Best Thermo to buy??

[Dave Brewer]

Bill,
The insulation on the wires I have are good to 400 deg. f. I don't stick the wires in until the meats are past halfway done. The wires go in easily then.
Paul,
The thermocoulpe wire has a connector that plugs into the thermometer itself. You might have seen a module that you can use if you have a digital voltmeter. The module probably converts the very small voltage from the thermocouple to a larger voltage that a voltmeter can use. If you own a voltmeter, you can save yourself the cost of the thermometer and just buy the module.
db

 

[Jim Minion]

I use analog to monitor pit temps and a Thermapen to check meat temps. Polders and such I have found to be to unreliable, break down too often and at bad times.
The wireless units I found to be useless at competitions cause you end up reading someone else pit temps too often.
Jim

 

[Paul K]

Jim, I'm inclined to go your route. I'm pretty sure I've exposed my probes to excessive heat and fried them. I use an analog for the smoker and currently using an inexpensive Taylor digital probe for a brisket I have on right now. I'm not going to leave the probe in; just monitored the temps a few times. Going with the high temp method. Now that I've hit 170 and foiled, I'll just check for proper tenderness and not worry about the temp.