Thermoworks Smoke remote thermometer review

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RatSass

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I have had 4 Thermapens the last few years and love them. Gave the two older ones away and replaced 2 with the newer versions.

Own a Dot and love it- gave two of them as gifts and both guys absolutely love them. Only problem is the displays blackout if they get hot.

I bought a ThermaQ a short while ago and it's pretty good. Doesn't blackout if it gets hot but I am NOT happy with the air temp Type K probe.

Just got the Smoke and like it. I also have the ThermaQ so I'll compare the two.

Like the Smoke (99 bucks). Liked the ThermaQ (200 bucks)

ThermaQ is virtually the same as the Smoke without the remote reading feature. The Q uses the Type K thermocouples which I thought would be badass. The air probe on it is PAINFULLY slow and can't keep up with changing temps. When I'm bringing my Pint up to temp it lags WAY behind reporting the current temp. That sucks. It eventually catches up after about ten minutes once the temp stabilizes.

The Smoke air probes are the Pro-Series and it is fast.

I wish the Smoke remote showed the same info as the base (High-Low). It doesn't. I wish the Smoke remote had a stand like the base- it doesn't so you have to wear it around your neck or leave it lying flat.

Thermoworks SAYS they're coming out with the Smoke Gateway (Wi-Fi) & Smartphone App next year. That will be a huge plus! I will be front of the line to order that.

Bottom line is I like the Smoke and wish I had my 200 bucks back I spent on their ThermaQ. I see ZERO advantage to the ThermaQ at twice the price, and it doesn't have the remote or the potential for the WiFi and App later.

I'd say buy it.

Anybody want a lightly used ThermaQ with meat and air probes for about half price?:wink:

Thanks to another poster- found this Husky storage box at Home Depot. It still has room to store my Dot thermometer and two more probes. Also the little cable clamps were from HD for about 79 cents each- solved another old problem.

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Thanks for the review. I have really enjoyed my Smoke. I agree about wanting to have a stand for the remote. The lanyard around the neck works pretty well but there are times I want to just put it on a table next to me and glance at the temps without having to pick it up.
 
Any issues getting either the probe or the plug thru a grommet - - appears both ends are larger than the maverick probe - ?

Thank you
 
Thanks for the review. I plan on one sometime soon. Christmas is coming up soon
 
It's a tight fit on my Yoder to get probes through grommet. I have to actually remove inside of grommet to get it through
 
Grommet

I don't use grommets. Or the probe ports on my smoker. I just shut the door on the smoker over my cables (Humphrey's Pint).
 
I'm so close to biting on this. Is it worth almost double the money of the TP20 model I see on amazon?
 
Considering this is the same price as the Thermapen® Mk4 it seems like a pretty good deal. Thanks for the review.
 
Ok ok I ordered :-D

I'm getting sick of my cheapy $20 Maverick thermometer, starting not to trust it much anymore. Hopefully this is the last one I have to order for some time! Early Christmas coming my way in 3-5 business days!
 
Thanks for the review. I have been eyeing the Smoke since it came out. My Maverick still works but it a serious battery eater and I don't fully trust it. I reckon I'll have to see about ordering one.
 
I currently have a thermoworks dot. Should my next purchase be the smoke or thermapen. I do lots of overnight smokes on my traeger.
 
Electron si, I would get the smoke since you already have the dot. Which leads to my next question, what's the big difference in performance between the dot and thermapen?

Now that I've purchased the smoke (can't wait to use it :mrgreen:) I'm figuring on getting a thermapen next, but if a dot can give a quick and accurate reading then what's the attraction toward spending the extra 50-70 bucks?
 
Dot

I have Dot and it's a great product. If it sits in the summer sun the display blacks out. If I want to do long smokes I like the remote. You can watch the temp without having to go out to the smoker. Or you can have it bedside and the alarms set to get a good nights sleep. Priceless.

Habitual, are you confusing the Dot with the Thermopop? The Dot is more of a "leave in" thermometer. If I only had a Dot or Smoke I would also get either a Thermopen or Thermopop. They're more portable and useful. The Thermopen is fastest reading by a second or two. The pop is a bargain.
 
RatSass said:
I have Dot and it's a great product. If it sits in the summer sun the display blacks out. If I want to do long smokes I like the remote. You can watch the temp without having to go out to the smoker. Or you can have it bedside and the alarms set to get a good nights sleep. Priceless.

Habitual, are you confusing the Dot with the Thermopop? The Dot is more of a "leave in" thermometer. If I only had a Dot or Smoke I would also get either a Thermopen or Thermopop. They're more portable and useful. The Thermopen is fastest reading by a second or two. The pop is a bargain.
Click to expand...

I have the Super Fast Mini (pocket digital) that I use for camping. It was on sale for $19 and is only slightly slower than the $100 Thermapen.

The Blue Thermapen is the first Thermapen I bought several years ago and the Smoke that I just got.

Very happy with all three products.

I have 4 different maverick thermometers and they are all junk at this point.

I did a comparison yesterday. All 3 Thermoworks products were within a degree of so of each other, while the 2 Mavericks I own (that still work) were anywhere from 12 degrees to 30 degrees off.

On a side note:
I have a couple of well used Maverick thermometers for sale :wacko:
 
RatSass said:
I have Dot and it's a great product. If it sits in the summer sun the display blacks out. If I want to do long smokes I like the remote. You can watch the temp without having to go out to the smoker. Or you can have it bedside and the alarms set to get a good nights sleep. Priceless.

Habitual, are you confusing the Dot with the Thermopop? The Dot is more of a "leave in" thermometer. If I only had a Dot or Smoke I would also get either a Thermopen or Thermopop. They're more portable and useful. The Thermopen is fastest reading by a second or two. The pop is a bargain.
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks for clarifying. I did have the dot and thermapop confused :doh:
 
I have both an older and newer model Thermalq. I have multiple type K air probes and meat probes and my air probes are not that slow to react. It's possible that you have a bad air probe rat, and may want to give Thermoworks a call. The difference between the type K and pro series connectors is that the type K connector's braided wire is heavier and stiffer, so they have less of a tendency to kink and eventually break. Also the type K connector is more of a industry standard plug, so it will fit other devices mainly that deals with commercial applications. I just purchased an extra pro series meat probe for my Smoke and it was 12 something on sale. The type K smokehouse probe for the Thermaq is 52 dollars and I don't buy extras until they have a sale. Hope this helps. I am not affiliated or work for Thermoworks and I spend way too much money on buying any new gadget they make...Lol.
 
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