Frustration with Searwood probes


 
J

Justin P

TVWBB Member
I purchased a Searwood 600 right before Thanksgiving, used it on a couple cooks to get the hang of it, and it performed marvelous. After my second or third cook, one of the 2 probes went wonky, and the temp jumps all over the place when plugged in. 60-400-150-380-80 just randomly all over the map. I assumed I got the probe to wet cleaning it, and used extra caution when cleaning the working one. No submerged washing, just soap and a quick rinse on the probe tip only to keep moisture away from the cord and connections. Last night I cooked a tri-tip and planned to use the one good probe. I plugged it in, and it’s doing the same thing. Anyone have this issue. What did I do to kill them.
 
Hmm. Definitely reach out to Weber. The fact that you have two that have gone wonky makes me think it might be something in the grill's HW or SW.
 
Does this happen when plugged into both ports or only one of them? My first few cooks I used only 1 probe but I've now used both and noticed that they are anywhere between 6 and 10 degrees different in temp. For my next cook I'm going to make sure I know when one I have in which port and then swap them for the second cook to figure out if it is the probe or the port. It would have been nice if Weber included the colored rings for the probes like they did with my iGrill.
 
@Brian-WI
I tested both probes in both probe sockets. both wonky in both positions.

@JimK
Yeah, I’ll call Weber this week. I thought I would check with the group here to see if this is a common issue or something isolated to me.
 
I got a Searwood about that same time. I used the probe for the first couple of cooks.

It didn’t jump around like you describe, but I found it to be inaccurate by several degrees when compared to my Thermapens.

Today, I removed the Weber probe from the grill and boxed it up. I will just spot check with Thermapen or use my Typhur Gold wireless thermometers. They give you the temp of the meat, the temp inside the grill, and the time until the meat will hit the target temp. They are spot on with my Thermapens so far, so I think they are accurate.
 
Check the probe port. I had a few weird readings with my Smokefire EX6 probes in port #1 but not in the other ports.
Took a can of compressed air and gave it a quick shot.
Let that sit for awhile and problem was solved. IDK if it was moisture or dust, a small bug?
A small mini vac would work.
I do wish that they would make probes interchangeable, compatible for different makes.
 
Yep, occasionally I get this weirdness happening on both my Members Mark and Big Z. Squirt a bit electronics and contact cleaner in there, work the plug in and out bingo! Works like new again
 
Years ago I used to want/expect my wires to be bright and shiny after every use.
And I was going through several probes a year.
Now I wipe them down carefully with a damp paper towel with a mix of vinegar and water that we keep on the kitchen counter for general cleaning. This cleans off most of the stuff. Then I wipe it down with the small alcohol prep pads that I normally use on my instant read probes. Sometimes it takes 1 and sometimes 3-4 to clean the wire and probe. The alcohol also helps the previous vinegar/water mix evaporate faster. Has really extended the life span of my wired probes.
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