Cheap Remote Probe Digital Thermometers

[Thirsty Boy]

I have been looking for a nice meat thermometer for using in my smoker - I wanted one with a probe I could stick in the meat and leave in while cooking - and monitor from the outside without having to open up the smoker. It will serve double duty providing me with an accurate picture of the temp in my HLT (the 40L urn's thermostat isn't exactly accurate)

So after much looking on e-bay and in BBQ stores and kitchen supply places - I figured it was going to cost between $35 and $65 to get what I needed ...... until I found this

A Fantast Meat thermometer/timer $15 at IKEA

Looks the goods and seems like a bit of kit that could be useful to homebrewers all round. I will be heading out to buy one tomorrow and I will let you all know if they are any good.

Thirsty

 

[kook]

Brilliant work TB!

I've been looking for one for my smoker too. I've almost bought a Maverick ET-73 (along with a thebbqguru.com WSM Eyelet Kit) on several occasions but always changed my mind due to the price.

I'll be picking one of these up instead!

 

[Barramundi]

they look the goods for the price , pity ikea dont do mail order...

 

[NickB]

IKEA Bulk Buy?....... h34r:

 

[wabster]

This really looks the deal, thanks TB. Can you let us know it is accurate at the lower temperatures. I need a digital to keep milk at 32c for cheesemaking. I'll also use it for mashing grain, as well as other grog making activities if it fits the bill. I've been trying to track down one for a while but many are actually fridge or aquarium thermometers and have limited temperature measuring ranges.

Cheerz Wabster

 

[Thirsty Boy]

hah - I'm making cheese at the moment (halloumi) and I am using a digital stick thermometer... as I was taking the temp I thought that teh ikea jobbie would be good for this too...

I'm going up later today to grab one, and in the next day or two I'll do a comparison run with my good scientific thermometer and report on its performance over a range of temps

TB

 

[warrenlw63]

Don't use the Weber ones. I bought one a couple of years ago and it lasted about 3 months before going haywire. Not a great longevity factor in them I'm afraid.

Warren -

 

[afromaiko]

That looks like a real bargain, good work. I wonder what the deal is with the whacky bent probe?

I've previously bought this one from Jaycar that costs about $40 and seems accurate but is a bit whacky in that it is designed to be mounted in a box, but then you can't access the buttons on the back to power it on etc!

 

[flattop]

Great find Thirsty i was just thinking i needed something like that, now my problem is finding time to get across to Richmond before Christmas.....

 

[raven19]

A Fantast Meat thermometer/timer $15 at IKEA

TB - Keen to hear how it goes, I have seen similarly priced ones on Evilbay which only good for fridges I assume.

Any info on operating temperature ranges once you open it up would be of great use too.

Cheers!

 

[domonsura]

Cheers Thirsty - i was just about to have a probe like this made for my 'good' thermometer, so I could use it in my BBQ./smoker but it was going to cost a bit, so I'll just get one of these instead. Off to ikea it is Might stop past Kmart and score a new deepfreeze for the keg fridge while I'm out buying myself Christmas pressies

 

[kook]

You'd hope it's accurate in the mash / sparge range, as that is the cooking range for beef. Med/rare is around 60C, up to 76 or so for well done!

That looks like a real bargain, good work. I wonder what the deal is with the whacky bent probe?

It's a meat probe. To stick into a hunk of meat! If it was straight the wire would end up pointing upwards.

 

[flattop]

Raven the ad says

1.5V battery required.
Measures temperatures up to 130C/266F.
The cord is heat-resistant up to 220C/428F.


No mention of accuracy but usually that kind of thing is within 1-2% accurate.

 

[afromaiko]

It's a meat probe. To stick into a hunk of meat! If it was straight the wire would end up pointing upwards.

Isn't that what you want, so the wire doesn't hang down on the hot plate? :huh: A straight probe would offer more flexibility in terms of usage. Sorry, I've never used one of these while cooking before.

 

[DonMac]

Good tip, I have just phoned Adelaide IKEA and was quoted $12.95 and they are holding 48 in stock, off to pick one up. Don.

 

[kook]

Isn't that what you want, so the wire doesn't hang down on the hot plate? :huh: A straight probe would offer more flexibility in terms of usage. Sorry, I've never used one of these while cooking before.

It might not clear the lid if you're doing a big shoulder or a turkey. Bending the wire any more than 80-90 degrees could snap it if it's the same as the others I've seen.

All the meat probes I've seen for smoker are like that. The grill probes are normally clip-on.

Touching the grill shouldn't be an issue - it should be the same temperature as the outside of the meat (around 100-120C).

 

[Thirsty Boy]

OK, so I grabbed a couple of these things and I have been trying it out a little. Without doing a full on comparison with my good thermo - I did the fast and dirty calibrate.

In vigorously boiling Melbourne tap water - 100C
In my mouth under my tongue (just like mum used to say) - 37C [I am healthy and without chills or fever]
In a glass with about 50/50 ice/water being stirred around - 1C

I put it in the freezer and it will read 0 but below that it errors out. So it seems fairly accurate at the usual calibration temps - I'd want to be more sure if I was going to use it for fermentation or mash control.... but I'm happy with it as it stands for BBQ/Smoker work and for HLT. And thats what I bought it for.

For 15 bucks its just about unbeatable value if it ends up being a reliable enough unit.

TB

ps - it needs a AAA battery that is not included.

 

[Chad]

Good find.
A drum smoker was on list of projects over the x-mas break. Sourced a drum a few weeks ago and is sitting in my garage ready to go.

The best part is, I'm off to Ikea next week to pick up some unrelated stuff, so I will hunt this down while there.

 

[Jase71]

I bought one of these, but have no idea how accurate they are. Anyone ?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Digital-Cooking-Pro...1742.m153.l1262

 

[Fermented]

Should be reasonably accurate as there really isn't a lot to them (electronics, sensor, etc). Usually similar ones I've seen are OK +/- 1C in the 10 - 100C range.

The only downside I can see is that it's not a remote probe so some applications would be limited.

Cheers - Fermented.