to use it that way.