Get a piece of conduit pipe with a slightly larger diameter than your thermometer. Seal up the bottom and insert into your pile. Slide the thermometer out the top to read.

Lee Valley sells compost thermometers and there are stores in BC.

Compost thermometers are a niche product that your local stores will not stock because they would not sell enough of them to warrant that.

Compost thermometers are readily available on line.

kimmq is kimmsr

"Compost thermometers are a niche product that your local stores will not
stock because they would not sell enough of them to warrant that."

Boy, kimmsr, can you come out with some amazing off-the-wall statements!! Gardening supplies in general are niche products - appealing to and marketed directly towards a specific buyer, in some cases a very limited buying public dependent on the exact product. Most large, full service garden centers and retail nurseries will carry compost thermometers as do all the box stores in my area. They are not a unique or obscure item.

Harry, did you try Garden Works? They have various locations in SW BC and appear to be a full-service, full-product gardening source.

Lee Valley

Vancouver shows in stock. Coquitlam and Victoria show limited quantities.

Also my experience nancyjane. Sometimes found at nurseries, not at the big box stores. And I was interested in the temp early on but after a few hundred batches of compost, it did not seem that critical. I still have one but rarely use it.

I do get a bit excited when I see steam rising from the compost, but not enough to go buy a thermometer! Nancy (HA! I remember spelling thermometer in 2nd grade and winning the spelling bee!) Nancy

My sister (as a kid) decided she wanted to find out how high the thermometer would go, so she stuck it in the steam coming out of the vaporizer. It burst, spilling tiny mercury beads all over the bed. Sounds like you were smarter than my sister.

AkkAkkAkk! Do you remember PLAYING with the mercury when a thermometer broke? ;) Nancy

The local Home Depot does not carry compost thermometers, but you can special order one (or more) and pick it up at that store in less than a week. The people at the local Lowes and Menards did not know what a compost thermometer was and the on line catalogs for them did not find anything. Three of our local nurseries do not carry them but will special order them for you.

As I said, compost thermometers are a niche product that most retailers would not stock due to low sales volume.

kimmq is kimmsr

Well I finally got my much needed compost thermometer. I found it at West Coast Seeds in Ladner B.C - only about 20 min drive from my house. It was a bit more expensive than ordering online through H.Depot but I didn't want to wait any longer. Great little store for other things gardening related and friendly, knowledgable staff too.

As I had mentioned in my original post I built a hot compost pile around Nov.20 and it started to heat up within 24 hrs. Within 3-4 days it was getting quite hot in the middle as indicated by the pry bar I poked into the middle. Just had to pull it out and feel how hot it was - almost too hot to keep my hand rapped around. Of course I wanted to know just how hot that was.

Now that I have my thermometer I checked it today. First I pulled the pry bar out and it was warm but no longer hot. Thermometer reading was 105F. Good thing I gave it a good turning because it was way too dry inside. Added a bit more urine and coffee grounds so I'll be checking in on it tomorrow ........with my slightly less primitive...... new thermometer!!

Harry

Maybe a bit late, but I'm quite fond of Tel-Tru thermometers.

Just a little compost thermometer follow-up..........got my new thermom. on Sat., pile core temp. was 103F Sunday afternoon , turned pile, added nitrogen-rich sources. After turning, pile temp. was down to 60F (air about 50F). By yesterday afternoon temp was up to 100F. By this afternoon temp. had climbed to 140F! Thermomphiles must be having quite the party! Wonder what tomorrows reading will be?

Harry

P.S. the pry-bar I was using as a crude temperature indicator was too hot to hold for more than about 3-5 seconds today. So I would estimate the previous high temp in the pile (prior to turning), was about 110 to 120F. It was definitely too dry inside when I turned it Sunday.

kimmq, I'm fairly lucky that my HD has TWO master gardeners that work at the store!

I prefer buying starts at a local place that has very reasonably priced organic starts, but sometimes you just have to go to the big box to save $$$$! I do that for tools and stuff my little places don't have! Nancy