Stopper Thermowell

I purchased this to use for my 6.5 gallon glass carboy. While the down stem is just fine and will help me monitor the temperature of my brew with great accuracy, the stopper it comes with is too small. To get a perfect seal I need to push the stopper all the way down into the nozzle of my carboy causing it to be flush with the top rim of the glass. With nothing left to grab onto I need to use a butter knife to fish the stopper out of the carboy. I suppose for others this may not be a problem, but they really should use a #7 sized stopper, not a #6.5.

Need to be a 7 not a 6.5 went into my 5 gal. carboy to far.

Couldn't get it out of the carboy easily. Found a better stopper thermowell at ETCSupply.com for only $21.99. ETC uses a #7 stopper.

Mine does not seal (even with the thermowell and the airlock in the stopper) until it is all the way in to the neck of the carboy, making it almost impossible to get out. I'm going to throw this stopper away and order a larger one from another vendor... It also seems very expensive for what you get, especially when what you get does not fit...

I picked up a pair of these last month, and I'm not impressed. They didn't seal well at all and had to tape the stopper down to the carboy to keep from popping out. I'm in Ohio and I tried to ferment in the nice, cold garage with a heating pad underneath. I think the temp control sensor was reading the temp of the stem above the liquid level in the carboy, so I gave up and just taped the temp control sensor to the side of the carboy and wrapped it all up in a blanket and got a more accurate reading.

After several brews where I taped the temperature probe from my controller to the side of the carboy and insulated with a few layers of bubblewrap, I was excited to try this product. I was looking for two particular results: 1) take readings from inside the carboy for increased accuracy and 2) eliminate the whole taping business beyond labeling carboys. Both goals has been met. I believe the success of the thermowell depends on how well you can fit your temp probe in the well, which entirely depends on what temp controller you own.

That said, I agree with the other reviewers' comments about the stopper being very small. All of my bungs fit with extra space at the top of the carboy making removal a breeze. A slightly taller design with a lip to ensure the stopper does not get stuck in the neck of the carboy would make this product a lot easier to use. I'm not even 100% certain that I have made a seal with this thing and that is certainly a big problem.

It works great. It does what it says it does. It drops right into the center of your fermenter & you get the most accurate temp reading on your fermentations. You need a little finesse though.

I guess I was expecting more. This is simply a 15 inch stainless steel rod that has been cut, crimped, & welded on one end & flanged on the other so it wont slip through the stopper. The other reviews are spot on. The stopper is fairly small for standard 5 gallon carboys. I had to use my small univeral carboy bung with the hole drilled so the thermowell wouldn't drop in. Left the bung on loose since I racked to carboy for secondary/cold crash. You could simply make this yourself if your on a budget & have the know how.

I have another one of these from some alternate source that seals much better. I think the stopper is a bit too small.

I'm still a brewing novice but I sure like this thing. Maybe I don't know any better yet, but it sure fits my needs.
As mentioned in other reviews, the thing fits almost flush with the top of the carboy, but you can still get it out fairly easily.
If it were made from the next stopper size larger it would be a complete 5 star!

The stopper is too small to fit on my 5 or 6.5 gal. carboys. I was able to buy a rubber bung and drill two holes in it to replace the one that came with this.