Question: digital meat thermometer

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

luv2craftginny

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 8, 2013
19
10
Which one is the best to have????  I just had a meat thermomet and used it, not the digital.

thanks

Ginny  
 
The Maverick ET-732 is preferred by many on this forum. It has two probes to monitor both the internal temp of your meat as well as the temp inside your smoker while you are cooking. Also it has a wireless remote with various programmable alarms. These sell for around 60.00 and can be purchased from amazenproducts.com as well as other retailers.

Thermapens from thermoworks are also quite popular and give a super fast reading. However, they are not designed to constantly monitor while cooking. These sell for about 100.00

Don
 
thank you for the answer, the smoker itself is digital and tells us the temp of the inside of the smoker, but it does not hurt to have two.

Ginny    
 
Ginny, you didn't say what smoker you have, but if it is a masterbuilt they are known to run hotter than the display. Some have said as much as 30 degrees. Mine runs about 20 degrees hotter than indicated. I wouldn't trust any brand without some verification. Get the maverick, it's money well spent.

Don
 
Maverick ET-732. I have 3 of them at the moment and they are very reliable. The remote range is at least 250 ft which is great too.
 
Just because your smoker has digital readout doesn't mean its accurate. Mavericks are very accurate and reliable and have the added benefit of the remote monitoring without having to camp out next to the cooker.
 
Even so they do need to be calibrated. I check mine every couple of months by putting them in ice and boiling water. I have had a couple of probes go bad after being used extensively. The probes are easy and cheap enough to replace on the very rare occasions that happens.
 
Ginny, it is a guy thing.

He who dies with the most toys wins!

Collecting thermometers is an OCD thing.  Never know when one or two might go out?

Don't ask how many I have?

Good luck and good smoking.
 
oh how funny, well I only ordered one, my  hubby dearest really likes the idea of how this one works.

Ginny
 
 
Ginny, you didn't say what smoker you have, but if it is a masterbuilt they are known to run hotter than the display. Some have said as much as 30 degrees. Mine runs about 20 degrees hotter than indicated. I wouldn't trust any brand without some verification. Get the maverick, it's money well spent.

Don
That's interesting. I have only compared my Masterbuilt therm to a cheapy grocery store bought oven therm that broke after the 3rd smoke, but my MBuilt XL was consistently off by 50-75 degrees too high on the reading.

So it read 300, but was only at around 225-235. Food took HOURS longer to cook til I got that figured out. Thought I was doing a butt at 250 and instead I'm treading water at 125 or so.

Now? All set and works beautifully.
 
thanks for the info on this, we have a Masterbuilt 20070213.   You don't have to open the door to add the wood chips so that is good, the salmon was done early, we checked it, about 2 hours from the recipe, figured my might have been thinner or something, and guess what the new Maverick thing today, so next time cooking guess we shall really figure it out.

It came so fast from Amazon.   I am confused, you mention the probes, is this in the cooker or on the thermostats, sorry if I sound so dumb.

Ginny  
 
Ginny
That model number is a generation 2 mes with the front mounted controller that is notorious for lack of good temp control. They can be off by as much as 40 degrees or more. And, be advised, the right side of that smoker cooks about 20 to 28 degrees fasterthan on the left. As for the probes.... those are the temp sensors that you use to monitor the chamber temp and the meat temp with the maverick. Its going to help you a lot with maintaining accurate smoker temps and getting correct internal meat temps for finishing at the right time. You'll be smoking like a pro in no time.
 
Last edited:
 
That's interesting. I have only compared my Masterbuilt therm to a cheapy grocery store bought oven therm that broke after the 3rd smoke, but my MBuilt XL was consistently off by 50-75 degrees too high on the reading.

So it read 300, but was only at around 225-235. Food took HOURS longer to cook til I got that figured out. Thought I was doing a butt at 250 and instead I'm treading water at 125 or so.

Now? All set and works beautifully.
Sorry about that confusion. I was referring to other's comments on this forum and my personal experience with the masterbuilt digital electric smokehouse. I have no experience with their propane fired models nor have I read up on them. I have read on here that most analog thermometers that come installed on smokers or grills are inaccurate and should not be trusted. Glad you got yours figured out.
 
Last edited:
 
thanks for the info on this, we have a Masterbuilt 20070213.   You don't have to open the door to add the wood chips so that is good, the salmon was done early, we checked it, about 2 hours from the recipe, figured my might have been thinner or something, and guess what the new Maverick thing today, so next time cooking guess we shall really figure it out.

It came so fast from Amazon.   I am confused, you mention the probes, is this in the cooker or on the thermostats, sorry if I sound so dumb.

Ginny  
Ginny, I assume your question regarding probes refers to Wade's comment about them going bad occasionally? If so, I'm pretty sure he was referring to the probes that come with the Maverick unit. They do fail occasionally but are available separately and are relatively cheap. Do not immerse them in liquid and handle gently and they will last a good while. As he suggested, you should test them every few months or so with boiling water / ice water to confirm their accuracy.

Happy smoking.

Don 
 
 
Ordered today Wade from Amazon.   Is there a reason to have 3 of them?????

Ginny
I sometimes use several smokers together and I often have several different things cooking. They all cook at different rates so I use multiple thermometers. 
 
 
Ginny, I assume your question regarding probes refers to Wade's comment about them going bad occasionally? If so, I'm pretty sure he was referring to the probes that come with the Maverick unit. They do fail occasionally but are available separately and are relatively cheap. Do not immerse them in liquid and handle gently and they will last a good while. As he suggested, you should test them every few months or so with boiling water / ice water to confirm their accuracy.

Happy smoking.

Don 
The thermocouple at the very tip of the probe is usually fine but but the weak point of the probe is usually where the probe joins the flexible cable. This part is inside the BBQ/Smoker and over time the seal will degrade. Usually this will result in total failure of the probe but sometimes it can result in spurious or inaccurate temperature readings. Calibrating just checks the accuracy of both the thermocouple and the cable. Another way to calibrate (but not as accurate) is to bring your kitchen oven up to a specific temperature and check the probe in there - Of course you will have first had to check that the thermostat on the oven is accurate.

Some folks put a bit of electrical heat shrink sleeving over the join to protect it however I have not tried this yet.

 
Last edited:
thank you printed this out for hubby dearest.  I let him know the things I ask, and get the answers too, you are all so much help.

Ginny
 
Already have a meat temp. digital, need a smoker temp one...any recommendations

?
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky