Can we talk thermometers?


 

Gary Winters

New member
I am rather new to grilling in general, but loving the journey. I have a Weber 22 kettle, and seized the opportunity to add a used Summit Platinum in pretty good condition to my collection.

At the moment, I have but one thermometer, a Lavatools Javelin, which works fine when poked into the food, but of course to use it I have to raise the lid which allows heat to quickly escape the firebox or kettle.

In watching all the YouTube videos about barbequeing, I'm seeing all sorts of probe thermometers, some of which seem to work with phone apps, and some which don't.

I'm looking for a thermometer solution that would work well with both the kettle and the gas grill (but not at the same time). Maybe something that has two or more probes. Also something that will allow me to measure temps on the grill itself (cooking temperature). That means one device for the grill temperature, and another for the food.

So - which brands/types of thermometers do you good folks use, and what do you like or not like about them?
 
I have used Mavericks for years, about 17 years ago I got my first one. I forget the model numbers, but I've had three of them.

Last summer I bought a Thermoworks Smoke on sale. Its pricier than the Mavs, but its far far better. Its just higher quality. It measures degrees in tenths and has a quicker response time. The probes are far better and I can tell by the construction they will last longer than the Mav probes. Its easier to use, the Mav units have to be turned on in sequence and the first one I had was ridiculous, I had to take the battery cover off the transmitter to turn it on and off.

Thermoworks has a new model, called Signal, that has four probes. Smoke has two. They go on sale periodically. Combine a Smoke or Signal with a Thermoworks Thermopen Instant read , and ya got all ya need.

Thermoworks has the Wifi option, but that's not something I've ever found useful. Some may, IDK.

I just found the model numbers on the Mavs I own, the ET -73 and the ET-732
 
I say Smoke as well. I'd avoid anything bluetooth. I'm sorry but it's just garbage tech unless you can sit by the smoker. The Thermoworks Signals relies on your phone I believe so I'm up in the air on that. I had my Gateway for my smoke stop working because it required a difficult to do firmware update. I'd be fighting mad if I discover that happened right as I'm starting an overnight cook at midnight and couldn't get customer support. Mavericks seem to have some probe issues for me so buy an extra probe if you go that route. The Maverick XR-50 looks awesome, but I have no experience with it. I would go that route if having a lot of probes is important to you.
 
About communication..... if it's advertised as Bluetooth LE or Bluetooth 4.0, with around a 100' range...... That range is under the best of all possible conditions. Here, I got less than 15' through a wall, even with glass in LoS. I sold my iGrill^2 to my manager, he noted the same communications issue, but made better use of it.

WiFi.... may be better, but you also have the IoT issues to consider. Be *VERY* careful about anything that utilizes an external service (my enterprise IT paranoia is showing....) or about punching a hole in your firewall for it.

There are some that have proprietary RF systems, and those vary wildly. I have an old Maverick Housewares single probe remote read that actually works pretty well.

While I haven't used a Smoke or Signals unit, everything else I have from ThermoWorks has been top notch.
 
I second the vote for the Thermaworks Smoke. I have two of them and they are definitely better built than the Mavericks. Further, their customer service is top grade.

I also use the Thermapen but if a person is financially challenged then Thermaworks has the less expensive Therma Pop digital thermometer. It is not quite as fast as the Thermapen (I have both) but does a good job and costs 1/3 as much.

After I started using my digital thermometers with my grills and smokers, my wife, who is an excellent cook, picked up the digital thermometer habit and really appreciates how useful they are on a daily basis...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 

 

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