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IGrill question

I'm considering buying an iGrill thermometer. Info, particularly relating to its handling of running the app in the background, and restoring a lost connection, is a bit inconsistent... Prob bc the app has changed and has been improved over time.

If I'm in the middle of a cook, what happens if I switch apps? Power down my iphone? Leave the house on an errand (thus temporarily losing connection)? Ideally, if any of these happen, the next time it syncs up it'll grab all the data and the graph won't have a gap.

Comments

  • jeroldharter
    jeroldharter Posts: 556
    I've never left in the middle of a cook and taken the iPhone/iPad with me. My guess is that you lose the data. Would not bother me too much since the final temp is the most important temp. 

    No problem switching apps.

    Never lost a connection during the cook either.

    If you really want to be roaming around, there is another, much more expensive thermometer that connects to your wireless internet connection and can be monitored remotely. I forget the name at the moment but it is like a DigiQ with more options. Others will chime in with the name.
  • BGEXL_Nick
    BGEXL_Nick Posts: 88
    It would lose data if you aren't connected.  The iGrill is basically just a bluetooth thermometer.  All the 'smarts' for storing data is on your iPhone.  I really like mine but it does chew up batteries and my phone is an Android so I don't get the cool graphing feature.  The other device Jerold mentioned is called the CyberQ.  Its much more expensive but also does much more.  It has multiple food probes plus a pit probe.  It also can control a draft fan to help keep your fire at a set temp.  I can monitor it remotely and it will even email/text me when my food is close to done.  All that comes with a price tag that is about 4 times as much as an iGrill.  I really like both devices but would go for the CyberQ if I can only have one.  Of course budget also comes into play and if your are cool with having holes in your graphs then the iGrill would be the better choice.  Hope that helps!
  • bostonjosh
    bostonjosh Posts: 67
    Thank you both. Yeah, I'm aware of the CyberQ, but would like to avoid the cost. Bluetherm looks nice too, but also too pricey. I'm deciding between the iGrill and maverick et732. I have an Oregon scientific remote thermometer, but the temp is wayyy off (not to mention connection issues) so I am looking to replace it and reliability and accuracy are the most important criteria.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    Thank you both. Yeah, I'm aware of the CyberQ, but would like to avoid the cost. Bluetherm looks nice too, but also too pricey. I'm deciding between the iGrill and maverick et732. I have an Oregon scientific remote thermometer, but the temp is wayyy off (not to mention connection issues) so I am looking to replace it and reliability and accuracy are the most important criteria.
    If those are your 2 most important issues than I would not look to the the Maverick as an "upgrade". My Maverick is both unreliable and inaccurate which I believe is related to the crappy thermistor probes in cheaper thermometers. Look for something with Thermocouples.  
  • bostonjosh
    bostonjosh Posts: 67
    Thx. I should add that I already have a thermapen, which of course works great. Looking for a remote thermometer for long cooks; am I missing any for consideration?
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    @bostonjosh

    Unfortunately, There are not many options that offer the wireless/alarm feature.

    You can try the Maverick. Many seem to be happy with it. For me it has been hit or miss, so I don't trust it beyond an "estimate". I use the thermapen for exact measurements. I would be okay with it for the long cooks. It is the cooks where exact temp is key to the finished product(steak, prime rib) that I worry. !0 degrees on a pork but isn't too big of a deal. 10 degrees on a prime dry aged steak? Different story.
  • bostonjosh
    bostonjosh Posts: 67
    Maybe I'll hold off until bluetherm duo is avail and reviews come in, and suck up the cost if all looks good. In meantime, I will recheck my Oregon scientific to see if there is any consistency to its inaccuracy, and if so, use my thermapen at a few temps to create a "cheat sheet conversion chart" for the Oregon scientific.
  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
    If you are considering the price ballpark of the bluetherm duo have you considered just getting a controller such as the guru or stoker? Both companies offer wifi models. I have the wifi guru and can check temp of the egg, and meat (3 probes) anytime and from any location via smartphone or tablet. In addition you can control the temp of the egg from anywhere or select the ramp down feature where it automatically decreases the temp of the grill as the meat closes in on being done.
  • bostonjosh
    bostonjosh Posts: 67
    I guess it's the vicious slippery slope of toy shopping. I was originally interested in the maverick, but then I said maybe I should spend $20 more for app driven (igrill). Or maybe 50 more than that, and get much higher reliability and accuracy, but give up wireless, with the tw8060. Or 110 more than that and get reliability, accuracy, and wireless, with the bluetherm. Or 60 more than that and get wifi/wan access and more probes (cyberq). Or 100 more than that and get temp control. So what started at a $60 purchase may now be $400...

    I really detest when things don't work right, and would rather give up bells and whistles in favor of reliability if I have to keep costs down. I think if I had to buy something now, it'd be the tw8060. But I guess I'll try to squeeze more blood from the Oregon scientific stone; if that doesn't work I'll just get the tw8060... After all I have an used baby monitor so I can do that trick mentioned in other posts...
  • Jeremiah
    Jeremiah Posts: 6,412
    I guess it's the vicious slippery slope of toy shopping. I was originally interested in the maverick, but then I said maybe I should spend $20 more for app driven (igrill). Or maybe 50 more than that, and get much higher reliability and accuracy, but give up wireless, with the tw8060. Or 110 more than that and get reliability, accuracy, and wireless, with the bluetherm. Or 60 more than that and get wifi/wan access and more probes (cyberq). Or 100 more than that and get temp control. So what started at a $60 purchase may now be $400... I really detest when things don't work right, and would rather give up bells and whistles in favor of reliability if I have to keep costs down. I think if I had to buy something now, it'd be the tw8060. But I guess I'll try to squeeze more blood from the Oregon scientific stone; if that doesn't work I'll just get the tw8060... After all I have an used baby monitor so I can do that trick mentioned in other posts...

    So what did you decide on? My birthday is approaching and I'm looking at the maverick 732 but would love the wifi too...
    Slumming it in Aiken, SC. 
  • FireTower
    FireTower Posts: 69
    edited September 2013
    I HATE my iGrill. The biggest mistake I made was not buying it on Amazon because now I can't return it. My iGrill had horrible range, so it would frequently lose all the data. Also, it would randomly lose the Bluetooth sync connection, even when I was standing right next to it. Which would require me to shut everything down to resync. But that didn't always work. So basically everytime I tried to enjoy some eggin' I found myself trying to fix a thermometer all day. I should have known it was too good to be true. Bluetooth isn't that reliable anyway.

    I bought a maverick and love it. Mine is accurate. Best of all, it's easy to use. It just works. I like it a lot.