Digital thermometers

[joel75]

After reading wades review on the callow,and buying one!..thought I better buy a digital thermometer,which is a good one for smokers?..

 

[sotv]

I personally own the Maverick ET-733 but it is a lot money for what it is (over £50) but it does all I need it to do and easy to programme and is more accurate on temperatures, than the inbuilt probe on my ProQ.

Some of the ThermoPro models £25-£35 on Amazon (depending on the model) seem well reviewed by customers who have bought it off there, which is always a good guide to the quality of a product I find.

I prefer wireless receiver thermometers as you can just put the probes through the probe holes on your smoker and if you trust the remote/receiver then you can sit in the lounge, go back to bed  or go about your daily business and just listen out for the alarm if the temperature drops etc. Without keep going out to check on it manually.

You can even get some remote probes that pair up to your iphone/android via bluetooth now, using an app, but the reviews have been very indifferent on them from what I have read so far.

You can buy manual ones for the meat only for well under a £10, but you have to keep lifting the lid to check it, and as the internal heat from the charcoal, seems to be of more concern to you then a remote one may be better? that keeps an eye on both the meat and the internal temp of your smoker.

p.s. The probes on my Maverick are 6ft (they sell longer ones) but 6ft is the minimum length I would want on a probe personally just so I can position the remote on a table/chair a distance away from the actual smoker. Although you can attach the remote directly to the smoker if you wish, with some models.

 

[wade]

The ET-733 is a good themometer but if you want to pay less then the ET-732 is also very good and can be bought for about £40. They can be difficult to find these days though. 

Soon to be released is a new WiFi enabled dual probe thermometer from Thermadata (ETI) which will also do real time temperature logging too. I am currently awaiting an evaluation unit from ETI to review. It is more aimed at the professional market though and will be more expensive - ~£170 including probes.

I too would recommend the ET-733 if you are prepared to pay for it. It is robust and tried and tested and the wireless range is very good. It is not restricted to the BBQ either. I also use it whenever I cook in the kitchen oven too. You will then discover that the temperature settings on your oven are not as accurate as you assumed and how much oven temperatures fluctuate during a cook.

The three thermometers on the left are ET-732s and the one on the right is an ET-733

Thermometers.jpg

• wade
• Jan 12, 2016

ProQ with thermometers.jpg

• wade
• May 28, 2016

 

[joel75]

Thank you all..

 

[molove]

If you want something that just tells you the temperature with no bells and whistles, Ikea do one for £7

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/...thermometer-timer-digital-black-art-20103016/

 

[wade]

That will certainly do the trick. You could buy 2 to get both probes. One thing to watch out for though is the connection of the probe to the lead.

Capture.JPG

• wade
• Mar 21, 2017

Capture2.JPG

• wade
• Mar 21, 2017

You will probably want to put some heat resistant shrink tubing around the joint as this is a common place for these probes to fail. 

 

[joel75]

Brilliant advice,I could get used to this!..I have ordered the Et-733..

 

[wade]

Here is a good summary of the best available wireless thermometers. The #1 slot is taken by the Ivation Long Range thermometer which is a rebadged ET-732

 

[joel75]

Hi Wade, thanks for the usefull video, I have an Et-733 on the way!..

 

[wade]

Great article John. Thanks.

 

[olypenaaron]

Thanks for posting all this useful info about probes. I have been looking for a replacement and these types of details make it so much easier to decide!

 

[GaryHibbert]

I have an ET733. Just me saying, but I HATE it. I find it a real PITA to program. Every time I used it I had to dig out the instructions. Too many steps invilved for an old man like me.
So I retired it.
I just bought a Thermiworks Smoke. It's extremely easy to program--takes about 30 seconds. Right iut of the box I boil tested it. Both orobes were under 1 degree F off temperature. The range between the smoker and the receiver is a good 40 ft better than the ET733. It's also a lot sturdier than the Maverick.
Unfortunately it's also pricier. Don't know what it wiulds be in pounds, but I paid $99 US for it. IMO it's worth every penny.
Gary

 

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

Inkbird IBT-2X Wireless Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer Barbecue Timer + Dual Probe Stainless Steel Waterproof Sensor for Grill, Ofen, Smoker (IBT-2X BBQ Thermometer + 2 Sensor)
I just bought this, I'll update when I've had a good test of it.

 

[dl8860]

Is there a thermometer widely available which can connect to WiFi and be used in conjunction with an app on Android or iOS? I find it annoying sometimes having to carry my chunky thermometer receiver around with me during a long cook if I'm busy with other things around the house, and it would be really convenient to have access on my phone.

This would also mean you could monitor temps whilst away from home, which would be very useful.

 

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

You could very easily do that with an Arduino, probably cost about £40 for the stuff, absolute maximum, and a bit of programming jiggery pokery.

What are you going to do when your temps drop and you're 15 miles away though? :)

 

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

https://arduino.stackexchange.com/questions/615/how-can-i-sense-very-high-temperatures-with-arduino

 

[homeruk]

i bought the maverick one with the bluetooth connection to the phone..biggest waste of money going IMO pain to use, pain to setup if you can get it to set up at all, spend most of the time trying to get it to work..bought the thermopro ones and had no problem at all..have a few of them now and never had a probe failure even tho they offer lifetime guarantee on them, maverick just sits in the drawer as thats all its fit for
thermopro is half the price of the maverick too!

 

[homeruk]

just picked up one of these on the amazon prime day offer for £29 with 6 probes, been playing with it..setup straight away no fiddling, reconnects automatically when you open the app again, neat idea for probe cable storage, find my probes can be like getting the Christmas tree lights out of the loft in tangles, range seems good..in fact so far cant fault it! and for the money gotta be a winner!