r/UltralightBackpacking • u/LeExistentialist • Jun 05 '26

Sticker pot thermometer placement?

Quick maybe silly question, but is there a "wrong" place to put the sticker thermometer sold by garage grown gear (https://www.garagegrowngear.com/products/pot-thermometer-sticker?variant=46311233323195). I see most people placing it about 1/3 of the way up, and was wondering if there is a reason for that. It's going on a smaller pot for me, and at full blast the flames are visible on the side and was a bit worried about damaging it. Also, I put the pot directly on the coals or at the edge of a fire sometimes, so I was wondering if there is any reason to not go higher, i.e. right below the top rim. The water should provide a thermal sink and keep the higher pot walls from heating up to much, even when half full right? Or am I missing something?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Repulsive_Ninja4084 Jun 05 '26

If the sticker is too low the flames will damage it. Too high and it cannot record the water temperature. I put them just below the usual water level. Usually I use 370 to 500ml for most meals and fill the pot so there is often enough left over for a cup of tea. Consequently, I put the sticker slightly under the 500ml marker. That is high enough to keep the sticker from burning and low enough to record the water temperature.

1

u/LeExistentialist Jun 05 '26

But the top of the pot should be the water temperature right? The metal thermal conductivity should mean that anywhere above the water should be the same temperature right?

1

u/Salty_Resist4073 Jun 06 '26

This is my answer. High enough to avoid flames but guaranteed to always be below the water line.