Maverick ET-73 update


 
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Dale Nichols

TVWBB Super Fan
I got my thermometer in the mail and used it for my first pork butt Sunday. Everything worked fine like it was supposed to, except the on/off switch
on the reciever would not turn the unit off. I called Darren at Maverick and he is sending another one to me. I told him the food probe and smoking chamber probe wires could be longer. The food is 36" and the smoking is 24". All in all I am pleased with the product. There number is
732-417-9966 if anybody needs it.
 
My maverick came UPS today... Looking forward to trying it this weekend.. I'll try it out and give a report...
I'm smoking a ham... Can't hardly wait to get started ... I've got my buddies convened that smoking meat is extremely difficult and a precise activity requiring high intelligence and years of experience... I just forgot to mention that even a guy like me can learn enough to do a fairly good job just following the advice of the highly intelligent and extremely experienced members of this room... LOL.. What a hoot... !!!

Cheers !!!

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Almost had a heart attack Saturday. Was in Linens-n-Things, and from afar I could see Redi-Chek (Maverick) thermometers hanging on the wall. Once I got close I realized they were just regular single probe models, ET-8, I think. Bummer.
 
Although the reports and comments on the ET 73 have been very favorable (Mine included). It still is to be seen how well this modle will hold up over the long run. Will the probes last and maintain accuracy after many usages and cleanings. Will the transmiter really withstand some moisture (rain)? And how much battery life is there in real ussage? Although I love my thermometer ...It aint over till its over!
Jim
 
The first ET73 I got from thegadgetsource.com was broken. The small plastic screw that holds the "battery door" on the transmitter was broken, so the door wouldn't stay shut.

I had a GREAT customer service experience when I called thegadgetsource's customer service #. They shipped me a new one the same day I called, with a postage paid return sticker. The new one arrived three days later.

I'll be giving the ET73 its first workout on Friday when I do three butts for a party on Sunday.
 
I used mine virtually for 2 days straight last weekend. The first cook was my 3 brisket smoke for 16 hours. All went well. The second cook was in a big (6x8) grill, cooking 90lbs of spares. I used both probes as cook chamber temp guides. Again, everything went without a hitch. It rained for about 2 hours during the 6 hour cook, and the transmitter got drenched. No problems. I guess nothing exciting to report is a good thing. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
I used my Maverick this past Saturday and have mixed reviews of the product? The base unit seemed to work fine. I had no problems setting it up and it checked out on the ?boiling water? test to be quite accurate. However, I could not get the remote unit to recognize the base unit?

The remote unit would turn on and blink, but would never show the temperature of the base unit ... I could set the high temperature and the low temperature range and set the timer, etc. but never did get the unit to read the base unit temperature?

I turned the base unit on first and then turned the remote unit on ( within 60 seconds ) ? the remote unit would turn on and beep?The temperature line for the food and the smoker would both start blinking, however the temperature degrees never did appear?.

Am I not doing something that is necessary to turn the remote unit on or is it broken? Any body have a suggestion?

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Bill
IF Im following what you wrote correctly,
the base unit = the transmitter and the remote =the receiver.

You need to turn the receiver on first(remote),
then within 60 seconds turn on the transmitter(base).

I found it doesnt work if you turn on the transmitter first. If that doesnt work I would say to call maverick or the gaget store and get them to replace it. I hope this helps.
Jim
 
Thanks Jim..

I try it one more time and if it does not work send it back...

Cheers!!!

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Oops .. Ok .. I found my problem... The "TX" button has to be pushed with both units on...

(I may be getting a little too old for this new electronics stuff..) LOL... /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif But ain't it fun..!

It seems to be working now...

Thanks..

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
The little thumbscrew that holds the battery is definatley a bad design but the damn thing worked well. Interested to see how many 12-16 hour cooks we'll be able to get from one set of batteries!!
 
I used mine on a 6 hour cook Sunday and noticed a few hiccups in the communications between the transmitter and receiver. I had the receiver on my kitchen table, about 10 feet from the transmitter which was on the patio and through a sliding glass door. I noticed it wasn't updating as often as the transmitter was.

I could look out the window and see that temp for the smoker was 3 degrees higher, and the meat 1 degree higher than I was registering on the receiver. After a few minutes without any intervention it seemed to re-sync and the 2 matched again, but I did see this behavior at least a half a dozen times throughout the cook.

Even after powering down both units and restarting, this behavior would occasionally continue.

I guess its possible there's some sort of interference, but I can't seem to pinpoint what it might be.
 
My original set of batteries has about 26 hours of cook time on them so far. Mine has also seemed to "stick" on a temp for a few moments a couple of times. One time was when I went out of range. The other was after the receiver had been sitting for 30+ minutes; after I picked it up, it corrected itself.
 
Well, I've used my Maverick on 4 cooks now. On cook 2 I lost tranmission with the remote about the halfway point, I thought I might be more than 100 feet away (big house)so I reset it and forgot about it. On cook 3 I lost transmission twice and had to reset twice, never being more than 30 feet away, thought I might be the batteries that were sent with the unit, so I changed them. Cook number 4 yesterday, my grate probe shorted out...it had rained during cook #3, and again I lost transmission halfway through even with the new batteries. Spoke with Darren at Maverick about the probe (the other problem hadn't occurred yet) and I need to send him the probe back and it will be replaced. I will call today and let him know about the other problem. When it works, I absolutely love it.
 
Okay, I spoke with Darren, and I am sending the unit back for replacement. He thought all WSM's had handles on the side for placement and that the front door knob and top handle might be generating too much heat, he will have to do some checks with the unit.
I also discussed with him the pain in the butt button on the transmitter door, and how possibly this could be modified on future models.
He did tell me something I didn't know. You can set up the unit indoors and then just plug in the probes once the unit is up and running. I had been setting up the unit outside with the probes already plugged in. This will make the pain in the butt button problem less of an issue.
Hoping I'll have my new unit by the weekend. The manuel Trend works great but the Maverick has me spoiled...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Randy Parr:
[qb] Okay, I spoke with Darren, and I am sending the unit back for replacement. He thought all WSM's had handles on the side for placement and that the front door knob and top handle might be generating too much heat, he will have to do some checks with the unit.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Knob and handle generating heat? /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif I've never been burned by either-- I thought being heat resistant was the point.
 
I've had great results with the Mav 73 for 3 times in a row now (smokin thighs on the Weber kettle), no problems. Food and kettle temps were accurate (I have another probe on the kettle, and used an instant-read thermo on the meat), didn't have any lost transmission problems from about 50 feet away (from cooker to my coffee table whilst watching Emeril). /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

I hang my transmitter on the lip of the kettle, haven't had any problems with that, and that was with kettle temps of ~350, although the top of the xmitter is getting a little smokey colored. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

Gonna try a full run with it on my new WSM this Saturday on my first rib attempt.

P.S. Yah, the design to get to the on/off switch on the xmitter is the only part of the design that could definitely use improvement. /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Knob and handle generating heat? I've never been burned by either-- I thought being heat resistant was the point. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I didn't think it was a problem either, and told Darren that I checked the back-side of the unit and didn't sense any significant heat. I think he's trying to figure out why I'm losing transmission.
He asked me if there were any obsticles in between the transmitter and the remote.
I said "You mean, besides the HOUSE?" /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
I'm still confused. Are you saying he's guessing there's a problem with heat from the WSM affecting the transmitter? Are you somehow mounting the transmitter on the WSM itself?
 
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