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New Combustion Inc. Wireless Thermometer: first impressions

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    #31
    While the prime rib cook I posted about above which ran in the high 300’s didn’t give a prediction the one last night for New York strips did and was spot on. I kept the thermometer in after pulling and enjoyed watching it measure the carryover cooking. By the time I had everything plated the steaks were at a perfect, to me, 132F. After watching me cook with it, now my wife wants her own.

    Comment


      #32
      I di another cook today. This was a recipe that Andrrr suggested in post #164.1 of the current SUWYAC thread. At any rate, it was an opportunity to use the new thermometer again, so I did. It did extremely well today and the prediction for reaching my set temp was, again, only off a few seconds. This takes the guesswork out of when to start the sides, and it allows me to answer the question "When will dinner be ready?" with more confidence.
      The battery on the base did run out of juice, but a quick 10 min charge got me through the cook, and the base picked right up and finished the cook without any problems.

      I forgot to take a photo of the plated food, but it was very good.

      Click image for larger version

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        #33
        So, I’ve had my Combustion probes for a month now, but this was my first in-depth cook with them on my Yoder YS640S. My goal was to replicate a protein cook Chris did in this YouTube video from https://youtu.be/rxOJQjxKPiM about a year ago. I was using a 3.7# beef flat from Wild Fork, Hard Carnivore Black rub, served with Broccolini topped with Chardonnay Bellvotano cheese, and guacamole. The initial temp on the Yoder was set to 400°F, lowered to 125°F as it approached 115°F. Still some tweaking needed for the process, but I’m really impressed with the performance of the Combustion, Inc. probes.
        Attached Files

        Comment


        • chefchrisyoung
          chefchrisyoung commented
          Editing a comment
          Very cool to see someone using surface temperature control in their barbecue! Would be interested in what you would tweak about the process? One thing I find is that you do need to anticipate how quickly your oven or smoker will loose temperature and start dropping early enough to not massively overshoot.

        #34
        chefchrisyoung mine arrived last week and used it for this picanha roast last night. I am just now rereading this thread and realized that I did not document very well. So here’s a casual review. It was easy to set up. Charged super fast. I did lose connectivity once and had to move the base to the table outside. It was sitting on my bench next to the window of the patio. As soon as it was outside, it popped right up.

        overall, I think it’s really cool! I installed the app on my iPad. I like the “remaining” time feature. I mentioned in another post that I am upset that I am liking this so much only because I can see me wanting to rely on the thermometer TOO much. In turn, not using the basic skills I have learned thus far. That said, I do see this tool helping me with more complicated cooks and being an excellent guide to hone my skills. Please know that I am not discounting the science and evolution of cooking. I look forward to many more successful cooks.

        here is the sliced roast. I pulled at 125*F and rested about 8-10 minutes.

        Click image for larger version

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        • Richard Chrz
          Richard Chrz commented
          Editing a comment
          Beautiful cook!

        • Clawbear57
          Clawbear57 commented
          Editing a comment
          This is a pretty picture. I can eat it.

        • chefchrisyoung
          chefchrisyoung commented
          Editing a comment
          Sheila, that looks fantastic! And I’m really glad we’ve made a good first impression. I think you’ll really like some of the upcoming features for the app.

        #35
        Following for sure.

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          #36
          I haven’t been very motivated to cook lately, but when I have I’ve been using the Combustion Thermometer and been happy with the results. I really like the app updates to notifications. Haven’t done much low and slow, but really loving this thing for grilling. Wet aged a strip loin for 30 days and cooked up a couple steaks from it last night on the gasser.

          Edit: Meant to add once the predictions kicked in they seemed dead on. The new 5 minute warning alarm was cool.
          Attached Files
          Last edited by glitchy; February 9, 2023, 04:28 PM.

          Comment


          • Alan Brice
            Alan Brice commented
            Editing a comment
            A lil Montreal Steak is my go to on pasta. Plain fettuccini w/a splash of EVOO n a dbl dash of MSSeasoning. Incredible

          • glitchy
            glitchy commented
            Editing a comment
            GolfGeezer it’s not Kraft dinner, but just as sad…Knorr broccoli cheddar rice (it comes with pasta in it too). My daughter loves the stuff. OK, I don’t mind it either 🤪

          • chefchrisyoung
            chefchrisyoung commented
            Editing a comment
            Glad to hear you’re liking the new notifications. Feedback welcome and appreciate on those—it’s a five line between helpful and annoying!

            Android app coming this week (finally!) although notifications are about 2 weeks out for Android.

            Graphing, raw sensor output, and data export coming soon to both apps, along with sone battery life improvements.

          #37
          Anyone experiencing any discoloration of the probe metal near the yellow end? I did a tri-tip indirect tonight on the SNS grill at 225 with highest temp at around 240. After cleaning the thermometer I noticed a small brown discoloration on one side of the probe which I haven’t been able to remove no matter how much I scrub or wipe. Spot size is about 4mm x 6mm.
          The rest of the probe is shiny after just a wipe with a damp sponge and a little soap. When I run my fingernail across the spot I think I feel a little pitting but I haven’t put under a magnifying glass yet to see.

          Comment


            #38
            Donw I’m glad you brought this up. Happened to me, too. But all my thermometers have that smoke “stain” on them.

            Click image for larger version

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            • SheilaAnn
              SheilaAnn commented
              Editing a comment
              Donw I hear ya. Maybe it’s just an inherent quality of the yellow part of the thermometer. The trade off for the heat resistance is the staining? I did not give it a super clean, so maybe mine could look better. I only wiped it with a damp dishcloth. And that was mostly for the parts that touched the meat.

            • chefchrisyoung
              chefchrisyoung commented
              Editing a comment
              Steel wool or Bar Keeper Friend will remove smoke from the stainless steel sensor tube and the glazed ceramic. Smoke film is incredibly tough stuff and a detergent (other than oven cleaner) just won’t do much. Ceramic glaze is nice and hard and won’t scratch from a good scrubbing.

            • Donw
              Donw commented
              Editing a comment
              Barkeeper’s Friend did the trick. I’m always careful with new devices loaded with sensors.

            #39
            Combustion sez they use steel wool, and that works for me. I use 0000 steel wool.

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            This is the one I use. It's a bit finer than most other 0000 steel wools:



            Comment


            • Donw
              Donw commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks. I didn’t find the steel wool suggestion when I went to their site and was afraid to try it in case I somehow screwed up one of the sensors. Luckily I have lots of 0000 and will give that a whirl this morning.

            #40
            Have any of you early adopters had issues due to no WiFi? I know glitchy raised the issue in his original post and Chris Young explained why Bluetooth only, but has the range of the BT been an issue? I have a TempSpike, which is BT only and find that when I use it outside, I lose connection quite frequently - but it only cost $50 versus $200.

            Comment


            • GolfGeezer
              GolfGeezer commented
              Editing a comment
              Donw Yes, that is how BT devices work. The temp probe talks to the close by base, and the base talks BT to whatever BT device is within range to receive the signal. It is the range of the base transmitting that determines how well it connects to your smartphone or iPad. That is the range I am concerned with. Sounds like yours is doing fine into the house from where your cookers are. Thanks!

            • glitchy
              glitchy commented
              Editing a comment
              What Don says is what I feel I’ve seen so far, but haven’t done any long cooks to really test it and see the range. My base/timer sits about 10 feet from my patio in the kitchen.

            • Alan Brice
              Alan Brice commented
              Editing a comment
              I get the same issues w/Meater +

            #41
            To long of a comment for this to be a comment to GolfGeezer question, but it seems like it's worth explaining a bit about the real world performance of our wireless connectivity, and where we'll be going to keep making it work seamlessly.

            We've chosen to focus on Bluetooth because WiFi has a lot of problems for support. Right now the probe itself is usually fine for cooking in the same room or in the immediate area around an enclosed grill. The actual range will vary *a lot* depending on how the grill, smoker, oven, walls, etc obstruct the signal. Out in my back yard, I can usually walk a couple hundred feet away from my thermometer and still get the signal. But if I close the lid up, or if I'm using it in my oven, or if I'm my kitchen with the sliders closed, I usually have to stay within 50 feet. We spent a lot of time tuning our antenna and it performs very close to the theoretical limit, so it's about as good as any wireless Bluetooth thermometer can get.

            The Display is designed to repeat the signal, and will again add between 50 (obstructed) and about 330 feet of range (unobstructed).

            But one way our approach is different is that we've designed it so that not-yet-announced devices can join this mesh network and keep extending the range. I'm testing a new product that does this right now, and with a bit of strategic placement there's nowhere in my house I can go and not get a signal.

            Longer term (second half of this year) we'll be enabling any connected app to route the signal to the cloud and back down to any other mobile device that's been associated with the probe. This should work pretty seamlessly and provides a way for a second phone or tablet to act as a WiFi or Cellular gateway. We're also looking to support the Matter network, which will let our Bluetooth signal get picked up by Alexa speakers, Apple TVs, and some newer WiFi routers, which will then connect the signal to the cloud.

            Our general philosophy is that we don't really think it's useful for customers to be thinking about Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular, etc. The stuff should just immediately connect and work from anywhere. We won't get there in one step, but that's the idea guiding every choice we're making.

            Comment


              #42
              chefchrisyoung Thank you for your detailed message on the choices you folks are making on which technologies to focus on for your product(s). As a consumer, the choices are a good thing as I look for products that best fit my wishes and desires. Having a wire-free temp probe is definitely "up there" in wishes and desires. Having devices that use WiFi instead of just Bluetooth are also "up there". Like most of us, I have a home network, and in my case, I am forced to use Cox for internet connectivity. Having worked in the tech industry for 40+ years, the challenges of networking are not that big of an impediment for me, but I do understand that companies must focus on supporting a product across a broad range of potential customers.

              I am not looking to bash your product(s) and I have ordered a Combustion Inc. unit. I will love to see how it fits the way I monitor cooks, from my home oven to the smoker and grill in the backyard. I have used Bluetooth-only devices (XR-50 Maverick, Thermoworks TempSpike) and I understand their limitations on connectivity. using a base or hub repeater helps of course, but still has the usual BT limitations for connectivity.

              I also have devices that use both (Fireboard V1, V2 and Spark, Anova) and WiFi-only (MAK smoker - definitely one of the weakest implementations of WiFi for the cost). I love Fireboard's implementation the most in terms of networking, its cloud-based apps and functionality, and integration of multiple devices. I appreciate being able to monitor my cooks whether in my yard, in my kitchen, in my office, in the front yard, at a neighbor's house, in my car - wherever I am. BUT - they do not have a wireless probe offering. That is why I am very interested in your product. Well, also seeing how well the predictive application works, especially in smokes wherein the food hits a 'stall".

              Anyway, I wanted to respond not to stir controversy or attack your offering. I really appreciate your willingness to lay out what you folks are doing and why. Who knows - my ramblings may provoke you all to consider WiFi down the road.

              Comment


                #43
                How does this unit compare to the CHEF IQ wireless leave in thermometer being sold on Amazon for $79.95 after $20.00 off coupon. They look similar in functionality.

                Comment


                • Donw
                  Donw commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I looked at both, and I’m not pushing either. Why I chose the Combustion over CHEF IQ was the fact that it had sensors all along the probe that do a good job of finding the true center of the meat while the IQ states that its sensor is just at the tip so finding true center is up-to the cook. While I usually get it right sometimes I don’t and later in the cook need to move probes around.

                • Alan Brice
                  Alan Brice commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I got my Meater + for 79 n change. it was also 20% off. Conectivity is sketchy at best. This is why I am watching this thread with particular intrest.

                #44
                GolfGeezer I absolutely understand your point of view and respect it.

                WiFi absolutely has some advantages, and some major headaches for ensuring it works for the vast majority of customers. These can be overcome, but it’s not trivial. You only need to read the reviews for competing products with WiFi to realize most of them have unreliable implementations.

                At the same time, the tech world is rapidly moving towards the Matter Protocol as part of newer WiFi devices, which will eventually eliminate a lot of the need for small companies like Combustion to provide and maintain WiFi base stations. After *a lot* of false starts it seems like this will eventually make it much easier for low-power BLE devices to piggy back on the WiFi of a dedicated router or similar device. In a sense, we’re trying to skate to where the puck will be very soon.

                Of course, time will tell if my bet is largely correct for most customers. But, personally, I prefer to invest our resources in building things only we could build; like predictions that actually can be trusted, or predicting the stall (yes, pretty sure we’ll get this working shortly after carry over cooking predictions since mathematical they’re related problems).

                And I think this is what really differentiates us from the competitors: We built a thermometer that’s truly accurate, responds quickly to temp changes, can measure what others miss, and runs algorithms that outperform every other one we’ve tested by a generous margin—and they will keep getting better as we train them on more real world data.

                Comment


                • GolfGeezer
                  GolfGeezer commented
                  Editing a comment
                  chefchrisyoung Thanks Chris. I also understand your choices. Hopefully MP will make a huge networking difference. I really look forward to receiving my Predictive and see how it enhances my cooking experience.

                #45
                Anyone buy the extra probe they are offering as of today? I picked one up for Kathy to use in the kitchen.

                Comment


                • SheilaAnn
                  SheilaAnn commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Donw and RonB thanks! While I love this thing, not sure I can justify a second. It’s not like I do several pork butts or chuckies at one time.

                • Histrix
                  Histrix commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Code still works today. I went ahead and ordered another one as it would be nice to track things in the kitchen oven and grills simultaneously.

                • SmokingSteve
                  SmokingSteve commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I went ahead and ordered 1 additional probe. Figured it would be good to have a "spare" probe just in case.

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