ET-732 issues - how many other people have seen this?

manman · Jan 3, 2012

I used the Maverick ET-732 for a cook last weekend, and it seemed like all was going well. Had my WSM at 225 pretty much the whole time, but my spareribs were not passing any of the usual 'doneness' tests even after 7.5 hours, and internal temp was just over 150.

After I finally took them off and let the wsm cool down, I took the probe off at around 150F... and when I did the probe stayed at 150. I tried turning it off/on, unplugging/replugging the probe, making sure it was seated etc. Never got it wet or submerged it in water, but I was running the cord under the lid, not through the vent.

I did run the tip under cold water AFTER i saw the problem, just to see if the temp would drop, and it stayed at 150 then as well... Just wondering if many others here have experienced this. I see the 732 pretty highly regarded here, but on Amazon.com I found some others with the same issue I saw. It seems like a really valuable tool, I'd love to be able to keep using it, but if I can't trust the temps it reads then it becomes pretty worthless... especially if I dont' realize it until the end of the cook : /

I'm a newbie when it comes to smoking though, that was my first try so I might just be using it incorrectly?

erain · Jan 3, 2012

manman said:
I used the Maverick ET-732 for a cook last weekend, and it seemed like all was going well. Had my WSM at 225 pretty much the whole time, but my spareribs were not passing any of the usual 'doneness' tests even after 7.5 hours, and internal temp was just over 150.

After I finally took them off and let the wsm cool down, I took the probe off at around 150F... and when I did the probe stayed at 150. I tried turning it off/on, unplugging/replugging the probe, making sure it was seated etc. Never got it wet or submerged it in water, but I was running the cord under the lid, not through the vent.

I did run the tip under cold water AFTER i saw the problem, just to see if the temp would drop, and it stayed at 150 then as well... Just wondering if many others here have experienced this. I see the 732 pretty highly regarded here, but on Amazon.com I found some others with the same issue I saw. It seems like a really valuable tool, I'd love to be able to keep using it, but if I can't trust the temps it reads then it becomes pretty worthless... especially if I dont' realize it until the end of the cook : /

I'm a newbie when it comes to smoking though, that was my first try so I might just be using it incorrectly?

swap the probes side to side and see if problem follows probe. if not then a bigger issue... i have one of these so will be cking back to see what you found out.

manman · Jan 3, 2012

Thanks, I'll try swapping probes and see if I notice anything tonight. One thing I forgot to mention- after turning it off for a few hours it seemed to be reading normally again, as it did before the cook. I'm just worried that next time I cook will be the same as last time- the probme measures fine when I start, but it gets screwed up somewhere in the middle and I never know until the food is supposed to be done...

bmudd14474 · Jan 3, 2012

make sure the batteries are good also.

scarbelly · Jan 3, 2012

bmudd14474 said:
make sure the batteries are good also.

X2 - that was a problem with mine

manman · Jan 3, 2012

Ok, thanks. Batteries are brand new (this was my second use, first one being a dry run with no meat just to get some practice adjusting temperature with vents/water level). They were the batteries that came with it though, I don't know how good the quality is on those.

SmokinAl · Jan 3, 2012

I would switch probes & see what you get like erain said. But sometimes you get a bad probe or unit from the factory. If that is the case I'm sure Maverick will take care of you.

sprky · Jan 3, 2012

I will be following this post, too see what develops. As I want one of these and when I get it I want to know how to fix hiccups.

tiki guy · Jan 3, 2012

I had a smiler problem with mine , HOWEVER I screwed mine up ( I found out later by reading a post a wile ago )

I had washed mine in the sink after use , and the probes got completely submerged in water , after cleaning I dried them off thinking nothing was wrong.

The next time i use it the temps where way off ( low I think it was ) and I knew the temp was hotter . I had a second cheaper model I got a Lowes years ago , popped in new batteries in the old one and saved the smoke .

I went on this site and checked about the use of and care of them, and saw a post about NOT washing them , to only wipe them with a cloth with alcohol or use alcohol swabs I ordered new probs , and that was it ! That was mine issue solved , could be yours ...have ya washed um and got um all wet ?

manman · Jan 3, 2012

Thanks, but no I mentioned in the original post that I had not submerged them or gotten them wet at that point (although I did put the probe tip under cold water after i saw the error just to test it, so I don't know if that will contribute to future errors... I thought that it was ok to get the probe itself wet but not the braided wire, is that not true?

The only thing I've seen that I did which some people say you shouldn't is that I ran the probe wire under the lid of the smoker instead of through the vent. I heard some people say that pinching the wire like that can mess it up, but others say they use it like that all the time and it works fine still.

Dutch · Jan 3, 2012

Whenever I get an electronic gadgit that comes with batteries, I always change out the batteries with new ones. The ones I pull I just toss in a box because I know I'll here "Grumpa-do you have any batteries I can have? These ones are dead."

scooper · Jan 3, 2012

SmokinAl said:
...sometimes you get a bad probe or unit from the factory. If that is the case I'm sure Maverick will take care of you.

What Al said. I had the issue you are describing. Maverick sent me a new probe, no questions asked. The only thing was they were out of stock and it took a few weeks for them to send it.

Todd at Amazen Products sells replacement probes with the 6' wire. I just ordered one of each.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/

bmudd14474 · Jan 3, 2012

I have a set of rechargeable ones that I use for this and when they drain down I see weird stuff. So I just throw then in the 15 minute charger before I start and dont have issues.

SmokinAl · Jan 4, 2012

I have never experienced any problems with any of my therms due to low batteries and would never have thought that that could be a problem. Thanks for the heads up, next time I'll know to check the batteries too. Up until now it's always been the probe going bad or the whole unit itself.

garyinmd · Jan 4, 2012

I have 2 sets of the ET732. I found that when the batteries get low the signal will not get from my smoker into the house where I usually set the remote, changed batteries and they were good to go. They would read fine when the signal would pick back up, just had to set them by the patio door.

Gary

manman · Jan 4, 2012

I never noticed any problems with range or getting the "lll"/"hhh", so I'm guessing It was probe related and not battery... It sounds like Maverick will send me a replacement probe for free which is great customer service, but I hear a lot about people paying for replacement probes as well. How often would people say they are replacing these probes?

Honestly, I wouldn't mind doing that if the product was advertised as having disposable probes that need to be replaced every so often... but it's not. It wouldn't be very happy to learn that I have to spend another 20 bucks in parts and shipping regularly because of a defective design. I never hear about anyone having to buy new thermapen probes or anything like that; that's a solid piece of equipment : P

Anyway, I'll order the free replacement probe and hopefully that works out.

sqwib · Jan 4, 2012

I have had low reading problems with mine a few times, what I have done to remedy this is to unplug the probes and reinsert.

venture · Jan 4, 2012

The only problem I have had with my 732 was a bad meat probe. It is my understanding that the meat probes are being back ordered by Maverick. Does that maybe tell us something?

Good luck and good smoking.

tjohnson · Jan 4, 2012

Venture said:
The only problem I have had with my 732 was a bad meat probe. It is my understanding that the meat probes are being back ordered by Maverick. Does that maybe tell us something?

Good luck and good smoking.

scooper · Jan 5, 2012

Venture said:
The only problem I have had with my 732 was a bad meat probe. It is my understanding that the meat probes are being back ordered by Maverick. Does that maybe tell us something?

Good luck and good smoking.

That's interesting. Cuz when my smoker probe broke, they were on back order.

Maybe they need to have someone else make them, and have them made more durable.

ET-732 issues - how many other people have seen this?

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