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Disappointed with my Thermapen

 
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:32 am    Post subject: Disappointed with my Thermapen Reply with quote


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Disappointed with my, pricy, Thermapen. I bought the Thermapen as it was recommended. Treated it gently since I’ve had it. Brewed this past weekend only to discover, what appears to be, a split black gasket coming from the end where the temp probe pivots.

Thermapen wants $35.00 to replace a simple gasket!

Does anyone know of a replacement gasket for the Thermapen? If so, link?

Thanks.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How old was the thermapen? I've got two I've been using for more than 10 years now without any issues so your experience is unfortunate.

I've never heard of anyone selling parts for these nor would I would imagine that ThermoWorks would sell you parts, so I looked this up. They need to do it for you. The $35 cost isn't just for a gasket. It's for them to fix it for you (labour) and includes return shipping. Seems more than reasonable when you factor in labour and return shipping. The gasket cost is inconsequential.

Quote:

Quote:
I’ve had a Classic Thermapen for a while and a few months ago, I noticed that it was harder to open and close the probe. The other day, a black rubber gasket started coming out of the area where the probe rotates. Is this a problem? Is it something I can repair myself?



While having the O-ring gasket come out of the hub in this manner is an extremely rare occurrence, we are sorry that it happened to you. The gasket is one of the components that makes the Classic Thermapen water-resistant, so it must be repaired. Our Tech Support team needs to make this particular repair for you. Their contact information is found below.

If we discover that the issue is covered by the warranty, we’ll either repair or replace it for no charge (depending on the source of the problem).

If we discover that the issue is related to a problem not covered by the warranty, we offer affordable repair services for $35, which includes return shipping.

Source: https://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tool_type=cl&merchant_id=504989e8-60a3-41a9-bf0f-e83e99fc256e&website_id=9e77af9b-d290-40aa-ab88-64605c8b8ff6&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhelp.thermoworks.com%2Fknowledge-base%2Fclassic-thermapen-help%2F

Kal

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Last edited by kal on Tue Sep 12, 2023 4:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is a simple job, IMO, not worth the $35.00. As homebrewers, and especially those of us whom built our own EB, we are DIYers.

Video on youtube showing how to open the unit. Simple gasket needs replacing. The million dollar question, "Gasket specs"?
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Completely up to you of course, but I would say they're not making any money at all on this.

Again, don't forget it includes return shipping. That could be half that cost or more depending on where in the world you live.
Try and get anyone to look at anything and repair it for $15-20 in labour. That's not going to happen with anything else you own. My 2 cents of course!

I have no idea on the gasket specs. Sorry! Consider too that the repair may be more than just replacing the gasket. There may be other steps involved to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Kal

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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I contacted ThermoWorks tech support. Described the problem. They acknowledged this is a rare problem, just my luck, however they offered a trade in for a new one. No thanks. I asked about purchasing or obtaining an o ring for me to repair. They said OK, will ship me 2 and only changed $3.00 for shipping.

I asked for the o ring specs enabling me to purchase my own at a local hardware store or online. Unfortunately, the tech said o ring specs are not available.
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad to hear you figured this out KB!

Kal

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We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Classic Thermapen repaired. Received the new o-rings on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Repaired the Thermapen on the evening of Friday, January 20, 2022. Repair took about 10 minutes. Majority of the time was spent removing the Thermapen labels (3 of them) enabling me to access the screws (6 of them).

Turns out the damaged o-ring, in the probe pivot, was the o-ring facing the front of the Thermapen.

I was advised to lube the o-ring with food grade lubricant. I used keg lube since we use with keg o-rings.

I didn’t reattach the labels to the Thermapen. I kept the labels by attaching them to a small piece of paper that I’ll keep for reference/documentation.

My Thermapen is now working as good as new.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the details! I was curious if it would need lubrification too... good to know!

Kal

_________________
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We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
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homedown




Joined: 28 Dec 2021
Posts: 5
Location: Florida


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KB wrote:
Classic Thermapen repaired. Received the new o-rings on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Repaired the Thermapen on the evening of Friday, January 20, 2022. Repair took about 10 minutes. Majority of the time was spent removing the Thermapen labels (3 of them) enabling me to access the screws (6 of them).

Turns out the damaged o-ring, in the probe pivot, was the o-ring facing the front of the Thermapen.

I was advised to lube the o-ring with food grade lubricant. I used keg lube since we use with keg o-rings.

I didn’t reattach the labels to the Thermapen. I kept the labels by attaching them to a small piece of paper that I’ll keep for reference/documentation.

My Thermapen is now working as good as new.



$35 for an o-ring is expensive, especially if it is not manufactured well and will fail again. Nice to see you were able to fix it. Do you think the lack of lubricant is what caused it to fail?
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 3:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

IDK. When I opened the Thermapen I see white grease.

Searching the 'net I find o-ring specs
CS 1.5MM/0.059 IN
ID 25.4 MM/1 IN
OD 29.3 MM/1.1535 IN

Please post url if anyone is able to find the o-rings.

Thanks.
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JSB




Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 125
Location: NE Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.mcmaster.com/o-rings/

Smile
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JSB wrote:
https://www.mcmaster.com/o-rings/

Smile

14,586 Products listed. Have fun! Wink

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 11:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I already checked McMaster Carr before my post.
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Yo_Pauly




Joined: 30 Nov 2014
Posts: 42
Location: New Richmond, WI


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

KB - something seems off with the o-ring parameters you posted — the OD minus ID dimensions should equal 2X the cross section, right?

Paul
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I found the measurements of the o ring online while searching if others had the same problem.

I have no way of measuring the o ring as I don't have a caliper.

Perhaps other forum members are able to correctly measure the o ring specs and post for us?
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