Customer Reviews

It works Review by Mike White

Rating

for my buckets, but it does not fit in a 1 gal glass car boy. (Posted on 1/27/13)

Very handy Review by Hammy

Rating

Fits in the neck of my better bottles with plenty of room to spare. It is a little drippy once it has liquid, and it usually takes me 3-4 dips to get enough to make a gravity sample (Kinda wish it was just a wee bit longer) but all in all this is a must if you check gravity regularly in your fermenter. (Posted on 1/24/13)

Not good suction Review by Sasha

Rating

Has a hard time getting any liquid up in it. The end has a little hole though that you can suck a little liquid up inside, and hold while you transport to another container. Pain to have to do, but it works. (Posted on 5/27/12)

Great thief Review by ShinyBuddha

Rating

This fits thru the neck of my 5 & 6 gallon glass carboys with no problem. All pieces fit tightly together and its a good length. Never had a problem with spillage but then again I hold my hydrometer tube in one hand and thief in the other so when I pull it out it only travels a few inches. Would recommend this item. (Posted on 5/5/12)

Great for Sampling Review by Chris

Rating

Yes, this is going to leak a little, but for the price and ease of cleaning it is great. Like the other reviewers say, give it some time to fill up to the level you want. (Posted on 3/28/12)

Warning - too wide to sample from carboys Review by Robert

Rating

It works OK, but is too wide to fit through the neck of my glass carboys, making it useless unless I'm sampling out of a bucket or keg. Very disappointing. (Posted on 3/8/12)

Works for me Review by JRdaSconnie

Rating

Just picked one up for pulling a sample of my pLambics aging in the basement. Easily took a small tasting sample and then used it to "cross-contaminate" a younger pLambic to increase the bug count. (Posted on 2/21/12)

its fine Review by Matthew

Rating

It has a hole in the bottom, its suppose to leak a little. Well made, cheap, breaks down for cleaning. (Posted on 11/23/11)

Worked great for me! Review by C4Brewing

Rating

Give it a couple of seconds to fill then place your thumb over the hole. Sections fit tight but comes apart easy. I have NO air leaks with mine. 5 pints (Posted on 9/23/11)

Complaints from others? Review by Diggy

Rating

I'm not sure what the others are reviewing, but the thief is more or less a glorified straw: of course it drips from the bottom when you pinch a sample!

The other reviewers that complain that they cannot draw a large enough sample are not letting the thief sit in the carboy long enough. It takes a moment for the sample to climb up the thief because of the small opening on the bottom. So place the thief in the carboy, be patient and then place thumb over the opening. Viola!

The product works great! 5 Pints! (Posted on 5/22/11)

does not hold liquid well Review by midden

Rating

While easy to clean, it only holds liquid in the lower two inches or so (no matter how deep you submerge it). This means multiple trips to the hydrometer case. the only advantage over a turkey baster is that it is longer. (Posted on 3/20/11)

Not worth the money Review by Anacreon

Rating

It's barely usable, leaks terribly, and can't hold suction. Very frustrating to work with. (Posted on 3/4/11)

Works fine Review by Brian

Surprised to read all these poor reviews. I've been using this thief for over a year and it works just fine for me. Perhaps because I use nitrile gloves when using sanitizer, I get a better seal. It leaks a few drops, but I'm always at the ready with a sample container. To get enough for a hydro jar, yes you need to rake 3 pulls, but thats not a fault of the products design. Anything thin enough to fit into a neck of a carboy will have this problem. It breaks down making it easy to clean and sanitize. Ive also used the fermentech thief with the check valve and that thing is a pain. It leaks, will dump it's sample at the slightest touch, hardly ever pulls enough to use a hydro in it, and if so is impractical as can't keep it level. The 3pc is a superior solution. (Posted on 1/27/11)

Looking for a different one Review by Beard

Rating

This one is disappointing - too bad it's the one that came with the better basic brew kit. For as long as it it, it grabs a miniscule amount of beer, and then leaks half of it before you can even get it into the tester - so you wind up having to grab beer 3-5 times just to get enough to get a gravity reading.... bummer! (Posted on 1/14/11)

Not Functional Review by TJ

Rating

This product does not work well at all. It leaks significantly when pulling out the sample and can only extract a very small amount. Not recommended at all. (Posted on 1/4/11)

This thing sucks Review by Adam

Rating

Leaks, and if you ferment in a carboy expect 3-4 times to pull enough for a sample. I guess it works... just not well. (Posted on 5/13/10)

not perfect, but works well enough Review by gb

Rating

This works well for taking hydrometer samples. I like the fact that the tip need not touch anything to release the sample (unlike the competing product) -- just remove your thumb. It does leak a few drops, but after you practice a few times it's not messy at all. Like others said, it's easy to sanitize. I like that there are no parts I can't access for cleaning, such as the float valve on the other product.

While you can't take a hydrometer reading directly inside this thief, I think that's for the best, because you need to be able to free a hydrometer of bubbles to get an accurate reading.

The design would be improved if they just made the bottom hole slightly smaller. As it is, the vacuum pressure alone isn't enough to hold the liquid in. Air gets in through the bottom, allowing it release a few drops at a time. (Posted on 4/13/10)

Does not work Review by Ry

Rating

The one that came with my starter kit didn't work at all. Its nice that it breaks down for cleaning, but it doesn't hold liquid for more than a second or so. (Posted on 4/13/10)