dumb ?

[spookybird]

Could a digital thermometer used for cooking but used to check the temp of soil??

 

[so lucky]

Good question. If it would work, I would think the soil would need to be pretty moist.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I haven't done it but I can't think of any reason why not as long as the scale goes that low Not all thermometers measure accurately but you can check it by calibrating. Fill a glass with plenty of ice then add water. Stir it and wait until it stabilizes, then check the temperature. It should read freezing. You can boil water and measure the temperature of that but there can be a problem. The boiling point drops as you increase elevation so even though water may boil at a temperature a little low the thermometer may still be accurate. You can correct using the calculator below, second link.

Or an easier but less fun way. A medical thermometer should have already been calibrated and should be accurate. Put the cooking and medical thermometers together and see if they read the same. There are a few medical people on this forum. Maybe they can tell us how accurate those medical thermometers are, but I'd expect them to come calibrated and ready to go.

I checked a good housekeeping article to see how accurate cooking thermometers were. Their lowest ranking one was a digital because of inaccuracy but they did not say how inaccurate it was. They considered it too inaccurate to trust when cooking meat.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cooking-tools/food-thermometer-reviews/g1728/food-thermometer/

This is more for @digitS' and people that seem to like this kind of stuff but might come in handy to others anyway. My elevation is 1150 feet and my boiling point of water is just under 210 degrees. That can vary some depending on whether a high or low pressure system is sitting on top of you.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html

I just saw So Lucky's post. I don't know how much moisture would play into it. I'd think not much. A meat thermometer probe is generally made from two different metals that expand at different rates based on temperature. The thermometer measures the difference in expansion and converts that to the meter where you can read it.

 

[digitS']

In my highly exact methods, I use a rusting, old outdoor thermometer and fret about it containing mercury.

All but standing over the marked location in the soil so I don't lose it in the garden , it doesn't take long for a reading at 4".

Keep in mind that seeds are not planted deeper than that and a soil temperature at 1/2" will likely be closer to air temperature than a temperature deeper in the earth.

I like to check in the morning before sunlight has begun to warm the soil. Tilth/organic matter, and moisture may make a difference in soil temperature, I'd imagine. The insulation conditions may vary.

Steve

 

[valley ranch]

Quote: Could a digital thermometer used for cooking but used to check the temp of soil??



Yes, For sure! Good idea!

 

[thistlebloom]

Why don't you just buy a soil thermometer?

 

[digitS']

Well, I have this olde thermometer ... in fact, I have a new thermometer that looks about like it, mercury. It never came out of its package but I can see it just fine behind the plastic and, no, I didn't buy it "pre-plastic."

Yeah, back in those days it was also, "pre-shoes." We didn't need soil thermometers then .

Anyway, I also have two cooking thermometers. One, I never use - must have bought it for making ... oh, that might have been in my beer-making days!

digital S'

 

[majorcatfish]

Could a digital thermometer used for cooking but used to check the temp of soil??

yes they can... do it here all the time, just wash the probe after using in the soil....

 

[Smart Red]

Any thermometer should work as long as the highest and lowest measurements are within the range of temperatures you're looking to test. Some cooking thermometers don't register low enough for soil testing.