Anybody have experience with these thermometers?


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I am a big fan of ThermoWorks products and have their Smoke and a Thermopop thermometer. The "pop" thermometer is very good and has lasted a good long time. I have even purchased a couple more as gifts over the years. I wanted to buy a faster, better Thermapen, but even with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. it still is kind of pricey.

I also own a simple one-probe, non-WiFi thermometer from a company on Amazon called ThermoPro that actually seems pretty well built and has also lasted quite a while. I know they are an overseas knockoff brand, but it does seem like their products garner very good reviews. Their prices certainly are attractive. Does anybody have any experience with any of these?

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07R18W3W1/tvwb-20

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0793MSG7S/tvwb-20

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0793MSG7S/tvwb-20

Sad to say, but you could go through FOUR of one of these before you paid for one ThermaPen. I love to bbq and grill, but I can't say I am a "professional" who just has to have the most rugged and best thermometer. I actually try to be very gentle with mine, and they have rewarded me with good service accordingly. For that reason, a modest priced, attractive and fast thermometer looks very appealing even if I would wish I could justify blowing $90 on a ThermaPen.

Any thoughts from others here?
 
I’m a competent home cook, no interest in serious competition. Don’t need much high dollar equipment, just really good products to grill and or smoke.
 
Cool gadget find guys. Looks like the TP03 has read time 3 to 5 seconds, the TP18 is 3 seconds for $6 more.
TP21 at about $22 is 2 to 3 seconds read time.
How fast you want to go ? Lol
 
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I agree that the thermapen is very pricey, and unless you're doing competition or commercial BBQing, unnecessary for most people.

I'd recommend the Thermoworks 600D or ProNeedle.
https://www.thermoworks.com/Pocket-Digital?tw=VWB&chan=TVWBB
I have an older version, the 600C, and it's great. Reads plenty fast enough for me (3-4s), it's IP67 waterproof, meaning I can drop it in a pot of hot soapy water and let it soak overnight without any problems, very accurate, still haven't replaced the battery after 2.5 years of regular use. Mine was about $23 shipped, but even at the slightly higher price of the newer version, it's still 1/3 the price of the Thermapen Mk4
 
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Jon: I bought this one a little over a month ago. I REALLY like it and the price is right in your range. I would prefer one of the THermoworks MK4's or whatever they are, but I just didn't feel I needed a $75 thermometer. I used to use my Thermoworks smoke remote thermometer but that definitely isn't convienient for simple and quick temp checks.

I do personally recommend this one, but I have no experience with the ones you list, so I can't compare them directly.
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B073KYTWGB/tvwb-20
 
Chris: My guess is that those are made in China anyway. I don't think they really have any special "Weber" quality in them. They likely will take a long time to read and display the actual temp. What you want besides accuracy in these kinds of thermometers is "instant read" or nearly instant read. You don't want to have to open the grill, stick the thermometer in the meat and have to wait 10 seconds and longer for the thing to lock in on the actual temp. Most of the $20 range thermometers should give you a good accurate reading within a few seconds. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it.
 
Buy quality, and only buy once.
My own personal opinion here, but isn’t that the reason we’re all willing to pay more for a Weber grill than a cheaper grill, that can last about 1/4 the life of a Weber? I love my Thermapen, and I love knowing that I’m going to give it to my son in 10-15 years and it will still be working just as good as today.
Again, just my opinion,
Tim
 
Tim,

I think that is good advice overall. I do have to say, though, that when the price is 4X as much it is harder to swallow. I have total respect and admiration for Thermoworks, and the the products of theirs I have bought have all been top drawer. If it was $20 more, well I definitely could see it.

I have also had good experience with ThermoPro. They even have US based support and will give you a 3-year warranty if you register your product. Right now the nicest of the 3 I posted (TP-19 folding, waterproof one) is at a special price of only $21.24.

OP8hMBo.jpg


https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07R18W3W1/tvwb-20

It's hard not to ask for this for Christmas. Do I think it is as good as a Thermapen? No. But, I could literally get one and have three in boxes as back-ups for the price of one Thermapen.

Even Amazing Ribs gives it a very solid review:

https://amazingribs.com/thermometers/thermopro-tp-19-review
 
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Tim K said:
Buy quality, and only buy once.
My own personal opinion here, but isn’t that the reason we’re all willing to pay more for a Weber grill than a cheaper grill, that can last about 1/4 the life of a Weber? I love my Thermapen, and I love knowing that I’m going to give it to my son in 10-15 years and it will still be working just as good as today.
Again, just my opinion,
Tim
Click to expand...

I agree with that for most things however cost effectiveness plays into it too. For me the thermapen at close to $100 just doesn't quite cut it.
 
For home use, it sounds like the ThermaPro will be just fine. Commercial use? Unless it can be calibrated, maybe not.

Having said that, I have an original ThermaPen that's 15+ years old that we cannot kill (in spite of my g/f's best efforts.) I'll use it until it dies, then probably buy another ThermaPen.
 
I have two thermopops that I've had for about four years. Both work perfectly and are fast and accurate. It's all I need but if I was in the market for another for $20 I would try a Thermopro
before spending the money on a thermapen.
 
For a lot of years I got by with Maverick. But I got to a point where I wasn't trusting the readings. I was constantly testing to make sure they were accurate.

Because I put a lot of time and work into smoking meats, I decided to quit trying to get by on the cheap. I spent the money to go Thermaworks and don't regret it.

On the whole, looking at cost of smokers, cost of meats ........... spending more on quality temp gauges is nothing.

I see these guys with offsets, they've spent thousands on them, and them scrimp with one cheapo analog temp gauge. Both cook chamber temps and meat temps are too important, in my book.
 
Jon, that Thermapro looks like a good product at a great price. If I was buying another thermometer, I wouldn't hesitate on that one. I am sure that one will be able to be calibrated just like most of them.
 
I may give that $21 ThermoPro a try. I need a new one anyway my cheapo $1.99 one from Menard's is a little slow and the top keeps coming off. But it is accurate but fast? No. You have to wait a few seconds to get a stable read but still WAY faster than the old mechanical dial ones I used to use and more accurate as well. It has served me well for a few years.
 
I have to chime in and say that the Meater has been a game changer for me. It gives you the temperature inside the meat as well as the ambient temperature (the temp inside the grill) and it does do the bluetooth to an app on your phone. I'm not a big app person, but this one is excellent. It will tell you how much longer until your meat hits its target temperature. This is immensely helpful for prepping sides. I'm going to use it on a full chicken later today (in the kettle) and won't have to open the lid at all. You can also use it on a rotisserie cook, no wires to get all tangled around the spit. It is a little pricey ($60 for the "original" with a 30 foot range for the bluetooth, ~$90 for the new one with 165 foot range) but in my opinion it is totally worth it.

I really like that you don't have to open the lid, on either a charcoal or a rotisserie cook this is huge.

My two cents.

Slainte!

Tim
 
I have a Thermapen Mk4 that I got for under $79 bucks on one of their sales a few years ago. I absolutely love it and always wanted one even my wife loves it as she gave it to me as a gift and basically said really $79 bucks for a thermometer. I had one of their lower end models before and it worked fine guess this is kind of one of those things do I have to have it really I did not, am I happy I got it yes I am so kind of in Tim's camp.

A lot of it depends how often you use it and I use it frequently.
 
I think you can make very good arguments either way. Probably I should just keep using my Thermapop and leave it at that. An easier to use in the grill and faster response does have appeal, though. Especially for just $21.
 
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