What kind of digital/remote thermometer w/ probes do you use?

anton · November 2014

I have done a little research on them, but would like to hear from you fellow Eggheads the types and names that you use and find what suits me. I am not looking for a pit controller yet, just some recommendations on a thermometer system with a grate and meat probe, preferably wireless/ bluetooth, if such animal exists, thank you in advance.

SGH · November 2014

I'm watching this one as well. I think it's about time I come out of the Stone Age. Been considering a pit controller for unit 1 and a remote thermometer as well.

Skiddymarker · November 2014

The Mav 733 is fine, better probes than the 732. Range is excellent, mine works anywhere within about 200 feet.

Anywhere between $50 and $80.

You can set grid and food temps, the 733 offers suggested food temps based on type of meat, the 732 uses just a temp. The 732 is also a timer,

The Thermoworks 8060 is super accurate and will work at almost any egg temp - but it does not remote the temps.

The iGrill is bluetooth, no experience on my part.

Fred19Flintstone · November 2014

I have a DigiQ2. It's a pit controller & meat thermometer. I haven't had any probe trouble. I don't use it much, but it's nice to have a layer of comfort when away from the egg doing an overnight. If I was to do it over, I would get the CyberQ. It notifies you if there's a problem and you can control it remotely with a smartphone.

jhl192 · November 2014

I have the Maverick 733. I am very pleased with it and did not break the bank.

stemc33 · November 2014

I've only used my iGrill 2 once. My only complaint is the app needs to be more user friendly. The link below lists what I know so far.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1173261/igrill-2-finally-arrived#latest

Mickey · November 2014

The night I decided I was thru with overnights (couple of years ago) all that stuff went out. Now only doing turbos they are not needed, and I sleep. No wires at all now. Do have and use two Theropens.

DieselkW · November 2014

I'm slowing down now that the egg is covered in snow. I have lots of lump to burn, and therefore more incentive to monitor from afar. Will be in charge of the turkey next week and still stone age tools for monitoring temp, my OXO digital "instant" read I bought for $20. (Apparently "instant" means "give it a minute")

I am intrigued by @stemc33 post on the iGrill, because my phone is surgically attached to me.

My first wired past the gasket thermometer lasted exactly 10 seconds, returned to Home Depot and never bought another.

It's a luxury item, IMHO, I am fine with my iPhone timer to remind me to walk out and check an occasional dome temp/vent adjust. Now that it's really cold out, my greatest fear for Thanksgiving is having that fire go out, and then I have to remove a turkey, grate, plate setter, light and reinstall while the turkey shivers in the cold. All that might happen while the game is on. (Horror)

Durangler · November 2014

I've had a Maverick 732 for over a year. I've had no problems with it. I have wrapped the first foot of the probe wire with thermo shield tape as a precaution. I use it 4 to 6 times a month. No issues. I haven't checked the range yet, nor have I had the need use the alarm. I checked calibration last week & both probes are within 2 degrees of water boiling point. I like to know the grid temperature verses the dome temp.

I use a Thermopen as the final internal temp check.

anton · November 2014

My main concern right now is dome vs grate temps, and the ability to have a probe for meat temp as well, I think I will enjoy the ability to read temp without opening and thermopenning all the time. These are great reviews, keep them coming please! Thanks to all the above posters.
:-bd

shtgunal3 · November 2014

I've had a Maverick ET-732 for almost two years. Easy on the wallet and has worked flawlessly.

blind99 · November 2014

Anton -- I've got the 733 and been using it pretty regularly. The probes differ from each other by 4 degrees. It's nice to be able to watch the grid temperature. For the grid temp the unit lets you set high and low alarm temps so you know if you've gone out of range either way.

It has preset food temps but you can set your own - perfect for pulling early for a reverse sear.

Battery life has been fine, haven't had to change yet. Range is excellent. I avoided Bluetooth units so I can't compare but I find Bluetooth annoying in general.

Setting it is a little cumbersome so don't lose the directions but after doing it a few times it's fine.

Summertime - nice to sit by the egg with a beer and watch the temps. Wintertime - I'm staying inside!

FarmerTom · November 2014

anton . I have only had my egg for about a year now, but can really see the benefit of a Maverick. I don't yet care to have the cook remotely controlled, As you said, I would simply like to be able to monitor the temps without having to make all those trips back and forth to the egg, and near the end, not have to open and close the top so much to check IT. Considering the season that is upon us, I have dropped plenty of hints as to how I would like to have one of these.

tarheelmatt · November 2014

I am a simple man and do not desire all the bells and whistles. If I have time to hang around, I use nothing. If I don't and I use the Maverick 733 and the BBQ Guru Party-Q (new design). It works pretty good for my needs.

SkinnyV · November 2014

Love the digiq dx2. $300 well spent even though its used once or twice a month. When its used real nice and easy.

Jeepster47 · November 2014

anton said:

My main concern right now is dome vs grate temps, and the ability to have a probe for meat temp as well, I think I will enjoy the ability to read temp without opening and therm ... all the time. ...

Oh anton, you are going down the wrong path ... please stop.

Surely you've heard the old saying that "a man with two watches doesn't know what time it is" ... yes? Not knowing what time it is isn't a really big deal, but throw a $100 piece of meat on the egg and then not know which temp is correct ... add in the fact that company is coming soon and that's a high anxiety situation. Much better to only have one temp available ... even if it's wrong, one doesn't know that and simply whistles happily while the meat cooks.

I use a Maverick 732 and my son has a Maverick 733. Both units are good. If mine quits, I'll probably replace it with another 732 ... sometimes less is more.

On the last cook, the grid temp varied +/- about 30 degrees while the dome temp only varied +/- about 10 degrees. That has me wondering if the air temp inside the dome is as constant and evenly distributed as I assumed. If the air inside the dome is turbulent, then a slow reading thermometer (BGE dome probe?) would be a better indicator of the average temperature than a fast reading thermometer (electronic unit?) that more closely follows the swirling drafts.

If the above is true, then the internal firmware in the DigiQ must be programed to average the temp reading over time and not react to rapid temp swings.

Jeepster47 · November 2014

Durangler said:

... wrapped the first foot of the probe wire with thermo shield tape as a precaution. ...

Would you mind sharing a name/link to what you're using. Probes are really a consumable item ... not a "for life" part. Any protection you can give will only prolong their life, so I'm interested in what you're using.

tgkleman · November 2014

I built my own pit controller using Auber PID controllers. I bought 3 PIDS, one for the Pit controller and two more for temperature readers. If/when I get another egg, I can reconfigure and make one of the temperature PIDs a pit controller.

Fun project... Auber even provides the PID settings in the user manual for the PIDs. That being said, I didn't save a lot of money by doing it myself, but I am happy with the end result and suits my needs. It also is not blue-tooth nor wifi, you need your Mark-1 eyeball to check the pit and food temp.

The auber probes are actually K-type thermocouples, and have lasted for 3 years of weekly use.

Skiddymarker · November 2014

anton said:

My main concern right now is dome vs grate temps, and the ability to have a probe for meat temp as well, I think I will enjoy the ability to read temp without opening and thermopenning all the time. These are great reviews, keep them coming please! Thanks to all the above posters.
:-bd

I use the food probe the least, either the 732 or the 733. I do use it for large cuts, butts and roasts. The grid temp is a really nice to have, seldom read the dome thermo. With the remote capability, you can set an alarm range for the pit temp, high and low. I don't have to walk out to the Egg/Weber to check the temp, it is right in my pocket and if it drifts out of range it lets me know.

Dome is always higher than grid on indirects for at least the first few hours. On directs - don't use the pit temp probes unless it is an 8060 - you will shorten the probe life, even wrapped in foil.

Zmokin · November 2014

I have the Digi-Q, a dual probe Maverick, a Single Probe unit, and a new unit made for Rotisseries.

I use them all

MongoMn · November 2014

I use the wireless one from BGE. Granted, I'm very new to this - but I've done several cooks with it and it's very handy. Gives me the grill and meat temperature.

tazcrash · November 2014

I've had the Maverick 732 for a couple years, worked great until a helpful dinner guest put the probes to soak during clean-up.

The Mrs replaced with a 733, that I did like, but honestly didn't need to have 2 food, or 2 grate probes. used about a dozen times without issue.

Now working with the Stoker, and I'm surprised how thin those wires are. did 3 cooks with them, and so far, great.

IMHO The big thing to extend the life of the probes is to keep the ends where the wires go in dry.

.02

HendersonTRKing · November 2014

Maverick 733. Resisted it, but now love using it for the big cuts of meat on my low and slow cooks. No more guessing, no more looking (and when you're lookin' you ain't cookin'!).

Not a huge fan of the red backlighting. Also, I have a terrible time, every time, figuring out how to set it. Because I'm a moron, maybe? Lots of lots of pressing and beeping before I get the meat to scroll. More pressing and beeping before I get the 2 different temps set. I get there, but it sure takes longer than it should. (Wish I could say that about some other things . . .)

jaydub58 · November 2014

I have a Mav 732 and a PartyQ.

Different types of uses, and both very good.

Zmokin · November 2014

HendersonTRKing said:

Maverick 733. Resisted it, but now love using it for the big cuts of meat on my low and slow cooks. No more guessing, no more looking (and when you're lookin' you ain't cookin'!).

Not a huge fan of the red backlighting. Also, I have a terrible time, every time, figuring out how to set it. Because I'm a moron, maybe? Lots of lots of pressing and beeping before I get the meat to scroll. More pressing and beeping before I get the 2 different temps set. I get there, but it sure takes longer than it should. (Wish I could say that about some other things . . .)

I'm an electronic engineer, and I find the Mavericks to not be intuitively user friendly.

Big_Green_Craig · November 2014

I use the Maverick ET-732. It has a pit probe and a meat probe. You can program it to alert you when it reaches set temps. The range is best out there. I've been down the street at a neighbors house and could still pick up my temps.

I have used bluetooth thermometers as well. The range is terrible. I tossed it.

theyolksonyou · November 2014

I use the maverick 733. So far no issues, but as stated above, set up is cumbersome and I had to refer back to the instructions several times.

Baine · November 2014

I use a thermapen and previously had a TW8060

(http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html) . The handheld part was stole in a home invasion along with three budlights and a jar of pennies..seirously

SGH · November 2014

Big_Green_Craig said:

I use the Maverick ET-732. It has a pit probe and a meat probe. You can program it to alert you when it reaches set temps. The range is best out there. I've been down the street at a neighbors house and could still pick up my temps.

I have used bluetooth thermometers as well. The range is terrible. I tossed it.

Of the Mavericks, is the 732 the best unit?

RiverDoc · November 2014

I use an igrill it has a pit grill probe and a meat probe and it bluetooths to my iPad/iPhone

Big_Green_Craig · November 2014

SGH said:

Big_Green_Craig said:

I use the Maverick ET-732. It has a pit probe and a meat probe. You can program it to alert you when it reaches set temps. The range is best out there. I've been down the street at a neighbors house and could still pick up my temps.

I have used bluetooth thermometers as well. The range is terrible. I tossed it.

Of the Mavericks, is the 732 the best unit?

I don't know about "BEST" unit, but it has lasted longer than any other unit that I've tried. I did have to replace a probe, but I think that was my fault...

What kind of digital/remote thermometer w/ probes do you use?

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