As long as you have some way of insulating the probe so that it is not affected by ambient temp swings. There are at least three practical ways to do this that I am aware of - 1) taping the probe to a carboy or keg AND insulating it with some bubble wrap or foam, 2) using a stainless thermowell and put the probe inside the fermenting beer, and 3) putting the probe into some gel pack material in a white labs vial.
On the mother, I have two zones - serving and fermenting. On the serving side I have a white labs vial filled with gel. So far, the temp is very stable and I have not had any issues with probe failure (they aren't really rated to be watertight). On the fermentation side, I use the bubble wrap/taped probe approach. I am looking for a more permanent solution - like a nice, sturdy bit of foam that I can carve to match the carboy radius. When I find one, I will hot glue the probe to the inside, and permanently attach some small bungie cords to the outside. Tape and bubble wrap is a drag.
Mylo
