Maverick ET-732 Food Probe just went out mid-cook
 

...And naturally it is beyond the warranty period since I got it about 4 and 1/2 months ago.

Just came here to vent.

that sucks. Depending on what you are cooking you can go by touch/feel. Ribs you have the toothpick test and bend test. Pork butt, you have the bone test. Brisket you have the probe test.

On a side note, you can get a hybrid probe from the fellow brethren 5-0BBQ at www.bbqequipmentstore.com

Not a good issue to deal with mid-cook.

What error message shows up in the display???

But after many cooks under our belts we learn to prepare for the worst, some have back-ups, others resort to manual probe thermometers. We learn that the probe feed placement and cooking temperatures are critical to the Maverick. I have had mine for over a year using 1-2 times a week and have not had a problem, but I did purchase a spare set of probes because others had commented on problems.

If it is a probe error message there are newer style probes available,

bbqequipmentstore.com has them

bigpoppasmokers.com has them and offers free shipping on orders over $39.00 in case you need anything else.

.

What do you mean by the probe went out? What is it doing? Did you pinch it? Try straightening the wire. Usually works for me.

What is wrong with your unit?

He just had them on sale. Picked up four of them. Never can tell whatis going to happen. I highly recommend buying form this Brethren and Fellow Veteran.

The meat thermometer starting reading "LLL" mid cook. Removed everything, did a very mild cleaning, turned everything off and back on, and the same error message came back on.

The pork butt turned out great, but it was still annoying. That annoyance was compounded by the fact that my cook was already taking way longer than normal due to the fact my coals were still damp from the rain we got here in Los Angeles (I got caught by the rain by surprise and the bag of coals wasn't fully protected from the elements).

I don't use them anymore too much trouble , but with my new cajun microwave I will prolly use one with it. until I get the bugs work out.

I feel your pain. Over the last 2 years I think I have had 3 probes croak (possibly some of it my fault :becky:). It is strange Maverick is the only game in town (there are a few others in the price range, but with similar issues and not a widely used) and no one else has tried to be a very comparable more reliable alternative.

I say "more reliable alternative" relatively speaking as I actually do like my 2 et732's a lot. The work great the vast majority of the time. Seems like a product that has components (the probes) that will fail eventually due to the nature of the environment they are in. Thinks like heat, door crimping (any crimping), getting wet, food gunk, pulling on the wires, etc can put a hurting on the probes.

Maverick could probably come out with a more durable model and I'm sure they have thought about it and even designed one, but then it would cost more to the consumer. Something more durable in the $100 or more price range might not sell as for them and be as profitable.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/pi...pictureid=4462

Time to go old school.

You know in an emergency, you could use the other probe if needed. The 732 unit does not know the difference. Just insert in the meat and plug into the meat probe jack and move on. Also try putting some shrink tubing on the next set. I have about 6 inches on both of my probes, and they are over a year old and have not skipped a beat yet.

What's annoying is that I was always careful to never crimp the wires, string them directly over the heat source, immerse them in water, etc. I took really good care of it and it still died.

Stupid question here but have you tried new batteries? The supplied batteries did not last very long in mine and I started getting readings like that.

You are correct about the probes being interchangeable, just make sure you clean it before inserting into the meat so you are not inserting some kind of nasty into the meat. My vote goes for old school here, but I will check the internal with a hand held gauge, until that dies on me.
Dave

I had the "LLL" happen to one of my probes in the past & emailed Maverick customer service. They just asked that i send them the NG probe and sent me a new one free of charge.