Maverick and Guru Temp Probes - Extending Leads?

My guess would be even if the connection would work it would possibly change the ohm resistance and give an inaccurate reading....just a guess though. IMO i'd stick with probes that are meant for them, you can order longer ones.

Thermal couples have specific wire that connect to it so your wire that you use to extend must be of the same type.

If you can see the color of the wire connected to the probe I could most likely tell you what type it is.

Teamfour said:

That makes sense. So back to one of my questions: any one know what type thermocouple the Mavericks are based on?

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It is not a type, it is product specific propriety to the Maverick unit itself and not interchangeable with other manufactures probes...

There are several different types of temperature sensors available in consumer grade probes, some of them include, Thermocouples, Thermoelements, Thermistors. These sensors work in several ways and are not interchangeable.

Thermocouples create resistance changes in electrical circuits when heat is applied. Changes in temperature cause resistance which lowers the returning electrical voltage. The control unit reads the changes in voltage and registers the temperature accordingly.

Thermoelements may not be as precise, but they react faster than Thermocouples. Thermoelements consist of two different metals or semiconductors connected to one another. If there are temperature difference between both metals, then an electrical voltage develops at the junctions. The control unit reads the created voltage registers the temperature accordingly.

Thermistors are another kind of common temperature sensor. They have a predictable resistance that is affected by temperature change, so as the temperature increases or decreases the electrical voltage also increases and decreases. Since this change is reproducible these sensors can be very accurate.

The standardization you see with "K" type probes are used on higher end units such as Thermoworks.

So why couldn't you find out what type it is and buy the proper cable to extend it?

Teamfour said:

While I realize the probes are not interchangeable with other mfrs, it is highly unlikely that Maverick developed a proprietary thermocouple for their products. They are most likely using one of the standards as defined in the chart referenced above.

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Maverick probes use Thermistor (semiconductor) not Thermocouple (bi-metal) - entirely different construction and operation.

You’ll quickly realize that thermistors are not at all linear, so you can’t easily interpolate missing values. But there is an equation you can use called the Steinhart-Hart Equation to calculate the unique curve of a thermistor. To use the Stenhart-Hart equation (“S/H” for now on) you take your temp/resistance readings and do some math to generate four coefficients which are then used in a different equation to convert resistance values into to temp values.

wikipedia Steinhart-Hart equation

For More Information Contact:
Maverick Industries
94 Mayfield Ave
Edison, NJ
(732) 417-9666

If you have an ohm meter, ohm your current probe/sensor. If it reads approx 10K ohms @ 77*F it's a resistive probe. You can experiment with the temps and resistance readings. A thermocouple probe is much more accurate. It's used in the Thermapen for instance. To learn more about it go to www.thermoworks.com
But Hey! This is BBQ, not rocket science. ;D

To answer your question, you should not loose more than +/- 5*F by adding an extension. I've also noticed the Maverick male plugs seem to be a tad longer than a standard 2.55 mm jack. I think it is by design.

All of the above is correct BUT in most cases, short extensions can be added as long as you re-calibrate the unit after the extension is added regardless of thermistor or thermocouple type. The non-linear portion of the system is probably outside our temperature range for this discussion. I have had techs who do this type of thing in the field (different industries) without asking and everything is fine.