Initial reviews of the Maverick ET733

Alphonse said:

My review of the Maverick ET733

I bought a 733 via Amazon Prime and had it shipped just in time for Thanksgiving.   Full disclosure - my first use was on a wood fired pit that I used to roast a 22 pound turkey.  I set the unit up to monitor the turkey and the grill temperature.  The turkey turned out spectacular.  I roasted it to 130F internal (breast) and then wrapped it up to avoid too much smoke and finished it to 160F.  I controlled the grill manually to ~325F using the 733 indicator as the go by.  By the way, the Egg was underway, unattended equipped with a DigiQ II and occupied with a ham.

Based on my initial setup and use of the ET733, my views on the pros and cons are as follows:

Pros:

1. Two temperature probes (both meat capable;  meaning pointed and intended to be inserted into what you are cooking)
   
2. If you choose, you can have one probe monitoring the temperature of the grill
   
3. Programming allowing you to set it up for:
   

• Both the grilled item and the grill temp or
• Two separate grilled items
• One singular indication if desired

Programming is flexible with presets and doneness level (they call it taste levels) or the user can set levels at the desired points

Programming is simple enough and the documentation isn’t overly complicated.

The remote display is quite legible and backlit capable

The remote unit is small enough for putting in a shirt pocket or on a counter in a handy spot

The transmitter has a clip on stand that doubles as a hanger if needed

The remote receiver worked quite well and reads within the specs in terms of distance away from the transmitter

Temperature indications appeared to be accurate enough for the service; Probes read the same at ambient

Cons:

1. Biggest Con and frustrating is that the cables for the probes are only 3’ long.  This is at least 12” too short in my opinion. I would have gladly paid another 5 bucks for 12” more in length with the initial purchase
   
2. One of my probe cables was a bit frayed and like a miniature cactus and I had to use some 400 grit emery cloth to polish it up since I didn’t have the time to send it back
   
3. Minor - be sure you have a very small Phillips screwdriver for the battery cover (this isn’t really a con for me and I would expect most folks messing with BGEs are going to have one anyway - see comment below).
   
4. Minor - The transmitter and the receiver do feel a bit fragile and you should be prepared to be careful with them.    They don’t appear to be robust enough to survive a serious fall
   

By the way, in the Amazon reviews one reviewer complained about the small screws that could be stripped on the battery cover of the transmitter.   The screws are small but connect into brass fittings molded in the receiver and there is a nice polymer seal that is in place to seal the battery compartment.   If you strip these out, you must be trying hard to do so or you didn't have the proper tool for the job.

Of course, I have no idea about the longevity or durability of the unit, time will tell.   I do suspect that I will be upgrading the probes for longer ones if I continue to use this setup on the wood pit.  They are likely fine for the BGE.   I am hoping the probes that came with it are different than some I read about on the earlier Maverick units that were not adequately moisture proof.   

If you are using a DigiQ or similar setup on the BGE, this may be a bit of a redundant device particularly if you have a remote display setup.  My DigiQ setup is the vanilla one without remote display and the ET733 will come in quite handy for a remote readout. 

The prices have leveled in the past two weeks.  Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales have now gotten the unit priced at $70 delivered.

Bottom line - I can recommend the set to my friends and I personally would buy it again.   Sorry if this review was too lengthy.

The probes are just like the old ones,,made in china. You should have ordered the new probes that are made in the USA and are waterproof .mine seem to have a better cable and look pretty robust

Found these 6ft probes, but don't know if they are compatible with the et733. A while back I had found longer probes with higher heat tolerance, but I can't remember which website was selling them.

http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-ET732-Replacement-Chamber-Probe/dp/B006XLWL7K

http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Et732-Genuine-Replacement-Hybrid/dp/B00B6TS858

Here is a good price for this item:

http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MAVET-732PROBE