slamkeys
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2016
- Location
- Houston, TX
I picked up a Thermoworks Smoke and gave it a run last weekend. The temperature readings it was giving me were unusually low compared to what I've experienced with my Maverick. The Maverick readings are usually very close to the analog Tel-Tru gauges on the smoker door (Yoder Wichita), but the Smoke was 20F-30F lower than the Tel-Tru gauges. I thought I had inadvertently switched the unit to Celsius, but it was set to Fahrenheit.
The only reason I wanted to move away from the Maverick is the high number of probe failures I've had, but when the probes are working, I really like it.
I checked the Smoke probes the other night with boiling water and ice water, and the ice water yielded results in the 33F range, while the boiling water yielded results in the 210F range. It hardly seems like there's a calibration issue there.
I can't really explain why the Smoke probes were that much different than the Tel-Tru gauges during the cook, but I really struggled to keep my cooker in the 225F range using the Smoke readings. I was choking down my intake vent and the smokestack damper to try and keep the Smoke readings at 225F, while the Tel-Tru gauges where way below their usual 225F-235F readings, sitting around 190F. I had some chickens on my top rack and they stalled at ~140F and never got to 165F so I had to pull them and they were pretty dried out because they were on the cooker too long.
Aside from that, here are my observations on the Thermoworks Smoke:
Maybe I'll remove my Tel-Tru gauges and check their readings again, but I've never heard of anyone having issues with the big Tel-Tru gauges. At any rate, my first impressions of the Smoke were tempered by the odd readings I still can't explain, and some fairly dry chicken from that cook. My prior batch of chicken (exact same process but with the Maverick) was "awesome" according to the wife and the family devoured it all in one sitting. It was super juicy and hit the 165F mark in around 4 to 4 1/2 hours.
If the rain doesn't get too bad this weekend, I'll give the Smoke another try.
The only reason I wanted to move away from the Maverick is the high number of probe failures I've had, but when the probes are working, I really like it.
I checked the Smoke probes the other night with boiling water and ice water, and the ice water yielded results in the 33F range, while the boiling water yielded results in the 210F range. It hardly seems like there's a calibration issue there.
I can't really explain why the Smoke probes were that much different than the Tel-Tru gauges during the cook, but I really struggled to keep my cooker in the 225F range using the Smoke readings. I was choking down my intake vent and the smokestack damper to try and keep the Smoke readings at 225F, while the Tel-Tru gauges where way below their usual 225F-235F readings, sitting around 190F. I had some chickens on my top rack and they stalled at ~140F and never got to 165F so I had to pull them and they were pretty dried out because they were on the cooker too long.
Aside from that, here are my observations on the Thermoworks Smoke:
- The large button on the receiver is easy to accidentally turn on. I keep mine in a zipper bag inside a large duffle bag containing all my cooking stuff, and I've already managed to turn it on accidentally twice while I was rummaging for other things. Kind of annoying.
- The finish on the grey plastic (both units) looks splotchy on mine. I actually thought I had received a "refurb" when I opened it, but I don't know - it looks new except for the grey plastic finish. It's like someone used a powerful cleaner on it and took the shine off in random areas. I bought mine directly from Thermoworks.
- No stand on the receiver. It's a little heavy for hanging around your neck thanks to the AA batteries. I think AAA batteries would have allowed it to be smaller and lighter. I've been using a phone cradle to prop it up while I'm cooking.
- The main unit could also use some kind of grommet or hanger so you can hang it like a Maverick. The magnet and stand aren't very useful to me. I had to buy a zipper bag with a grommet so I can hang the unit with a hook. Actually, they have it backwards: put the stand on the receiver, and the lanyard on the main unit and I'm in business. The magnet would actually be better on the receiver too - you can't attach the main unit to your smoker with the magnets because of the heat, so that's kind of useless.
- Can't change the threshold settings from the receiver (I think). I wanted to adjust the meat alarm at one point and I had to go to the smoker to do it. The Maverick allows you to set the thresholds from the receiver.
- The curved probe is a little difficult to get through the probe port on the Yoder, but it can be done. I don't know why they insist on putting such an angle on these probes. I'd prefer a straight one, or one with less of an angle.
- The grate clip absolutely did not work with the Thermoworks pit probe when attached to my smoker. When the clip is compressed by the grill grate on my Yoder, the probe becomes loose enough to fall out if there is any movement of the cable. I will probably need to re-bend the clip somehow to see if I can make it tight when the clip is attached to the grill grate. Annoying.
Maybe I'll remove my Tel-Tru gauges and check their readings again, but I've never heard of anyone having issues with the big Tel-Tru gauges. At any rate, my first impressions of the Smoke were tempered by the odd readings I still can't explain, and some fairly dry chicken from that cook. My prior batch of chicken (exact same process but with the Maverick) was "awesome" according to the wife and the family devoured it all in one sitting. It was super juicy and hit the 165F mark in around 4 to 4 1/2 hours.
If the rain doesn't get too bad this weekend, I'll give the Smoke another try.