New guy gets a new thermometer


 
Bradley Mack

Bradley Mack

TVWBB Super Fan
Greetings all,

So after a few days of research I settled on a thermometer that gives me the ability to monitor the ambient temperature of my WSM 18.5, as well as whatever I have on the smoker. I would have been comfortable with something that’s had 2 probes and a grill clip and used batteries, but I came across this:

ThermoPro TP-25:

  • Available on Amazon
  • Comes with 4 colour coded probes
  • Uses Bluetooth
  • Uses an app on your phone instead of a receiver
  • Does not require batteries, but is rechargeable
  • Has a few thousand positive reviews
  • Priced at $75 Cdn. (So, that’s like $3 for our American brothers and sisters. 😉)
Now since I am in Canada, I wasn’t too eager to order from a U.S. site as our conversion rate is terrible for the Canadian dollar. I’ve previously been using their thermpro pen with instant read and have been very happy with it, so I figured “why not”? I just received it about 5 mins ago, so here’s a few unboxing photos for your viewing pleasure.

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Here’s hoping it’s a decent unit. (*I have no affiliation with this company*)

**Update** - Had all 4 probes and the thermal pen in a glass of hot water poured from our water cooler. (Not boiling but quite hot.) All measured at 143 °F, and fluctuated by 1-2 degrees as the probes were touching each other. As soon as I seperated them, back to 143 °F. The app probably took less than 2 seconds to pair with my iPhone.

Anyone else have experience with this one?
Brad.
 
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I'd be quite interested in seeing how the advertised range actually is (hint: I'd suspect you can at least drop a zero...) and how well it stays connected.
 
I hope you like it, I have had the Thermopro TP-08S for over a year now and it has been rock solid. I don't have a single complaint. OK maybe one, the size/length of the meat probe can be a little of a pain to fit under the hood with a big piece of meat and my little WSM 14. I don't think it will be as much of an issue with the WSM 18. If you use the grommet when you are done cooking and moving towards clean up, do not try to pull the probes out by the cord, push them out from the inside. Early on I pulled one apart while trying to remove it this way and felt like a total idiot. I contacted the company and they sent me a free replacement even when I told them what I did.
 
Bradley -- I had a ThermoPro 2-probe model that worked great. It did everything I wanted/needed -- except for not being able to have an option to add an ATC fan.

So I recently had to switch over to a ThermoWorks Smoke X so I could add a Billows ATC fan. Had I known that I would eventually become an ATC-er, it would have been better/cheaper to go TW from the beginning.
 
Jim C in Denver said:
Bradley -- I had a ThermoPro 2-probe model that worked great. It did everything I wanted/needed -- except for not being able to have an option to add an ATC fan.

So I recently had to switch over to a ThermoWorks Smoke X so I could add a Billows ATC fan. Had I known that I would eventually become an ATC-er, it would have been better/cheaper to go TW from the beginning.
Click to expand...

I hear you. I looked at the Thermo works site and their discounts seemed attractive, but then converting to Canadian currency, it was still quite expensive. Chris made a very good point in one of his videos that new WSM users are very quick to accumulate mods and gear, which is great, but don‘t stop and learn how the WSM works by itself first. That point made a lot of sense to me. I like the idea of the billows, but not yet. Right now I‘m just interested in learning to control temps, and really just enjoy the WSM for what it is. Mind you, that aluminum door is atrocious. I splurged for the Cajun bandit with latch. I’m waiting for that to arrive.
 
JKalchik said:
I'd be quite interested in seeing how the advertised range actually is (hint: I'd suspect you can at least drop a zero...) and how well it stays connected.
Click to expand...
I’m interested in this myself. While I’m not going to hold my breath on 450 ft, that is close to about 1 city block. We have a community mailbox that’s about half a block from my house. I’m going to see if it stays connected being that far away, since I can’t imagine roaming 1 block from my house while using the WSM. We’ll see what happens. Stay tuned. #ForScience
 
I tried a competitor's product a few years ago, with a long advertised range. I discovered on first use that the range from the grill into my house was less than 1/10 of the advertised range (metallic siding.)
 
Well that was fun. 450 ft, I think, would be in ideal conditions with no interference of any kind. I set up the unit in my back yard on my deck.

Present weather conditions:

  • Winter
  • Night, some fog
  • -4 ° C ( 24 ° F )
  • Typcial suburban neighbourhood
Distance from my deck to the end of my driveway is estimated at about 100 ft. I made it about 2/3 of the way up the street. So, by my math I was about 100-125 feet short of the advertised distance before the phone lost contact with the unit. (300-350 would be more accurate in this instance, which isn’t too bad at all.)

The good news is you could go about 4 houses down for a beverage with a neighbour and still be able to monitor your smoker. Your individual results may vary of course, but around the house, watching the game, washing the car in the driveway... you should be good to go.

Brad.
 
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Bradley Mack said:
I’m interested in this myself. While I’m not going to hold my breath on 450 ft, that is close to about 1 city block. We have a community mailbox that’s about half a block from my house. I’m going to see if it stays connected being that far away, since I can’t imagine roaming 1 block from my house while using the WSM. We’ll see what happens. Stay tuned. #ForScience
Click to expand...
So I do not have the Bluetooth version just the receiver, but I have taken it on many of walks and it is funny because I now know exactly where I loose reception and where I regain it and it is right at a city block. I don't know what the range is advertised to be, but it is pretty standard on every walk we take no matter the direction we go.
 
You might get 450 straight line, unobstructed distance. But any thing between the thermometer and receiver, to include a bush, wall, car, fence or anything is going to degrade reception considerably.
 
I am very impressed by both the Maverick temperature control/monitor and the Thermoworks smoke. Both have really good range and ability for the signal to get thru the walls of my home. The Maverick is a bit less combersome to use and cheaper, and is really easy on batteries. I only bought the Thermoworks smoke for the Billows upgrade.
 
I have the Smoke and love it. It goes the length of my home and through 4-5 walls to get to me in my office at the other end of the house. It will disconnect occasionally but reconnect immediately. I love it.
 
I'd love to hear some more long term feed back on this TP25. I was looking at it earlier this week and it had positive reviews overall but there were enough horror stories bout the unit disconnecting from your phone every time the phone went to sleep to scare me away from pulling the trigger.
 
Gib Gibson said:
I'd love to hear some more long term feed back on this TP25. I was looking at it earlier this week and it had positive reviews overall but there were enough horror stories bout the unit disconnecting from your phone every time the phone went to sleep to scare me away from pulling the trigger.
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I can’t say for certain but I think that software has since been updated. There are other factors that can lead to disconnects, such as a weak wifi signal, not updating the app, local interference, etc.
So far I have zero complaints. I do lock my phone when it’s not in use, but haven’t noticed any disconnects from the phone to the thermometer.
 
Pretty sure that this unit works via Bluetooth, not WiFi. I too read the multiple reviews about the app on your phone disconnecting from the temp probe when your phone goes to sleep, or you close the app...that was also enough to scare me away from buying this one for now.
 
I've had several Mavericks and none have lasted very long which prompted me to buy the ThermPro TS-20S. It's the 2 probe RF model. Out of the box, the probes did not agree in free air so I did the ice water / boiling water test. Probe 1was right on and probe 2 was not even close so I returned for exchange. The second unit I received tested great, both probes within 1 degree at 32* and 212*, just what I expect. The range is also very good. The unit uses RF instead of Bluetooth. With the cooker in my back yard, I can walk across the street and have a brewski with the neighbor and not loose connection.
 
When a buddy of mine who got me into bbq saw that I was using those oven thermometers that you stick into the meat, he gave me an Orthex Gastromax thermometer. Nice gesture and a fun little device, but unfortunately it was broken after only one use...

So after a long search online (for those interested: the Thermoworks Smoke x2, x4 and Signals, as well as the much cheaper Inkbirds were also in the running) I treated myself to a Maverick XR-50:

bdc7497b2ddcf9c640a48646ba598441.jpg

The first test today with a brisket on the WSM was very successful, robust stuff, easy to use and you can set high and low alarms that take the worry out of it completely. Highly recommended!

That said, I am curious about the TP25: I did not see it before. Let us know how you get on with it, please!
 
MorrisWesterik said:
When a buddy of mine who got me into bbq saw that I was using those oven thermometers that you stick into the meat, he gave me an Orthex Gastromax thermometer. Nice gesture and a fun little device, but unfortunately it was broken after only one use...

So after a long search online (for those interested: the Thermoworks Smoke x2, x4 and Signals, as well as the much cheaper Inkbirds were also in the running) I treated myself to a Maverick XR-50:

View attachment 22995

The first test today with a brisket on the WSM was very successful, robust stuff, easy to use and you can set high and low alarms that take the worry out of it completely. Highly recommended!

That said, I am curious about the TP25: I did not see it before. Let us know how you get on with it, please!
Click to expand...
Looks similar to the Thermopro TP27.
 
Rick W said:
Looks similar to the Thermopro TP27.
Click to expand...
Wow: that looks really good: I saw the thermopro stuff (although not this one, I have to say) on the european Amazon, but none of the BBQ thermometers were in stock. Would definitely have considered that TP27, otherwise!
 
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