Thomas - 4039 Traceable Waterproof Thermometer, with Probe/Cable, -50 to 300 degree C

great

I bought this item to monitor temperatures for Home-brewing beer. I used it once and it worked like a champion, however, pulled it out the second time, and it was reading 154 degrees F for room temperature. I replaced the battery like the manual suggests with no change. Unfortunately its been 3 months since I ordered the item so I can no longer return it. I have emailed the Thomas company to see what can be done now. If I get good feedback/repair/replacement I'll update this review but for now, as it stands it's not a very reliable device for the price tag.UPDATE: They did replace the thermometer for no cost. It took a couple weeks to get it taken care of, some E-mails, and shipping costs. We shall see how this new one holds up.

This item arrives with an official looking calibration sheet, etc., etc. I was fooled twice, but won't be again. I use thermometers to monitor the water temperature when I "hot-dip" my oyster stacks to kill the bio-fouling, but not the oysters. The stacks, with oysters in them, get dipped in a huge vat (112 cubic feet) of water heated to 140-degrees (F) and held there for 40 seconds exactly. A little too hot or too cold will either kill the oysters or won't kill the bio-fouling. The 1st one of these items I bought was used 1 time and, halfway through the hot-dip, the item went haywire and started climbing. Since I use three different thermometers simultaneously for just such a failure, I was able to disregard the item. I thought the failure might have been due to a cracked wire leading to the probe, so, 8 months later when I got ready to do the hot-dip again, I ordered another one of these items. This one was even worse. The other two thermometers (Taylor Digital Waterproof Maximum/Minimum Thermometer, -20 to 120 Degrees F and a General Tools AQ150 Digital Aquarium Thermometer ) were within 8 degrees of each other (the Taylor is my new standard, since it has two probes and is within 1 or 2 degrees of the liquid thermometer I use to calibrate them with). The new Thomas item, while it didn't vary in its readings, was 38-degrees too high the entire time! If you are willing to do a calibration test yourself (using ice water for example), and then add or subtract the error while you are working, this item might be OK. But why bother when the other thermometers, especially the Taylor, are much more accurate. It is a shame the item doesn't work better, because I liked its shape and versatility. But, those are no good if its not accurate! So - Buyer Beware! JBK

I use this thermometer for homebrewing and I love it! it reads temperature accurately and it has a long cord and can be submerged in hot and boiling wort no problem. just be careful pulling on the cord because it can dislodge from the probe and ruin the thermometer.

DO NOT BUY THIS. Very very disappointing ! Title is pretty self explanatory. Thermometer is reading 125 F degrees in room temp water.BIGGEST PROBLEM: There is no way for the end user to re-calibrate this thermometer. I am required to return the thermometer for appraisal, a "re-calibration fee will be charged, and then I get to pay for the return shipping.Horrible experience with....CONTROL COMPANY• 4455 REX ROAD • FRIENDSWOOD, TX 77546 USAPHONE 281 482-1714 • FAX 281 482-9448

I needed a good waterproof thermometer that wouldn't die on me after first use, and I found it. Slightly expensive for what it is, but I'm glad i picked it up and I'll continue to use it.My only complaint would be the tiny display, which can be tough to read under the wrong lighting. That, and the fact that the mini suction cup on the probe seemed to melt or warp in boiling water after first use, making it unusable. And if there was one other complaint, it would be of its lack of features. For the price, it really doesn't do much of anything but display a temperature. No timer, no high or low temperature warning sound, just the simple temperature display.

Worked perfectly. Great that it is leak/waterproof as that is what ruined my other thermometer. Glad I got it.

This was my second one of these. The first I had to return to Amazon since it would not turn on, even though I had replaced the battery. The second worked fine for 2 batches of beer, and then right in the middle of triple decoction mash, the thing freaks out and now it displays 134.7 as the ambient temp...So I changed the battery again. Still says it is hotter than the daytime high in the Sahara. I wrote Thomas Scientific in hopes that they could rectify, so we'll see. Maybe 3rd time will be a charm?

I bought this for our audit but when compared with another certified thermometers we purchased it was the only one that was different