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We’re using external temperature sensors, always insulated from the outside. The Analog Devices / Maxim / Dallas Semiconductor DS18B20 is perfect for this, but the problem is that most ‘DS18B20’ sensors on the market are fakes; clones marked as the real thing. These work well for the most part, but they are susceptible to issues. Working around issues from these clone / fake sensors has been a major headache. Our software tries to detect them, and we allow the user to enter a bias offset in case they read high or low.
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It’s always best to buy genuine items from DigiKey, RS, Farnell, Mouser, etc. but we know that many people will not.
However, the DS18B20 does not have a sealed package and cannot be submerged in water. If you need to submerge the DS18B20 in a liquid, several third parties manufacture sealed temperature probes that use the DS18B20. Maxim does not endorse any particular manufacturer of these probes nor maintain a list of these probe manufacturers. Most probes that we found do not have genuine chips in them.
Lots of information here.