Thermometer options and Maverick quality

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bbq1980

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Has anyone else pulled or nearly pulled the trigger on an ET-733 and stopped or wound up regretting it?

I noticed the thread on the discounted ET-733 and I almost bought one, but I've monitored reviews since the launch and now I wonder about their quality, or rather, lack thereof. I'm a ET-732 user with a relatively new UDS (2 cooks on it) and functional, heavily modded ECB which I still use. I've been contemplating a second digital thermometer, mainly so I could measure grate temps of 2 pits, but none of the options jump out.

My 732 has mostly held up for over a year and I've considered buying a second one, but the one I've got has started to act wonky recently. Some of the 733 reviews speak for themselves and I don't necessarily need some of the extra features. The iGrill doesn't have Android compatibility and other options look to be of better build quality (i.e. Thermoworks TW8060) but are more expensive. At least right now, I'm leaning towards Thermoworks (due to the quality & service) or being patient, learning more on the drum and then potentially investing in an ATC.

So if you went with the ET-733 and it crapped out, what did you replace it with? Alternatively, if you were in the market for one and backed out, what did you wind up getting instead?
 
I bought one and never used it, gave it to a family member. Once I used the BBQ Guru, it controlled the pit so well that I don't need to check on it by temperature, only by calculated time.
 
I have two Maverick's and use them, but hate them. The worst thing about them is the abysmal quality of the on-off switches. They have serious feature bloat too. All I want is a plain thermometer. I don't want one that times things, tells me temperatures for different meats or especially TALKS TO ME. My Mavericks do all those things, sigh.

Still, they've worked for three seasons now..
 
I've been looking to get a good thermometer myself but don't want to spend a ton of money on one. I just want something to give me internal meat temp and smoker temp. Nothing fancy. Just give me my temps.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Ironically, I've had the same issues with the on/off switches as it often takes me a few tries to get the transmitter and receiver sync'd up and on one of my recent cooks, the meat probe kept saying "LLL" about one hour into the cook. I've since replaced the batteries (which seemed to help) and ordered a spare probe to keep with the rest of my supplies as a backup, but my fingers are crossed since the Maverick is great when it works, but now I sort of cringe when using it since its reliability isn't exactly a model of consistency.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like there's a potential market for a scaled-down functional therm like the ET-732 but characterized by a more solid build and better customer service. I wouldn't necessarily mind paying a bit more for it, especially once, if the durability and performance was solid and the support was good. In the meantime, I'll try and skate by with the ET-732 and revisit the Thermoworks options while keeping a Guru or DigiQ on the radar.
 
Once I learned to ALWAYS turn the reciever on before the transmitter it has linked up perfectly every time.

Never had an issue with the on off button, maybe I am lucky

One time I had a probe fail, emailed customer service and had a new one at my door within days, no questions asked
 
I've had a 733 for 6 months now. It has some extra features that I don't use like the presets for Beef / Pork / etc. I don't have any issues syncing them up. Have a backup set of probes in case one goes bad. Works great for me...
 
ButtBurner said:
Once I learned to ALWAYS turn the reciever on before the transmitter it has linked up perfectly every time.

Never had an issue with the on off button, maybe I am lucky

One time I had a probe fail, emailed customer service and had a new one at my door within days, no questions asked
Click to expand...

Same here. Used it about 12 times so far and no issues once I read (and had to re-read) directions to remember to turn receiver on first. If you turn receiver on second - forget it.

Like it so far. No switch issues as long as you remember to hold them on/off for several seconds - just pressing doesn't work which is fine with me since this prevents them from going off when they get bumped which would require a re-synch between the two units.

As far as feature bloat goes, it's true that the only features I use are the basic temp reading and hi/low chamber temp settings, but the extra features don't get in the way - I just don't use them. Accuracy as meat probe and chamber probe seems spot on compared to my Thermapen and another oven thermometer. The main reason I bought newer Maverick model was the claims for increased range and the range seems quite good because it works everywhere I have walked with it (although I haven't walked all over the property to find out where it stops working).

IMO the 773 is a good option for decent wireless range and reasonable price for two probes.

The other option I am looking at is the iGrill2 so I can get 4 probes (one oven and three meat) but I'm waiting for Android version of app.
 
Oh yeah - I remembered one more thing that is a bit of a hassle. If you let the receiver sit in the sun for too long it heats up pretty quickly and all the LCD components go black so you can't see your readings. This is true for most LCD displays, but this one is more sensitive than others I am familiar with. To get the display back you just put it back in a cool place for a few minutes, or to speed it up you put in the fridge for a minute or so.

Once I learned not to put it in the sun this never happened again (and most LCD's will do this if warmed up too much), so I still recommend this unit on balance for price, range and accuracy.
 
733 works like a charm for me. No issues with on off button which I hear is upgrade from 732. I love the back lit screen.....always comes in handy at night or early morning. Probes are both spot on although I wish they had longer cords. Alarm features are nice particularly for overnight cooks. Synching up is a breeze and if you forget to turn receiver on first there is a resynch button on transmitter that gets things all set.

I think it's great. For people with bad reviews of 733, I have to wonder if they just blow things out o proportion or maybe they just got a lemon. All I know is mine does a perfect job of reading temps
 
Wait! The 733 is discontinued? Crap, I just bought mine about two months ago. I've had the issue many have mentioned in other threads about going through batteries but other than that it's worked fine. I will be contacting Maverick! :mad:
 
AClarke44 said:
Wait! The 733 is discontinued? Crap, I just bought mine about two months ago. I've had the issue many have mentioned in other threads about going through batteries but other than that it's worked fine. I will be contacting Maverick! :mad:
Click to expand...
Discounted <> discontinued....
 
AClarke44 said:
Wait! The 733 is discontinued? Crap, I just bought mine about two months ago. I've had the issue many have mentioned in other threads about going through batteries but other than that it's worked fine. I will be contacting Maverick! :mad:
Click to expand...

Still available on Amazon:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-ET-733-Wireless-Smoker-Thermometer/dp/B00FOCR4UI/ref=lp_3563990011_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1406175445&sr=1-2"]Amazon.com: Maverick ET-733 Long Range Wireless Dual Probe BBQ Smoker Meat Thermometer Set - NEWEST VERSION With a Larger Display and added Features: Patio, Lawn & Garden@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DJq29nZwL.@@AMEPARAM@@41DJq29nZwL[/ame]
 
peeps said:
Discounted <> discontinued....
Click to expand...

Oops I misread :oops:

I'm beginning to regret the purchase though as many problems as people are having. Mine works fine but if I don't remove the batteries from the receiver they will be dead by the next time I use it. Not a major issue but considering that I paid over $70 for it, I shouldn't have to do that.
 
I have had multiple Maverick ET's and they all crap out. I hate their products. They are toys made in China that are not accurate at all. Total waste of money. I love the Thermowerks products because they are accurate and reliable but to my knowledge they don't have a wireless one. I have a Stoker that a friend loaned me which I use primarily to monitor pit and food temp. It is very accurate and can attach to my home network so I can monitor from my PC. Maverick sucks!!!
 
I am not going to bad mouth anyone's product. I may have abused a few in my time. :grin:

But my advice: buy Thermoworks products. I don't care what the initial cost is. You will eventually end up there anyway. And buying Thermoworks as a first thermometer is far cheaper than buying it as your third thermometer....
 
martyleach said:
I have had multiple Maverick ET's and they all crap out. I hate their products. They are toys made in China that are not accurate at all. Total waste of money. I love the Thermowerks products because they are accurate and reliable but to my knowledge they don't have a wireless one. I have a Stoker that a friend loaned me which I use primarily to monitor pit and food temp. It is very accurate and can attach to my home network so I can monitor from my PC. Maverick sucks!!!
Click to expand...

Great thermometers - I have the goto Thermapen. However, do they make wireless thermometers? I have not see one or I would have it. They make a data logging thermometer that will upload temperature history to your PC, but this is not the same as a hand held temp display or a phone app that you can carry around to where you are.
 
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