Maverick ET-733 thread

[damnthatsgood]

It's like programming a digital watch from decades ago.  If the unit came with no instruction manual whatsoever, you can still figure it out in just a few minutes by pushing buttons.  Once it's set for say...brisket, and you want to do brisket after brisket, it's going to turn on and be set for that EVERY TIME.  The only time you need to change a setting is when you want to raise and lower temps.

Sure, it's not the simplest thing out there.  But it isn't even in the same ballpark as difficult.  It's not like you have to break out the manual every time you turn it on.  Basically you turn the dang thing on, stick the probes in the meat, and be done with it.  Have everything up and running in about 30 seconds.

I'm not going to mention Bearcarver's name, but the fact that it is more complicated than a 732 doesn't make it a bad unit.  More features always means more complications.  Okay, maybe not always, but most of the time.

Don't hate me, Bear!!!  LOL.

 

[daricksta]

 
It's like programming a digital watch from decades ago.  If the unit came with no instruction manual whatsoever, you can still figure it out in just a few minutes by pushing buttons.  Once it's set for say...brisket, and you want to do brisket after brisket, it's going to turn on and be set for that EVERY TIME.  The only time you need to change a setting is when you want to raise and lower temps.

Sure, it's not the simplest thing out there.  But it isn't even in the same ballpark as difficult.  It's not like you have to break out the manual every time you turn it on.  Basically you turn the dang thing on, stick the probes in the meat, and be done with it.  Have everything up and running in about 30 seconds.

I'm not going to mention Bearcarver's name, but the fact that it is more complicated than a 732 doesn't make it a bad unit.  More features always means more complications.  Okay, maybe not always, but most of the time.

Don't hate me, Bear!!!  LOL.

Mine luckily came with the written manual. I'm old, tired, lethargic, forgetful and just plain lazy so I need to have that manual in front of me. Programming isn't very intuitive. You've got to remember which button to push in which order, and how long to press the button. You only have a few seconds to press buttons to enter a setting and if you tarry a mite too long the unit sets itself where you are. You have to start all over again with pushing buttons in the right order and in the allotted time. That's when I have to again refer to the manual.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Mine luckily came with the written manual. I'm old, tired, lethargic, forgetful and just plain lazy so I need to have that manual in front of me. Programming isn't very intuitive. You've got to remember which button to push in which order, and how long to press the button. You only have a few seconds to press buttons to enter a setting and if you tarry a mite too long the unit sets itself where you are. You have to start all over again with pushing buttons in the right order and in the allotted time. That's when I have to again refer to the manual.

My Ears were ringing again!!!

Exactly what Rick said, and I'd bet he's better at it than I am.

You should see me when I have to change the batteries in my Weather Station with 3 remote therm transmitters.

I have to change the batteries in all of them within a short time, and in the right order. Then I gotta reprogram everything. It's 12 hours off right now, because I don't want to redo the whole thing again, just to fix the AM/PM thing.

I can get all the temps & Humidity answers I want without having the AM-PM right !!!

That's why when I bought a second therm a couple months ago, I got another ET-732. Now I got 2--a black one & a white one!!

Everybody gains from my ignorance, after all that's why I make my Step by Steps so easy to follow.

Bear

 

[bigred77]

Used my 733 for the first time in my big pit this weekend,  did a couple of runs in the little electric before, but the big one is where this thing really shines, IMO.

Note: this is my first wireless thermometer

Was freaking awesome to be able to go about my day around the house with the receiver in my pocket and easily know that the pit temp was starting to fall a bit or climbing too high and go make corrections.

Brisket came out very good from being able to watch the temp the whole time so easily, just did a double check with the manual dial probe when she hit the stall and I wrapped it up.

I honestly cant believe I have been doing it so long with only the door mounted thermos for monitoring pit temps and my little hand probes for checking meat.  I love this thing

 

[damnthatsgood]

When I was younger, I remember older people struggling with electronics and what not.  I promised myself I would never let that happen to me.  Here it is now, I'm only 33, and when I have to set up a new electronic device, I rummage through the instructions just enough to get the damn thing to work, and then I pray the power doesn't go out.  When I finally bought a smartphone, if any settings get changed, it's like: "Aww crap!!  I wonder if it would be easier to just go buy a new one?"

Thank God for Google, that's for sure.  You should see me when the power goes out, and I have to fix the receiver for our surround sound...not pretty.  What the Hell happened???

 

[boxmaster]

Mine is Red and came with only one clip too.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
When I was younger, I remember older people struggling with electronics and what not.  I promised myself I would never let that happen to me.  Here it is now, I'm only 33, and when I have to set up a new electronic device, I rummage through the instructions just enough to get the damn thing to work, and then I pray the power doesn't go out.  When I finally bought a smartphone, if any settings get changed, it's like: "Aww crap!!  I wonder if it would be easier to just go buy a new one?"

Thank God for Google, that's for sure.  You should see me when the power goes out, and I have to fix the receiver for our surround sound...not pretty.  What the Hell happened???

LOL-----Now take that 33, and double it----That's me--A 66 year old Bear.

I don't even have a cell phone any more:

My Son gives a phone to everyone who works for him, including me.

Then when he didn't have any more work I could do, he told me to keep the phone anyway.

Then a year later he took it away from me----Saying, "Dad, you only put 7 minutes on it in a year----I'm giving it to a new guy".

Bear

 

[daricksta]

 
My Ears were ringing again!!!

Exactly what Rick said, and I'd bet he's better at it than I am.

You should see me when I have to change the batteries in my Weather Station with 3 remote therm transmitters.

I have to change the batteries in all of them within a short time, and in the right order. Then I gotta reprogram everything. It's 12 hours off right now, because I don't want to redo the whole thing again, just to fix the AM/PM thing.

I can get all the temps & Humidity answers I want without having the AM-PM right !!!

That's why when I bought a second therm a couple months ago, I got another ET-732. Now I got 2--a black one & a white one!!

Everybody gains from my ignorance, after all that's why I make my Step by Steps so easy to follow.

Bear

Thanks for the kind words, my friend. I find changing settings on the ET-733 frustrating but dang if it's gonna get the better of me! It's a challenge and I hang in there until I've beaten that thing into submission. After that it's just a matter of monitoring the smoke from anywhere inside my house until it's done.

 

[frog1369]

 
When I was younger, I remember older people struggling with electronics and what not.  I promised myself I would never let that happen to me.  Here it is now, I'm only 33, and when I have to set up a new electronic device, I rummage through the instructions just enough to get the damn thing to work, and then I pray the power doesn't go out.  When I finally bought a smartphone, if any settings get changed, it's like: "Aww crap!!  I wonder if it would be easier to just go buy a new one?"

Thank God for Google, that's for sure.  You should see me when the power goes out, and I have to fix the receiver for our surround sound...not pretty.  What the Hell happened???

 
LOL-----Now take that 33, and double it----That's me--A 66 year old Bear.

I don't even have a cell phone any more:

My Son gives a phone to everyone who works for him, including me.

Then when he didn't have any more work I could do, he told me to keep the phone anyway.

Then a year later he took it away from me----Saying, "Dad, you only put 7 minutes on it in a year----I'm giving it to a new guy".

Bear

Cell Phone!  Receiver!  Surround Sound!  Power!  Electronic Devices!  What are these evil things you speak of?  Bear's got me beat by seven years and I work in a technology job, I can't keep up with these young rascals coming to work here. My kids can text faster than I can talk and some of my grand-kids have better phones than I do.  Daughter called on day and wanted to know if I would help her set up her Kindle.  I told her to wait another hour until her five year old daughter got home, she would know how to get it set up and get it on the wi-fi network.  Sure enough, handed it to her and about ten minutes late she had an Amazon account set up and was on line through their wi-fi connection.  It's all I can do to post on boards like these and pretend to keep up a Facebook presence.  I did buy an ET-733 though, it was too good a deal to pass up. like Bear said, now I got me four probes.

  

 

[daricksta]

 
When I was younger, I remember older people struggling with electronics and what not.  I promised myself I would never let that happen to me.  Here it is now, I'm only 33, and when I have to set up a new electronic device, I rummage through the instructions just enough to get the damn thing to work, and then I pray the power doesn't go out.  When I finally bought a smartphone, if any settings get changed, it's like: "Aww crap!!  I wonder if it would be easier to just go buy a new one?"

Thank God for Google, that's for sure.  You should see me when the power goes out, and I have to fix the receiver for our surround sound...not pretty.  What the Hell happened???

I'm 63 (how the hell did that happen?) and in my younger days when I moved to a new place the first thing I did was set up my stereo. We've been in our current house for 14 years now and I hope never to move but if we had to I wouldn't be able to set up our TV and sound system without the manuals. It's a matter of plugging what into where and calibrating the video and audio for the room.

This is why I hate my kids. My 25 yr old daughter's got an HTC smart phone and my 21 yr old son has a Samsung Galaxy S5 and right out of the box those two were texting and downloading and calling and everything while I'd still be reading "Congratulations on your new smart phone purchase" in the owners manual. And I'm a PC Tech! Not surprisingly, the wife and I both have dumbphones since all we need our cell phones to do is to make/receive calls and text.

 

[damnthatsgood]

 
I'm 63 (how the hell did that happen?) and in my younger days when I moved to a new place the first thing I did was set up my stereo. We've been in our current house for 14 years now and I hope never to move but if we had to I wouldn't be able to set up our TV and sound system without the manuals. It's a matter of plugging what into where and calibrating the video and audio for the room.

This is why I hate my kids. My 25 yr old daughter's got an HTC smart phone and my 21 yr old son has a Samsung Galaxy S5 and right out of the box those two were texting and downloading and calling and everything while I'd still be reading "Congratulations on your new smart phone purchase" in the owners manual. And I'm a PC Tech! Not surprisingly, the wife and I both have dumbphones since all we need our cell phones to do is to make/receive calls and text.

The only reason, and I mean THE ONLY REASON I got a smartphone, is because I went in to get a new phone (my old one about had it), and there were only two normal phones there.  I figured by the time I came in again, smartphones would be the only thing offered, so might as well bite the bullet now.  LOL.  Of course if I hadn't I would have never discovered Clash of Clans, but hey, that's a topic for a whole other thread...speaking of which, my phone just dinged, I think I'm being attacked!!!

 

[daricksta]

 
The only reason, and I mean THE ONLY REASON I got a smartphone, is because I went in to get a new phone (my old one about had it), and there were only two normal phones there.  I figured by the time I came in again, smartphones would be the only thing offered, so might as well bite the bullet now.  LOL.  Of course if I hadn't I would have never discovered Clash of Clans, but hey, that's a topic for a whole other thread...speaking of which, my phone just dinged, I think I'm being attacked!!!

I think you need to get into phone phishing or whatever they call it when you route your phone call 'round the world so it can't be traced. In that way in Clash of Clans you would be a lethal, ever-moving "phantom menace".

The wife and I would love to get better phones since your dumb ones are like 2-3 years old and we hate them but no one sells quality dumb phones anymore. Financially we're kind of stuck because, being dumb parents, we pay for most of my daughter's phone bill (she pays for her data plan and any overage fees)and all of our son's. The daughter started a full-time job this year and most likely next year she'll split off onto her own plan. Our son's a full-time college student so we're handling his phone costs until he graduates and finds work. So someday when we're free of yoke of helping our children out financially we'll get our phone upgrades.

 

[rabbithutch]

OK, I have used the ET-733 twice now and been frustrated by it each time. It took me forever to get it set up before use. Each time I was smoking pork butt in the 22.5" Weber kettle. FWIW, I used the snake of charcoal briquettes around the perimeter of the grate with wood chunks for smoke flavor about a third of the way around from the start and placed a drip pan under the meat. I hung the #2 probe under the meat at the center of the grill - not over hot coals - to read the "barbecue" or smoker temp and placed the #1 probe in the meat. I turned on the receiver and then the transmitter and sync'd them without any problems, then it hit the fan.

I struggled to get the receiver probe 1 in the correct mode for pork. I bet I tried 15 times carefully following the example instructions in the sheet that came with the thermo. I was finally able to get it to say FOOD and PORK but was unable to change the HI temp limit. Its default was 160. I couldn't change it. Probe 2 HI and LO settings were at a default of 200 low and 250 high; so that worked OK because the WK came up to 200 pretty quickly. I was never able to change the SET HI temp for probe 1. Because I was °taking the smoke to an IT of 200° the alarm beep started at 160° (the default setting I couldn't change) so I turned the receiver off. As I posted in another thread, I had to finish this butt in the kitchen oven because I ran out of charcoal; so I could keep an eye on the Probe 1 temp and took it out at 201°. All in all I found this a very unsatisfactory experience.

First, the steps to setting it up should be prompts,for choices and should not require the user to remember the key pressing sequences. Second, the term "Barbecue" should be changed to HEAT or some other term. Where I come from, 'barbecue' means food - not just food but Holy Manna from Above. Mavericks use of that terminology is confusing to those of use who think of something to eat rather than the temperature of the cooking environment.

In reading the above, can anyone suggest what I was doing wrong that I could not get the temps changed for either probe? When they said to hit the SET button quickly, they sure mean it.

I'm going to try to reach Maverick customer service later in the week. If I do, I'll report back here.

:grilling_smilie:

 

[dr k]

OK, I have used the ET-733 twice now and been frustrated by it each time. It took me forever to get it set up before use. Each time I was smoking pork butt in the 22.5" Weber kettle. FWIW, I used the snake of charcoal briquettes around the perimeter of the grate with wood chunks for smoke flavor about a third of the way around from the start and placed a drip pan under the meat. I hung the #2 probe under the meat at the center of the grill - not over hot coals - to read the "barbecue" or smoker temp and placed the #1 probe in the meat. I turned on the receiver and then the transmitter and sync'd them without any problems, then it hit the fan.

I struggled to get the receiver probe 1 in the correct mode for pork. I bet I tried 15 times carefully following the example instructions in the sheet that came with the thermo. I was finally able to get it to say FOOD and PORK but was unable to change the HI temp limit. Its default was 160. I couldn't change it. Probe 2 HI and LO settings were at a default of 200 low and 250 high; so that worked OK because the WK came up to 200 pretty quickly. I was never able to change the SET HI temp for probe 1. Because I was °taking the smoke to an IT of 200° the alarm beep started at 160° (the default setting I couldn't change) so I turned the receiver off. As I posted in another thread, I had to finish this butt in the kitchen oven because I ran out of charcoal; so I could keep an eye on the Probe 1 temp and took it out at 201°. All in all I found this a very unsatisfactory experience.

First, the steps to setting it up should be prompts,for choices and should not require the user to remember the key pressing sequences. Second, the term "Barbecue" should be changed to HEAT or some other term. Where I come from, 'barbecue' means food - not just food but Holy Manna from Above. Mavericks use of that terminology is confusing to those of use who think of something to eat rather than the temperature of the cooking environment.

In reading the above, can anyone suggest what I was doing wrong that I could not get the temps changed for either probe? When they said to hit the SET button quickly, they sure mean it.

I'm going to try to reach Maverick customer service later in the week. If I do, I'll report back here.

:grilling_smilie:

I don't have the ET-733 but have been reading up on this model since it came out. It sounds frustrating. I'm kinda surprised that Maverick uses the word bbq for cooking chamber since bbq is a cooking method and the food cooked with this method is called bbq. It should be called pit, pit temp, grill temp, smoker temp etc.
-Kurt

 

[Bearcarver]

This is why I now have 2 ET-732 !!!

Bears don't need extra BS-----Just give me the temp of the smoker & the temp of the meat-----No setting required.

Turn 'em on, put 'em in position-----Done!

I don't sleep when my Smoker's going, so I don't use the alarm.

Bear

 

[boxmaster]

Try and see if u can find a youtube video to help rather than having someone explain. Try and play with the 733 as much as u can inbetween cook, while watching tv ect. The more u play with it the better u will get. 

 

[roscoe 2]

My 733 should be delivered tomorrow.  I'm about to hit 70yrs so it may take me a few weeks to get it programmed.  I may be going dark.

Roscoe

 

[timberjet]

 
This is why I now have 2 ET-732 !!!

Bears don't need extra BS-----Just give me the temp of the smoker & the temp of the meat-----No setting required.

Turn 'em on, put 'em in position-----Done!

I don't sleep when my Smoker's going, so I don't use the alarm.

Bear

I'm with Bear on this. All I need to know is the temps. Now if it had internet connectivity and a good easy interface for my phone or pc I would love that. Programming any of them is a pain.

 

[daricksta]

OK, I have used the ET-733 twice now and been frustrated by it each time. It took me forever to get it set up before use. Each time I was smoking pork butt in the 22.5" Weber kettle. FWIW, I used the snake of charcoal briquettes around the perimeter of the grate with wood chunks for smoke flavor about a third of the way around from the start and placed a drip pan under the meat. I hung the #2 probe under the meat at the center of the grill - not over hot coals - to read the "barbecue" or smoker temp and placed the #1 probe in the meat. I turned on the receiver and then the transmitter and sync'd them without any problems, then it hit the fan.

I struggled to get the receiver probe 1 in the correct mode for pork. I bet I tried 15 times carefully following the example instructions in the sheet that came with the thermo. I was finally able to get it to say FOOD and PORK but was unable to change the HI temp limit. Its default was 160. I couldn't change it. Probe 2 HI and LO settings were at a default of 200 low and 250 high; so that worked OK because the WK came up to 200 pretty quickly. I was never able to change the SET HI temp for probe 1. Because I was °taking the smoke to an IT of 200° the alarm beep started at 160° (the default setting I couldn't change) so I turned the receiver off. As I posted in another thread, I had to finish this butt in the kitchen oven because I ran out of charcoal; so I could keep an eye on the Probe 1 temp and took it out at 201°. All in all I found this a very unsatisfactory experience.

First, the steps to setting it up should be prompts,for choices and should not require the user to remember the key pressing sequences. Second, the term "Barbecue" should be changed to HEAT or some other term. Where I come from, 'barbecue' means food - not just food but Holy Manna from Above. Mavericks use of that terminology is confusing to those of use who think of something to eat rather than the temperature of the cooking environment.

In reading the above, can anyone suggest what I was doing wrong that I could not get the temps changed for either probe? When they said to hit the SET button quickly, they sure mean it.

I'm going to try to reach Maverick customer service later in the week. If I do, I'll report back here.

I do indeed hate how difficult Maverick made it to program the ET-733. I have the same problem every time so I always have the owners manual in front of me. But I'm the type of guy that just grits his teeth and keeps with it until the settings are in place. I've got no choice because I already spent the money on it. Besides, once it's set up the ET-733 works great.

Keep in mind you don't have to program the ET-733 to use it. If you already know your smoker set point and your target I/T for the meat then all you need to do is reset the receiver and then  monitor the Barbecue and Food temp displays. You won't get your alarms but you can still manually monitor your smoke.

 

[wade]

I am getting very strong recommendations from people whose opinion I trust (and who resell the Maverick devices) that it may be best to hold back for the time being before you decide to buy. They seem to work fine with iPhones but currently have a problem with other operating systems (including Android). Maverick are apparently working on this but it may take some time to smooth out all the glitches. The order for my units is currently on hold until the problems have been fixed.