Looking for Thermometer recommendations

[shames]

Hello everyone I'm new to smoking and recently purchased a Weber Smokey Mountain.

I'm looking for two thermometers.

One for sticking into the top vent to just monitor the temp inside.  Something I can leave in and will be able to withstand the heat etc.

The second I'm looking for I guess is an instant read for checking the meat.

I think the instant read should be digital but the first one can be dial style.

No wireless or fancy digital craziness needed.  Looking for cheap but durable and decent.

Any recommendations of specific models or even just brands to get me started would be great.

Thanks and I look forward to learning as much as I can from all the knowledgeable people here.

 

[davidhef88]

Maverick 732 et. Used by many on here. I just got one fOr fathers day and love it. You can get one from amazin smoker products. A great sponsor of this forum. You can find him on the right side of the screen.

 

[shames]

Hi David thanks for the reply!

I've seen this recommended here a lot however I see many mixed reviews.

I realize it is a sponsor of these forums however I was looking for something more simple and low tech without all the bells and whistles

I suppose a regular leave-in-oven thermometer with a long probe and a standard instant read meat thermometer are all I need but I'm wondering if there are certain brands people tend to use over others.  Like Taylor or Polder

 

[gofish]

Here is a cheap and pretty good (from my experience) instant read:


As far as the dial gauge goes, Tel-Tru therms are very accurate.  They may not be the low cost alternative, but they are very reliable.  

Based on what you  have asked ... I would advise that the temp at the dome of the cooker will be very different than that of the temp of the grate you are cooking on.  Maybe get an oven temp gauge that sits on your rack also and check the difference between your dome therm.  They are cheap and pretty accurate.  
As mentioned above ... constantly monitoring the meat temp of your meat may help you as you go.  This has been a helpful device to me as well: http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MAVET-732

(although a bit more costly than you mentioned, its nice to work with because it measures the bbq grate pit temp and internal food temp at the same time)

 

[shames]

I was considering a standard oven therm to leave on the grate but I thought then to look at it I would have to lift the top off each time and would be losing heat each time just to see if the temp was holding or not.  I'm not sure if this is a big deal or not as I'm very inexperienced but I would think this would be detrimental to the process. 

Ideally one therm that could sit on the grate and one to leave in the meat as it cooks that reads onto one digital screen would be great but I'm just not totally sold on the Maverick model and it is also very expensive.  I'm thinking a candy therm with a longer probe that will let it sit closer to the grate and then a standard instant read would be the easiest way to go. 

 

[diggingdogfarm]

I have several of the small Cooper dial pocket thermometers that I use, even as a monitor in one of my smokers, as you described.
They are calibratable and a bargain, Sam's Club did have a 2 pack of them for around $7, but I haven't seem them there the past few times i've visited. At other places they're about $5-7 a piece.

~Martin

 

[gofish]

I was considering a standard oven therm to leave on the grate but I thought then to look at it I would have to lift the top off each time and would be losing heat each time just to see if the temp was holding or not.  I'm not sure if this is a big deal or not as I'm very inexperienced but I would think this would be detrimental to the process. 

Ideally one therm that could sit on the grate and one to leave in the meat as it cooks that reads onto one digital screen would be great but I'm just not totally sold on the Maverick model and it is also very expensive.  I'm thinking a candy therm with a longer probe that will let it sit closer to the grate and then a standard instant read would be the easiest way to go. 

Have you 'Googled' this yet?  I am not sure if there'd be a price difference in cost or shipping to Canada.  Here is another brand that fits your description: $28.38 USD


I am not questioning the above brand ... I've never used it. But it sounds like your mind is made up.  I am not a fan of the silicone coated probes because I have never had good longevity from them.  I have spent so much money on crappy thermometers in my day that I could have bought 4 of my dream therm's.  Eventually you're going  to get what you pay for.  It sounds like you appreciate a quality smoker, and quality meats ... quality thermometers (Maverick or not) will get you to quality food output a lot sooner.  

An oven therm at grate level will not cause you to have to open your Weber every time you want to monitor the temp.  Your WSM should have a therm in the hood.  Once you believe you get the unit up to a steady temp, you will be able to see the temp of both readings when you open the lid for the first time. Then you'll be able to establish a correlation between the two and therefor not open the lid every time you need to monitor the temp.  Your stock therm may be 30/40* off, but you'll know to know what the difference is.  Constantly poking your meat with an instant read may drain a lot of juices that you would ideally like to retain.  If you are only going to use an instant read, i would recommend only checking the temps toward the end of the cook.

 

[tjohnson]

I have several of the small Cooper dial pocket thermometers that I use, even as a monitor in one of my smokers, as you described.
They are calibratable and a bargain, Sam's Club did have a 2 pack of them for around $7, but I haven't seem them there the past few times i've visited. At other places they're about $5-7 a piece.

~Martin

I was gonna suggest these too....

We have them at our local SAMS

I cut a deal on some Maverick ET-705's and ET-2216's fro Maverick

ET-705 is very simple, single probe and wireless = $19.99

ET-2216 is very basic, not wireless and only $9.99

No matter which thermo you settle on, test it for accuracy, but placing it in ice water and boiling water

Good Luck!

TJ

 

[shames]

Hi Martin

I actually already have one of these but wasn't sure if it was safe to put it into an oven/smoker for long periods of time as I thought it was only for checking internal temps of proteins and even then it takes like 15 seconds to get an accurate reading.  However if you say these are safe to put into the smoker then  I will give it a try!

GoFish:

I was actually coming onto here to ask about these :D

Do you have experience with these type of therms?  Are they accurate and are the probes/wires safe to leave in a smoker for long cooks?  I'm always paranoid it's going to melt or what not haha

Yes the WSM has a therm on the hood and yes you are totally right about finding the correlation in temp differences b/w the hood therm and one on the cooking grate.  I'm just concerned that other weather factors may throw this off on any given day so even if I do find a correlation it may not always  be correct. 

I recently came into a small amount chunk of change I've dedicated to BBQ so I think I'm going to get a variety of therms.

A standard oven/candy therm and perhaps this Polder GoFish posted or one of these Maverick's TJohnson suggested.

I will continue to do more research

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Hi Martin
I actually already have one of these but wasn't sure if it was safe to put it into an oven/smoker for long periods of time as I thought it was only for checking internal temps of proteins and even then it takes like 15 seconds to get an accurate reading.  However if you say these are safe to put into the smoker then  I will give it a try!

I test their accuracy frequently and haven't had a problem.

~Martin

 

[gofish]

GoFish:

I was actually coming onto here to ask about these :D

Do you have experience with these type of therms?  Are they accurate and are the probes/wires safe to leave in a smoker for long cooks?  I'm always paranoid it's going to melt or what not haha

Yes the WSM has a therm on the hood and yes you are totally right about finding the correlation in temp differences b/w the hood therm and one on the cooking grate.  I'm just concerned that other weather factors may throw this off on any given day so even if I do find a correlation it may not always  be correct. 

As stated above, I have not used that last brand ($28 Poder ? I think).  I have used the silicone coated probe wires and they never lasted as long as my braided wire probes.  The silicone probes were accurate until something caused them to stop working.  It sounds like you will try everything on your own and find what fits your style best.  

I would not be overly concerned with weather effecting the WSM therm and its correlation to the grate temp.  What ever happens to that WSM therm, due to weather, will be happening  to the grate temp as well. ( High winds will possibly cause a fire to burn hotter - if using a grate therm and the dome therm, they will both  rise because of the weather conditions.)  

You have a great cooker that will maintain steady temps, but there will be temp fluctuations as you coals burn down on a long cook.  This is expected on a long cook and will not cause any problems.  After a good bit of practice you will be able to light your fire and set your vents by sight to obtain the pit temp you desire with out worrying too much about a temp probe.  You'll just know.   

 

[sqwib]

2 of these

one for chamber the other for food.

 

[thebarbequeen]

I'm a big fan of thermoworks products, you don't have to spend the bucks on a thermapen to get a fast reading probe, check out their options. I also use their oven probe therms, and have 2 of their infrared, one has a k-type probe so it can do double duty as infrared, for surface temps,  and an instant reading therm. for IT.  I also love their big, loud timers. You can order directly from their website.

 

[mike fitz]

+1 on ThermoWorks products, especially the meters with interchangeable K probes. They have every type of probe you might need including some designed for smoking and smoker air temp probes. There's a nice dual probe setup with probed (meat and air temp) but they're out of stock at the moment.

 

[mike fitz]

FYI, the dual channel model w/ alarm is back in stock, I bought one yesterday so I don't have to keep changing the probe on my Therma 3 between the smokehouse probe and the smoker temp probe. Plus it has min/max to keep an eye on temp fluctuations.

 

[countrycookin]

Have you 'Googled' this yet?  I am not sure if there'd be a price difference in cost or shipping to Canada.  Here is another brand that fits your description: $28.38 USD
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AY6UH8/ref=asc_df_B000AY6UH82079160?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B000AY6UH8&hvpos=1o3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=50240672279760350&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=

I am not questioning the above brand ... I've never used it. But it sounds like your mind is made up.  I am not a fan of the silicone coated probes because I have never had good longevity from them.  I have spent so much money on crappy thermometers in my day that I could have bought 4 of my dream therm's.  Eventually you're going  to get what you pay for.  It sounds like you appreciate a quality smoker, and quality meats ... quality thermometers (Maverick or not) will get you to quality food output a lot sooner.  

An oven therm at grate level will not cause you to have to open your Weber every time you want to monitor the temp.  Your WSM should have a therm in the hood.  Once you believe you get the unit up to a steady temp, you will be able to see the temp of both readings when you open the lid for the first time. Then you'll be able to establish a correlation between the two and therefor not open the lid every time you need to monitor the temp.  Your stock therm may be 30/40* off, but you'll know to know what the difference is.  Constantly poking your meat with an instant read may drain a lot of juices that you would ideally like to retain.  If you are only going to use an instant read, i would recommend only checking the temps toward the end of the cook.

New to the forum and looking for an alternative to the Maverick 732. I've read many many bad things about the probes and seen your comment about " dream thermometers" wondering if you might share your wish list. I've tried three different digital thermometers and they don't hold up much more than a couple of years with moderate use. I don't care to spend a little more for an accurate, dependable and tough unit. I've looked at the igrill by apple and not really impressed. Look forward to your list!

 

[countrycookin]

Thanks for your reply. As it happens, I received a Maverick 732 for Christmas. I put some shrink tubes around the leads over lapping the probs and thermometer an inch. I've only used it once, time will tell.

 

[beernuts]

I like the idea of using shrink tube on the leads. I might have to try that.

 

[jirodriguez]

Been using my trusty old single probe Maverick (73's?), for 3 years now, same probe & wires as when I bought them. Check em once or twice a month and they are within 2 or 3 degrees of each other and read correct when tested in boiling and ice water.

If you look at the bottom of my post you will see a link to my WSM mod for putting some lamp rod eyelets  in the main body of the WSM. This lets me put my probes in and still remove the cover without disturbing the therms.

 

[countrycookin]

Don't see the link, but it sounds like a good idea. I ended up buying the Maverick ET-732, so ar so good. Please repot the link if you would please and thanks!