I have a 4.X heatermeter I think. It was built 3-4 years ago. I have the et-72 and et-732 probes and they are so finicky it drives me nuts. Specifically, the fact that if you push them in too far into the plugs they wont work. Plus the probes are erratic when plugged in. Maybe my heatermeter is just not working well anymore. The only plug that works consistently is the pit probe. I gave up today and went old school and I am using my Redi Check long wireless monitor.
Probes driving me nuts! Does the 4.3 design have better probe plugs?
- Thread starter Jason J
- Start date
Chris D Norton
TVWBB Member
Same design for mine. Buy thermoworks they fit better
John Bostwick
TVWBB Wizard
The plugs on the Et732's are longer then any other type of probes and can be a hassle. But once theyou are pushed in they should be fairly stable, even if you are moving the Heatermeter around, I never had an issue with them.
Also, Maverick probes in general go bad very quickly and sometimes for no reason at all. All it takes is a bit of water or to hot of a temp and they are toast.
Thermoworks ChefAlarm pro series of probes are so much better then Mavericks and cheaper.
Also, Maverick probes in general go bad very quickly and sometimes for no reason at all. All it takes is a bit of water or to hot of a temp and they are toast.
Thermoworks ChefAlarm pro series of probes are so much better then Mavericks and cheaper.
Thanks. I just ordered 4 of the Pro probes. Hopefully this helps out.
RalphTrimble
TVWBB Diamond Member
I think you will like the TW-Pro probes better...
Also, HM versions prior to 4.2 didn't have the RC filters on the probes. This makes the probes much more finicky, like dropping off at room temp for no good reason etc...
If your HM is older perhaps you should verify the version, the power plug location and existence/placement of the CAT5 jack on the HM board are a good telltale for HM version number. If your HM doesn't have the RC filters you can add them for next to nothing if you are willing to do some minor surgery. Here is a link to a thread showing how to add the RC filters to HMv4.0 and HMv4.1 boards.
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?50543-HMv4-0-to-HMv4-1/page3
The thread is about modding the blower driver circuit on older HM boards to match the current configuration and adding the RC filters as well.
Also, HM versions prior to 4.2 didn't have the RC filters on the probes. This makes the probes much more finicky, like dropping off at room temp for no good reason etc...
If your HM is older perhaps you should verify the version, the power plug location and existence/placement of the CAT5 jack on the HM board are a good telltale for HM version number. If your HM doesn't have the RC filters you can add them for next to nothing if you are willing to do some minor surgery. Here is a link to a thread showing how to add the RC filters to HMv4.0 and HMv4.1 boards.
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?50543-HMv4-0-to-HMv4-1/page3
The thread is about modding the blower driver circuit on older HM boards to match the current configuration and adding the RC filters as well.
John Bostwick
TVWBB Wizard
You would benefit from upgrading to the 4.2, as the 4.0 is probably causing some of the issues you are seeing.
John Bostwick
TVWBB Wizard
I do make them for people, although my last 4.3 board is taken. I would need to order new boards. All my boards are customized to work with an adapter board.
Okay i got the new probes. They fit so much better. No more fiddling to get them just right. Only problem is I cannot thread them through the pass through I installed in my WSM, bu I can deal with that. What do I have to do to get them to display the correct temp on the HeaterMeter? I am probably way behind on software on the HM also.
Dave Smith
TVWBB Super Fan
when you have the homepage up, scrol down to bottom, configuration, and change probe types to TX something....can't remember exact at the moment, then hit save.
thanks! They work great until I slid it into some brisket. The probe keeps going from 50 to 0 and back and forth. If it's sitting in the smoker, it reads correct and never cuts out at 225. I tried with another probe using same port and other ports and the same thing happens.
Anyone else have this issue or know why this is happening?
RalphTrimble
TVWBB Diamond Member
The HMv4.0 did not have the (very simple) RC filters on the probes, so the probes were inherently more noisy on those boards than v4.2 and above. Still, the probes should be more stable than you report, particularly ThermoWorks probes.
Since we're talking about an old HM (v4.0?) my first question is, did the unit work properly in the past and this problem crop up later? Or was this HM never working properly?
In general the tips for flaky probe readings are as follows:
Make sure the probe jacks and the few components between the probe jacks and the ATMega are soldered well.
Clean away excess flux on the above components using alcohol (or a flux away product) and a soft brush.
Since this is an older HM perhaps you have corrosion on the contacts of the probe jacks?
Finally, you can add the RC filters to your HM fairly easily which will remove noise from the probes, it's just one resistor and one capacitor per probe. There is info in this thread about doing that to a HMv4.0 and v4.1
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?50543-HMv4-0-to-HMv4-1/page3
Since we're talking about an old HM (v4.0?) my first question is, did the unit work properly in the past and this problem crop up later? Or was this HM never working properly?
In general the tips for flaky probe readings are as follows:
Make sure the probe jacks and the few components between the probe jacks and the ATMega are soldered well.
Clean away excess flux on the above components using alcohol (or a flux away product) and a soft brush.
Since this is an older HM perhaps you have corrosion on the contacts of the probe jacks?
Finally, you can add the RC filters to your HM fairly easily which will remove noise from the probes, it's just one resistor and one capacitor per probe. There is info in this thread about doing that to a HMv4.0 and v4.1
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?50543-HMv4-0-to-HMv4-1/page3
Thanks for the reply. Yes, This is a version 4.0. Also haven't updated software in years.
I never had reading issues with other probes, just connection at the socket issue. This is my first time using the pros. I am using the pit droid android app and I kept getting alarms that probes were not connected. Once temps of the brisket got over 85 or so, they started working without losing connection. Interesting.
RalphTrimble
TVWBB Diamond Member
Without the RC filters many probes will drop off at room temperature, I suggest you add the resistor and capacitor of the RC filter, it WILL fix this issue for you.
John Bostwick
TVWBB Wizard
Yep, at room temps the older heatermeters had issues. Your best best is not set a low temp alarm on the probes. You know whaterver you are smoking is going to get hotter, as long as the pit temp is at where it shjould be at, so no need to know it's 50° or even 100° unless you are cold smoking