Thermoworks Smoke remote thermometer review

slamkeys said:

After a few more cooks I think I've got my Smoke figured out. I found a better spot on the Yoder Wichita to place my pit probe so it reports about the same temperature as the top gauge. So far so good.

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Your Tel-Tru bimetal thermometer is located in the top of the cooking chamber, as most are that come from the factory. Your ThermoWorks Smoke air probe is located on the grate, at meat level. On my Lyfe Tyme stick burner, the Tel-Tru bimetal thermometer located at the top left of the cook chamber runs ~ 50 deg higher than the Thermoworks Dot air probe I position at mid-grate/meat level. I have checked the calibration of both thermometers using boiling water, and both are right on the money. I attribute the difference in the temperature readings to the pit temp being higher at the top of the cook chamber than it is at grate level. Franklin said in his book that his stick burners run hotter at the top than at grate level too, and that is why he cooks his briskets fat side up. He also suggests positioning your bimetal thermometer(s) so that the stem is located ~ 2 inches above grate level and running parallel to the grate.

Should you decide to check out the accuracy of your Tel-Tru using either boiling water or ice water, be sure to immerse the stem up to the groove which should be on the stem. This groove marks the end of the bimetal coil as measured from the point end of the stem. The entire bimetal coil has to be immersed in the medium being measured in order to get an accurate reading. If you have one of the shorter stems, i.e. 2 to 2.5 inches, the end of the bimetal coil is located in the nut right next to the dial, so you will have to immerse it far enough to include the nut. Also keep in mind that the boiling point of water is 212 deg at sea level, and decreases ~1 deg for every 500 feet you increase elevation. You show to be located in Houston, so you should be at ~ sea level.

I have 8 Tel-Tru thermometers, and all are accurate according to the boiling water test. Meathead says the thermometer that comes on WSMs are a POS. My 22-1/2" WSM came with a bimetal thermometer in the top. I took it out and checked its accuracy using the boiling water test. It was right on, so I have not replaced it.

Why anyone compares temps between bimetallics and a really good digital like the Thermoworks is absolutely beyond me.

And why anyone would use ice water as a calibration point escapes me as well. Who cooks at 32° anyways? You want to calibrate thermometers across the range which the thermometer will be used to indicate temps. Nobody should really care about 32° and 212° since precious little cooking is done across that span. Bimetallics lose accuracy the further they are from their calibration points. Most BBQ cooks occur from 225° to 350° or so. This means that further away from 212° on the high end the less you should trust the bimetallic. To test for the IT of a cook, it does make sense to calibrate from about 120° (the low end of rare) to something like 205° where most butts and briskets are probed (but nobody has addressed that issue).

Ag76 seems to be someone who understands the difference between dome and grate temps and why there is a marked difference. The fact that a dome thermometer, a bimetallic, and the digital thermometer, placed lower in the cooker, agree in the aove picture proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that bimetallics simple aren't to be trusted.

I hate bimetallics. I had to spend all kinds of time calibrating those stupid things in physical chemistry lab and doing propagation of error calculations for every lab experiment write up turned in for a grade. To my mind, bimetallics are nothing more than marketing gimmicks stuck on every cooker.

If you think I'm full of hot air, got to Amazing Ribs and do a search on "bimetallic" and read the science and theory behind bimetalics. I just pray for the day that I never see a bimetallic in another cooker. Not gonna happen, but I can hope and pray ...

But, as I'm certain someone will point out that with most BBQ, +/- 50° isn't going to be fatal. After all, it's only BBQ, right?

Okay, I'm down off my soapbox now. We now return you to your regularly scheduled BBQ Forum.

Let's go cook something!

Tel-Tru Bimetal Thermometers - BQ300 et al

CeramicChef said:

Why anyone compares temps between bimetallics and a really good digital like the Thermoworks is absolutely beyond me.

And why anyone would use ice water as a calibration point escapes me as well. Who cooks at 32° anyways? You want to calibrate thermometers across the range which the thermometer will be used to indicate temps. Nobody should really care about 32° and 212° since precious little cooking is done across that span. Bimetallics lose accuracy the further they are from their calibration points. Most BBQ cooks occur from 225° to 350° or so. This means that further away from 212° on the high end the less you should trust the bimetallic. To test for the IT of a cook, it does make sense to calibrate from about 120° (the low end of rare) to something like 205° where most butts and briskets are probed (but nobody has addressed that issue).

Ag76 seems to be someone who understands the difference between dome and grate temps and why there is a marked difference. The fact that a dome thermometer, a bimetallic, and the digital thermometer, placed lower in the cooker, agree in the aove picture proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that bimetallics simple aren't to be trusted.

I hate bimetallics. I had to spend all kinds of time calibrating those stupid things in physical chemistry lab and doing propagation of error calculations for every lab experiment write up turned in for a grade. To my mind, bimetallics are nothing more than marketing gimmicks stuck on every cooker.

If you think I'm full of hot air, got to Amazing Ribs and do a search on "bimetallic" and read the science and theory behind bimetalics. I just pray for the day that I never see a bimetallic in another cooker. Not gonna happen, but I can hope and pray ...

But, as I'm certain someone will point out that with most BBQ, +/- 50° isn't going to be fatal. After all, it's only BBQ, right?

Okay, I'm down off my soapbox now. We now return you to your regularly scheduled BBQ Forum.

Let's go cook something!

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http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipmen...ters/tel-tru-bq300-barbecue-grill-thermometer

AmazingRibs.com actually gives a very high review of the Tel-Tru BQ-300. I have three of them, as well as several other models, and as noted above, I like them. You can leave them out in the rain, and they are accurate enough to give you a good idea of the ambient temp of your cooking chamber, while realizing that said temp will vary at different locations within the cooker. I understand that they are not as accurate as the Thermoworks products (I have a bunch of them too :heh

As far as accuracy of the Tel-Tru products, the following info is on their website:

http://www.teltru.com/t-faq.aspx

"What is the accuracy of Tel-Tru bimetal thermometers? +/- 1% full span per ASME B40.3 Grade A." (ASME = American Society of Mechanical Engineers.)

Assuming the above statement to be true, that is plenty accurate enough to suit me. I will be the first to admit that I sure don't know everything about bimetal thermometers. Maybe I am missing something, but if so, I don't know what it is?

I received an email from ThermoWorks a few minutes ago, stating an open box sale on Smoke - $76. Darn good deal.

I have three Mavericks 732's, one Smoke and a Fireboard. I can tell you without a doubt that the Smoke range is not as reliable as the Mavericks. Nonetheless, I do like the Smoke and I use it frequently. However, if you're willing to spend more money, the Fireboard is the way to go. They've fixed the early issues with alerts and are coming out with an accessory fan controller soon. It has six channels and you can interact with it via wifi from anywhere. I highly recommend the Fireboard if you're willing to spend the money.

Smoker34 said:

I can tell you without a doubt that the Smoke range is not as reliable as the Mavericks.

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I found that too. I've been carrying the Smoke receiver in my pocket when I cook lately, and it loses connection as soon as I go into my garage, which is not very far from the base unit. Too many walls I guess.

ncmoose said:

I just got and used the smoke this weekend. Worked well but is there a way to silence the receiver? The annoying thing was that the signal would cut out occasionally in the house and then it would alarm. Drove my wife crazy.

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It can't be silenced permanently, if that's what you're looking for. Obviously to silence an alarm, you press the single receiver button.

I usually silence the alarms on the transmitter since I have the receiver with me. Otherwise the alarms go off at the transmitter and if I'm not out at the grill...

I did need to resync mine last week but that was due to my own stupidity. I wasn't paying attention to the button placement on the rear of the transmitter, pressing and holding what I thought was the on/off button. Nope, it was the sync button I was pressing.

I love the Smoke and now use the Maverick as a back up. I'll probably wait on the wi-Fi until reviews come out as people always seem to find bugs in wi-Fi systems. My ONLY complaint on the Smoke is the remote. It's to bulky to put in my pocket and dangling it on my neck isn't too comfortable. As many have said, it should have a stand.
Super simple to use and set up and I can count on it. With my Maverick I always felt like I needed another one to confirm temps.

I thoroughly enjoy my Smoke, as well as all of my Thermoworks products.

They should have a setting that turns off the vibration feature. I don't need it, and it would save quite a bit of battery power.

The last time I used my Smoke receiver, I got pretty good at silencing the alarm without even taking it out of my pocket. The button is big enough to smack with your hand from the outside of your pocket. :smash:

Have a question regards my “Smoke”: sometimes I just want to monitor the temperature of my cooker & only use one probe. I have turned off the alarm to the other channel. However, when I do this – it sets off an alarm anyway. The only way I can turn off the alarm is to add the other probe to the transmitter. Is there a way to shut off the alarm & only use one probe?

Edit: I figured it out. You have to press the button on the receiver. :becky:

Why can't they add a timer feature to these units? I'm always checking to see how long I've been cooking, but I have to rely on a separate timer for that. :noidea:

I took advantage of one of the site-wide discounts and bought another Smoke in green. After using mine for a year I really appreciate how reliable it is compared to the Maverick I had so many probe failures with.

I also picked up one of the cradles they sell now so I can prop up the receiver. I was looking for something like that, so I was pleasantly surprised they had them.

2 year old thread and they are still getting it right. I too am a Thermapen fan.

Have they fixed the range issues with these later Smoke receivers? I have one of the first ones when they first came out and the range is my one issue with the Smoke alarm.

I'm at 50 feet through a wall with no issues what so ever. I love mine.

70monte said:

Have they fixed the range issues with these later Smoke receivers? I have one of the first ones when they first came out and the range is my one issue with the Smoke alarm.

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I think they solved the range issue by introducing the Smoke Gateway: https://www.thermoworks.com/Smoke-Gateway

It allows you to monitor the Smoke via your smartphone from anywhere. I don't use a smartphone, so it won't do me any good, but a cool upgrade if you have one.

I haven't tried my new Smoke yet, so it will be interesting to see if it has better range than the old one. My original unit loses connectivity as soon as I go in the garage or out to the front yard, which is probably between 50-75 feet from the smoker. My Maverick has superior range by comparison.

I have had no issue with range, in fact it has better range than my 1 year old Maverick. I use my Smoke for overnight cooks and the signal will go from my WSM in the yard all the way through to the house to my back bedroom reliably. The Maverick was not as reliable.

slamkeys said:

I think they solved the range issue by introducing the Smoke Gateway: https://www.thermoworks.com/Smoke-Gateway

It allows you to monitor the Smoke via your smartphone from anywhere. I don't use a smartphone, so it won't do me any good, but a cool upgrade if you have one.

I haven't tried my new Smoke yet, so it will be interesting to see if it has better range than the old one. My original unit loses connectivity as soon as I go in the garage or out to the front yard, which is probably between 50-75 feet from the smoker. My Maverick has superior range by comparison.

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I have the Gateway and it does work better than the Smoke receiver. My smokers sit under a covered carport with covered sides that sits at the end of the house and for some reason, the smoke receiver cannot go through the metal sides of the carport and the side of the house. It loses signal constantly to the point that it's useless.

There is a Maverick XR-50 thermometer out there that I'm thinking of trying out. My Maverick 732 has better reception than my Smoke.

I too have found the receiver lacking range.
Other than that it works well.