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Thermopop from Thermoworks

Does anybody have this new digital thermometer from thermoworks? If so what are your reviews on it? It is splashproof and backlit and accurate to +-2 degrees. I'm torn between this and the rt600c. I would like the thermapen but can't justify a $100.00 unit at this time.  Thoughts?

Comments

  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,566

    I don't have any experience with it and while it looks nice in the end it will essentially make the cost  $25 higher when you do end up buying the Thermapen because you won't get much if any use out of the Thermopop after you upgrade.

    Buy once cry once.

    Now with that said it does look like a neat little thermometer and even though I have two Thermapens I may end up with one of those also!

  • I have both the thermapen and RT600C and the RT600C works fine. I have one for the wife here in the house and it works as a backup in case I drop or screw up my thermapen.
    The thermapen is amazing! I bought one for myself for Christmas.

    For the record I have purchased 3 RT600C's to give away to family before I got the thermapen. They will work fine for you.
    Nowhere Indiana
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727

    I don't have any experience with it and while it looks nice in the end it will essentially make the cost  $25 higher when you do end up buying the Thermapen because you won't get much if any use out of the Thermopop after you upgrade.

    Buy once cry once.

    Now with that said it does look like a neat little thermometer and even though I have two Thermapens I may end up with one of those also!

    I kinda disagree. I used the rt600c for a few years (still do sometimes), and it performed very well. I upgraded to the Thermapen because I wanted a backlit thermo, plus it helped that the numbers were bigger to see. The time difference i.e. 3 sec reading vs 6 sec reading is not that big of a deal - yes even if you are cooking 20 steaks at a time, I challenge anyone to show me that there is an appreciable difference that is life-changing. I'm not terribly impressed with my Thermapen. I probably would have been more impressed if I was upgrading from a sh!tty thermo.

    I would have bought the thermopop had it been available at the time, since it has what I wanted - backlit, bigger display, reliable manufacturer.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • bicktrav
    bicktrav Posts: 640
    I had the rt600 before the Thermapen.  The rt600 is great.  The Thermapen is better, sure, but the rt600 gets the job done very well.  I'm sure the Thermapop is just as good.  If the Thermapen is out of your budget, definitely grab one of the cheaper options.  I bought the rt600 because I didn't want to shell out the money for the Thermapen and it served me very well until I got the Thermapen as a gift.  Was the rt600 worth the $20 for the 6 or so months that I used it?  Absolutely!  I'd say it's worth having around even if you've got a Thermapen just as a back up.
    Southern California
  • I just ordered a red thermopop. I figure I can't go wrong for $24.00. Worst case I can use it as a back up for when I do get a thermopen if I feel I need it. 
  • Let us know how you like it please.
    Nowhere Indiana
  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,566
    edited January 2014

    I believe they are all good products and like I said may buy a pop just to try it out. I never used the other Thermoworks product and I assume they are all good but I went through about 4 different brands that clamed similar specs and I am happier with the Thermapen by a long shot.

     I don't need 20 steaks to see the difference. Just checking three steaks in three different places makes it worth while to me. That and I have to admit I LOVE gadgets. If I went through my ceramic grill store list people might think I am the store. Hell after the recommendations I'm looking into the rt6oo  :)


    Its all good and I didn't mean to sound as if it was a bad product. The OP stated he wanted a Thermapen but was reluctant and thought he found something that would work for him. For every time I've done that there are many times it would have been cheaper for me to just buy what I wanted the first time. Those were my thoughts at the time. 

  • Less from a BGE perspective and more from a financial one, it is always best to buy the product that you will keep. In other words, if you will eventually upgrade, it is always better financially to just get it now. If you can't afford it now, wait until you can. 20.00 for six months of use of a cheaper thermo is a bad use of money. If the thermapen costs 100 and you use it for 5 years, it's 10.00 per 6 months, and I think you will get longer than that out of it.
    Justin in Denton, TX
  • All valid points. I figure for 24.00 its a good deal. Backlit. Splashproof and fairly quick. It has to be better than the analog dial I have now. Besides. How many of us drop 5.00 for a Starbucks or other coffee at least once a week. That money's gone 20 minutes later. Hopefully I'll be able to use this for a while. Ive been cooking for years without one so I figure I'm still upgrading
  • I was going to ask the same question after I receiving the Thermopop email from ThermoWorks this morning. I have been holding off on picking up a Thermapen due to cost. From what I can tell, it seems like the Thermopop may be exactly what I'm looking for.

    The biggest differences appear to the response time (5-6 seconds versus 3 seconds) and the accuracy (+/-2.0 versus 0.7). With that said, it is backlit, so the cost compared to the backlit Thermapen is $24.00 versus $112.00. That's an $88 difference I'd rather have for additional BGE accessories.

    LBGE Atlanta, GA  Ramblin' Wreck

  • bicktrav
    bicktrav Posts: 640
    Less from a BGE perspective and more from a financial one, it is always best to buy the product that you will keep. In other words, if you will eventually upgrade, it is always better financially to just get it now. If you can't afford it now, wait until you can. 20.00 for six months of use of a cheaper thermo is a bad use of money. If the thermapen costs 100 and you use it for 5 years, it's 10.00 per 6 months, and I think you will get longer than that out of it.
    Have to disagree here.  If you pay $20 for six month's use of a very accurate thermometer, you've paid the equivalent of one meal out at Chili's to ensure that you won't end up with six month's worth of poorly cooked meat and bad meals.  I view that as unequivocally worth it, especially for people like us who have invested in a top-notch grill and want to get the best out of it.  Your logic would make perfect sense if the cost were more than $20, but at such a low price point it's difficult to argue it's not worth it.
    Southern California
  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    The issue of time, 3 sec vs 6 sec, is applicable from a cold start to finished temp. This is only on the first reading. In other words a Thermapen takes <3 sec going from room temp to say 150ºF on the first reading for a hamburger, the second reading on the next burger will take <1 second. Same for the 600 series (or any reliable digital thermo) and the new Thermopop, although it might take <6 seconds for the first reading, I'm betting subsequent readings will be under 2 seconds as the probe is already warm. 
    No question the Thermapen is the best available, sometimes you just don't need the best - but if you have it available, you will use it.  
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    edited January 2014
    Just thought I would mention that you can repurpose a cheap thermometer. :D
    image


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    When folks mention that they wished they had bought the therapeutic before going through several cheaper thermometers, the are usually talking about inferior thermometers from big box stores, or things like those big forks with a built-in thermometer. Those are very inaccurate. In the case of the cheaper Thermoworks options, you are looking at a quality product from a reputable manufacturer, not a cheaply made gadget that can't measure tempo accurately.

    I mentioned the scenario of the 20 steaks because someone brought that up in a similar discussion in the past. They were trying to make the point that having the egg open for an extra 60 secs would destroy their steaks. That's BS.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • I'm sure at this point we all realize that if some other manufacturer came out with a thermometer that had 0.001 accuracy and read in under a second for $200.00 alot of people would probably abandon their thermopen for the newer and better thermometer. Would it be worth it for the improved accuracy and faster time? And at that point would we have considered the thermopen to be a good investment? I will probably get a thermopen in the future but if the thermopop does the job then again I may not. If it saves one batch of steaks or one overcooked meal than it has paid for itself already. It shipped today. I'll let you know how it works when I get a chance to test it.  
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I'm sure it will be fine. I wish I had bought something like that instead of the T-pen. It's nice I guess, but nearly $100?! It's not THAT nice. Besides, as often as not, I overshoot the temp anyway - even with a t-pen.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • I received my Thermopop this past week and gave it a test on Sunday.  Cooked some boneless skinless chicken breasts and some lamb chops.  It does do what it was intended to do and give me a temp reading within 5 sec. As far as the backlight goes I guess it really doesnt matter that much to me because it times out at about 10 sec and then you have to push the button to turn it on again and the button is fairly stiff so it is possible to turn the unit off while trying to get the light to come back on. When you need to check multiple pieces of meat and it takes 5 sec for a reading and the backlight shuts off and you have to keep turning it back on it does become annoying.  Does the backlit thermopen function in the same manner? I find that I need to have a light over the grill so that I can see what I'm doing anyway so as I said the backlight wasn't that big of a deal. Also as far as being able to rotate the display that also really didnt matter that much to me but if you push the button on the back of the unit it does rotate 90 degrees at a time so if you do need that function it is easy to operate. All in all for $24.00 I have a splashproof thermometer that is accurate and gives a fairly quick reading for less than a quarter of the price of a backlit thermopen. I don't own a thermopen so I can't compare them directly but I do feel that I got my moneys worth out of this unit. Hopefully the buttons will become less stiff with some more usage. Does anybody have both units so as to do a direct comparison?
  • I just ordered one.  This just seemed a little more reasonable price wise than a thermapen.  I typically try to cook steaks by feel and rarely check there temperature.  I haven't usually checked my ribs either, but maybe I'll start with this one.  I'm not sure how well a 732 will work with ribs if at all. 

    If I end up using it all the time maybe I'll save up for the thermapen in the future.  I believe this will service my needs just fine for now.

     

     

  • I tested it out for the first time cooking steaks last night.  It worked really well and was surprisingly quick.  I tested it in boiling water and it was right on out of the box.  I would recommend it at this point for anyone that doesn't want to dive all the way in with a Thermapen.  We'll see how it holds up.  The rotating display is nice.
  • jamco
    jamco Posts: 13
    I'm a newbie, but I've been pleased with the Thermopop.  I've used it 3-4 times in last couple of weeks and it's worked just fine.  I agree with others that I'll take readings in 5-6 seconds for $24 versus immediate rsults for over $100. 
  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    If the Thermapen is out of the budget, another good option for a little over half the cost is the Maverick Pro Temp. That's what I use and it's $55 on Amazon right now. I got my 732 and my Pro Temp as a package deal for $120 a couple of years ago (they're even cheaper now). Pro Temp might not be quite as fast as the Thermapen but it works for me. It's also backlit.
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!