Warning: temperature strip on my fermenter gave me bad info for two weeks

I have been making hot sauce ferments for about a year now. Two weeks ago I started a batch of habanero and garlic, stuck my adhesive temperature strip on the side like always. After day 3 I noticed no bubbles and got worried. Turns out the strip was reading 10 degrees low because I put it near a drafty spot on the counter. I moved the jar to a warmer cabinet and put a probe thermometer inside with a rubber band, and it kicked off like crazy within 12 hours. Has anyone else had those stick-on strips fail on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

roberts.troy9d ago

Ngl, @the_derek, at least your strip was only off by ten - mine convinced me my peppers were fermenting in a ghost town for two weeks.

the_derek10d ago

Dude that exact same thing happened to me with my scotch bonnet batch last month. I stuck that strip on the side of the carboy near the wall and it showed 68 degrees for like a week. I almost dumped the whole thing thinking the yeast was dead. Then I poked my finger down in the middle of the liquid and it felt warm, way warmer than the strip said. I ran and got my instant read kitchen thermometer and it was 78 in there. Moved it to a spot away from the wall and it bubbled like crazy within a day. Those stick on strips are only good if you got perfectly even temps everywhere, which basically never happens.