Highly disappointed in ET-73

[flyinion]

Got it on Friday from Amazon, tested in ice bath and was right on.  Figured out today 1/2 way through a smoke both probes read about 20-30 degrees high at temp.  My previous probe I was using for air showed about 260 after I got done messing with stuff while the ET-73 was reading 290's.  The meat probe registered 79 on a piece of meat that was 59 just after putting on.  This thing is a piece of junk and going back.  Looks like I'm saving for one of the thermapen sets.

 

[nivekd]

I've got the 73 and it works great...not a piece of junk...send yours back.

 

[bmudd14474]

I think you just got a bum one. I would suggest giving the ET-732 a try. Its better than the ET-73

 

[woodcutter]

I believe ice can very in temp, it will freeze water at 32 but can also be colder . The only steady temp you can test it at is 212. I live in Wisconsin and the ice is still here when it is -20 and I assume it is colder that 32.

 

[fpnmf]

[h2]How do I calibrate my thermometer?[/h2]
Again, the answer depends upon the requirements of the presiding health department or quality control agency. Many organizations, including corporations, require lab calibration of thermometers for professional use. ThermoWorks maintains a fully operational NIST-Traceable lab that can provide Certificates of Calibration at multiple points traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (contact us at [email protected]  or ask for the calibration lab at 1-800-393-6434 or 801-756-7705).

While it is true that the most definitive test of a thermometer's calibration follows at least a 3-point method, the use of aproperly made ice bath  is a widely used test in the food industries and is recommended by the USDA and other agencies.

The most common error in an electronic temperature sensor is a shift in the base electrical value which can be seen in an ice bath test. If a digital thermometer has been once calibrated successfully at other temperatures, and it can be shown to read accurately in an ice bath thereafter, then the likelihood that it reads correctly at other temperatures is greater.

From Thermo works..makers of the fastest thermopen..the blue one!!

http://www.thermoworks.com/faq/#GeneralFAQ

 

[kryinggame]

The BBQ temperature on my ET-73 is always way off. I've gone through 4 different probes checking it and it usually averages at 340 degrees. Here's the problem, I use it in my MES smoker and have it set at 225!!! The MES can only get to 275 degrees, there's no way in heck that the ET-73 is correct in saying that the internal temperature of my MES is an additional 115 degrees from where, I've set it.

The food temperature probe is always spot on.

(here comes the arguments)

 

[flyinion]

Yeah I'm not interested in trying to get probes replaced and play that game.  Weird thing is right before the ribs were done, after I'd removed the tri-tip, and taken my ribs out their foil and back on the rack my smoker had cooled off a bit and the ET-73 air probe was reading only about 2 degrees higher than my "trusty" one at about 214.  I'm going to do a boiling water test on all my probes before I see about sending this back just to be sure of what's going on, however my separate Polder "instant read" confirmed what my trusty meat probe was reading when I pulled my tri-tip off.  I'd already planned on getting a thermapen instant read, maybe I'll be tossing one of their BBQ probe setups on my Christmas list.

edit:  The ET-73 also updates way too slow for my taste.  Literally 20 feet away on the other side of a sliding glass door and sometimes it wouldn't update air temp for a few minutes.  Not good when I was having some (I thought) spike issues.  The sending unit would say one thing and the remote another, then finally they'd sync up.  Other times it would seem to update quite often, Very inconsistent.

 

[kryinggame]

So, what's your trusty thermometer?

 

[flyinion]

Well, "trusty" was a pair of Oneida probe thermometers backed up by a Polder instant read.  So, I just did some testing and found some interesting results.  First I checked each probe to see where they started registering temp to get an idea of where the sensor is sitting (have read some cheap ones will have the sensor farther up the shaft).  

My Oneida ones respond very quickly when touching the angled tip.  The meat probe for the ET-73 was most sensitive there as well, though slower to react.  However, the ET-73 would register temp change pretty well up to 3/4 of an inch from the tip.  Not as fast but quick enough that temps that far up are probably affecting it.  My Oneida probes would register a temp change there but very very slowly.  

The air probe I figured out registers temp well up the short probe.  So I think the problem with the air probe might have partly been I did not have it inserted far enough through the metal clip the ET-73 comes with and maybe if the grate and probe metal were hotter than the actual air it was heating up the probe.  

I'm still not sure why I had a 20 degree difference when I inserted one of my Oneidas and the ET-73 into the same spot on a tri-tip literally within 5 minutes of removing from the fridge and putting on the smoker.  The Oneida was registering around 59, the ET-73 started at 77 and was climbing fairly quickly.  I had them in the bottom rack of the WSM so I had the probes in from the top and these tri-tips though 3lb "standard" were a bit longer and were thinner at the max thickness so maybe that higher up the probe sensitivity was throwing it off and inserting from the side would be better next time.

My final testing tonight was doing a boiling water test since I'd already done the ice bath test as per the Thermapen video.  The Oneidas and the Polder were all at 211.  The ET-73 registered 217 on both.  I can of course deal with a 5 degree variation, but that variation that I was seeing during a smoke was just crazy and stressed me out.  Guess I'll learn not to use new equipment when smoking for a group of friends/family.

Anyway, so now I'm not sure what to do.  Return the unit, or keep it and see if I can figure out the apparent placement quirks in the probes.  I guess the bonus is that I was probably smoking really low and slow lol (and would explain my odd vent settings I was running on the WSM).

 

[bmudd14474]

Id return it and get the ET 732. The 732 they fixed the range problem you mentioned earlier.

 

[davidhef88]

I haven't had a problem with my 732. Also has great range. Both tested out at 212 in the boil test.