I signed up for a Kickstarter for a wireless thermometer that connects to your phone, the Meater. In the tradition of such things, it took forEVER to arrive, but once it got here, we've had good luck with it. The only problem is that our WSM is essentially a Faraday cage, which messes with the Bluetooth signal. As long as you're not far from it, it still works fine. And it's pretty amusing to watch the updates on your phone as your meat roasts in the oven... Chouxfly has had a lot of fun with it. (I'll ask him to check in here and post more about his experience.)

If anyone else is curious: https://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/mea ... ermometer/

So I think the Meater is an extremely cool idea. It is a bluetooth-enabled temperature probe that tracks both the internal temperature and the ambient temperature in the oven, and broadcasts that information to your phone. One of the coolest features for me (as a science nerd) is that the phone retains a record of the data! Here is a cook of a pork tenderloin in our oven a few weeks ago:



The green line is the ambient temperature, while the pink line is the probe temperature. You can see how long it takes for the oven to get up to temperature after opening it to put the tenderloin in, the heating cycles of the range, and when we pulled the tenderloin out of the oven to start resting. The phone app is pretty nice; it has a database of recommended temperatures (as well as what temperatures you want for rare/medium/well done) for most common cuts of meat, and can give you alerts when your food is approaching the target temperature.

My only complaint, as Mamagotcha mentioned, is that our WSM blocks the bluetooth signal pretty effectively, so you can only get readings when you're within about 3 feet of the smoker. This isn't a problem with our oven (which has a glass door), but unfortunately the smoker doesn't work as well. I am going to try putting the app on one of our old smartphones and leaving it next to the smoker as a repeater (the app is smart enough to share information with multiple devices on the same wifi network) but I wish it had the option for a wire antenna that you could run outside the smoker.

budrichard wrote:My son left my Original Thermopen outside overnight and the dew got to it.
Removed battery cover and battery and used hair dryer, works fine but I would go with the waterproof model.
As Posted, Thermopen is the best!-Richard

Hi,

I love my Thermopen, but changing a battery is a pain.

I have not yet been able to rotate the cover to remove the battery. Is there a trick someone could suggest help move this along?

Thanks!

Regards,
Cathy2

I find it easy to open with a quarter.

lougord99 wrote:I find it easy to open with a quarter.

Can we meet somewhere to open mine? I have not had any ease doing this.

Regards,
CAthy2

Hi,

I contacted Thermopen technical support. I did everything suggested and got nowhere, except dinging up the battery cover. So it is going back to Thermopen today for this battery door issue.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I contacted Thermopen technical support. I did everything suggested and got nowhere, except dinging up the battery cover. So it is going back to Thermopen today for this battery door issue.

Regards,
Cathy2

Thermopen is fixed and on its way back. They replaced the messed up battery cover and replaced the battery. First thing I will do when it returns: open the battery compartment just to see it works.

Regards,
Cathy2

Have used a Thermopen for years. My problem was when having a large gathering (where drinking is part of the celebration) is remembering to check the roast. I purchased The Meater which works with an app downloaded to your cell and has worked flawlessly. You input what you are cooking as well as what temperature you want and doneness. The App will notify as to the current temperature and give several notices as to how much time is remaining until done. Then it provides when to remove and resting time and then alerts you when done resting and time to carve. The only thing I totally dislike is that the next day you receive a Text asking you how your Rib Roast cook came out. Don't like the use of my info for Tracking purposes.

I'm a Thermapen fan from way back though not a fan of BBQ with lots of gizmos, fans/probes/computer programs etc. That said, I recently ran into a situation that necessitated out of the box thinking.

I am currently consulting at a restaurant in Evanston with a weird, angry hard to use smoker. Yes, I know, it’s a poor carpenter that blames his tools, but this thing is a nightmare. The smoke portion and heat portion of the cook do not run simultaneously and, when the heat kicks in, it goes up unreasonably quickly. To top it all off the smoker is large and when you open the door most of the heat is lost.

I tried to minimize opening the door to check meat temp which resulted in the first two trial cooks going 8-10 degrees over target. Not good.

I put on my thinking cap, googled around the internet, and stumbled upon Meater Plus. Insert the probe into meat and it wirelessly reads both meat and ambient temp pushed to your phone. The Plus model has WiFi so the range is decent.

Meater Plus works well, allows me to see what's happening inside the smoker without opening the door and I'm pleased with the product.

The downside to Meater Plus is its a home/backyard product and probably will not last all that long in a restaurant environment.

Hey Gary, why didn't you just buy Thermoworks probe wireless?

Those attach to a base unit to push the signal and the length of probe did not seem long enough to go from meat inside to outside the smoker to the base unit. This smoker is quite large.

So, after 900-words, I'm saying I like the Meater Plus and it works as advertised.

BBQ, count me a Fan!

Probe Specs
Bluetooth LE 4.0 wireless connection
Maximum internal temperature: 212°F (meat)
Maximum ambient temperature: 527°F (cooker)
Stainless steel and ceramic construction
Water resistant and easy to clean
Dishwasher safe
Rechargeable: Over 24 hours of continuous cooking
Dimensions: 130mm length and 6mm diameter
Charger Specs
Built-in Bluetooth repeater extends range up to 165ft
Store and charge your MEATER probe
Magnetic backing: Attach anywhere
Charges MEATER up to 100 times with one AAA battery
Real wood to match any kitchen or outdoor decor
LED indicator to show battery state
Dimensions: 157mm L x 37mm W x 28mm H
App Requirement
iPhone and iPad apps for iOS 10.3 and later
Android app for versions 5.0 and later

Some years ago, I had a wireless thermometer. I used to start a pot of water, then watch the temperature feedback to learn it was approaching boiling.

This probe's specs are waterproof and dishwasher suitable. This probe has a broad range of potential uses.

This is a great find, thanks for highlighting.

Regards,
CAthy2