Thermoworks Super fast Thermapen vs infrared combo thermometer


 
M

M Rose

TVWBB Member
Hello all,

So a friend gave me the thermoworks infrared combo thermometer that seems to work ok but it doesnt have anywhere near the stellar reviews as the superfast thermapen. I noticed the superfast thermapen is on sale for $74 and was wondering if it would be money well spent to make the change? Thanks for the insight!
 
Yes. I paid $15 more for mine. You won't regret it. I went back and forth in my head whether the cost for a $90 thermometer was justified. Trust me, it is. ;)
 
M Rose said:
Hello all,

So a friend gave me the thermoworks infrared combo thermometer that seems to work ok but it doesnt have anywhere near the stellar reviews as the superfast thermapen. I noticed the superfast thermapen is on sale for $74 and was wondering if it would be money well spent to make the change? Thanks for the insight!
Click to expand...

I agree that it is fast and reliable, but if your combo works well and you are 100% satisfied with it..... wait, they will go on sale again.

Mark
 
M Rose said:
Hello all,

So a friend gave me the thermoworks infrared combo thermometer that seems to work ok but it doesnt have anywhere near the stellar reviews as the superfast thermapen. I noticed the superfast thermapen is on sale for $74 and was wondering if it would be money well spent to make the change? Thanks for the insight!
Click to expand...

I have a Thermapen and love it. They sell one with a light now. I'd spend the extra money and get that one. I can see where that would be extremely helpful. Often times, I either have to get a second person to hold a flashlight or awkwardly hold it myself to read the temp after dark. The company is good to deal with, too. If you have any questions, you can call them and speak with real down to earth folks.

I'm not sure how an IR thermometer and the Thermapen would be an either/or kind of issue. How can you measure the internal temperature of the food with an IR?
 
Darren C. said:
I have a Thermapen and love it. They sell one with a light now. I'd spend the extra money and get that one. I can see where that would be extremely helpful. Often times, I either have to get a second person to hold a flashlight or awkwardly hold it myself to read the temp after dark. The company is good to deal with, too. If you have any questions, you can call them and speak with real down to earth folks.

I'm not sure how an IR thermometer and the Thermapen would be an either/or kind of issue. How can you measure the internal temperature of the food with an IR?
Click to expand...

The combo thermometer has both the fold out probe and the infrared, which i dont ever use and not quite sure why i would even need to use the infrared part. The biggest difference that I can tell is that the combo thermometer reads the temp in 8-10 seconds vs th 1-3 seconds of the thermapen. Trying to justify the price with saving the extra 6 seconds. Im teetering on the fence.....lol
 
Brother , 6 seconds is a long time when the flames are licking at the back of your hand as you try to stick that pork chop you're trying to grill....as the smell of burning knuckle hair fills your nostrils. In all seriousness I just got one and I am tickled to death with it. So fast. I am a big fan!
 
When you ask if it is "money well spent to make the change", do you mean that you could swap out the one you have toward a Thermapen? Or do you just mean buying a Thermapen and having both?

Couple comments:
Frank is right. 6 seconds is a long time.

The thing that is cool about an IR is you can learn with it. I put the IR on a pan and learned how way hot I was when I was making something in a pan. It really helped me understand how to dial in my stove. For the record, I make a great grilled cheese now that I don't burn the bread. :D

$74 bucks is good but if you can afford it, I'd go for the backlit one. That thing looks cool, and if you can afford a $74 thermometer, you can probably afford a bit more. Either way, you will not be sorry. I love my Thermapen and I've bought them as gifts for family.
 
Frank H said:
Brother , 6 seconds is a long time when the flames are licking at the back of your hand as you try to stick that pork chop you're trying to grill....as the smell of burning knuckle hair fills your nostrils. In all seriousness I just got one and I am tickled to death with it. So fast. I am a big fan!
Click to expand...

Now thats funny and so true =)

Peter
 
I have a Harbor Freight Infrared (about $30) and use it to check my stone temps when cooking pizza. For food products I use a digtial thermo. I had a Thermapen, and used it alot both at home and in a commercial setting. They are a little delicate. If you drop it, it may mess up the interior circuits. I had to have mine serviced twice. I recently gifted it away after getting it refurbished.

If you don't mind 1-3 sec. slower response there are other lower cost alternatives. I'm fine with the Delta Trak I discussed at this link. The Delta Traks are very robust and made by a commercial supplier. I've dropped mine and left it out in the rain and it still works fine.
 
Jerry N. said:
When you ask if it is "money well spent to make the change", do you mean that you could swap out the one you have toward a Thermapen? Or do you just mean buying a Thermapen and having both?

Couple comments:
Frank is right. 6 seconds is a long time.

The thing that is cool about an IR is you can learn with it. I put the IR on a pan and learned how way hot I was when I was making something in a pan. It really helped me understand how to dial in my stove. For the record, I make a great grilled cheese now that I don't burn the bread. :D

$74 bucks is good but if you can afford it, I'd go for the backlit one. That thing looks cool, and if you can afford a $74 thermometer, you can probably afford a bit more. Either way, you will not be sorry. I love my Thermapen and I've bought them as gifts for family.
Click to expand...


If I went with the thermapen I would just probably keep both of the thermometers. My friend wont want it back so i guess i could get some use out of the IR when cooking in a pan. You make a good point about the backlit one. I plan on doing many overnight cooks and it might come in handy and whats another $30-$40.....(this wont be my approach when discussing with the wife...lol)
 
I have cheap $10 digital food thermometer from Meijer (brand is something-gormet) that I think gets the job done pretty nicely. Yes, it takes 5-6 seconds to get the temp stabilized, but if the grill/smoker's really too hot to hold my bare hand over it that long, I just put on one of my heat-resistant grill gloves. The dang thing even survived being completely submerged in a sink full of water for 15 minutes!
 
I use the Thermoworks RT600C pocket thermometer I got for $19 on Amazon. I really don't think the 3 second read time vs the 5 second read time justifies the cost difference.
 
I'll weigh in with my review of the thermapen: I bought one on sale expecting temp reads of 1-3 seconds. Mine is not that fast. It rises just like any therm, just much quicker. My thermapen takes about 6 seconds to reach the temp. I even called and complained and they told me everything was normal. Just wanted you to know its not quite as instant as is suggested.
 
I think meat cooks from the outside in, so I'd like to play with an IR just to see how it compares with the thermapen reading inside the meat.
 
M Rose said:
Hello all,

So a friend gave me the thermoworks infrared combo thermometer that seems to work ok but it doesnt have anywhere near the stellar reviews as the superfast thermapen. I noticed the superfast thermapen is on sale for $74 and was wondering if it would be money well spent to make the change? Thanks for the insight!
Click to expand...

Is it still on sale???
 
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