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couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for this test/cook!!!
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Looks like a killer cooker! Let us know how things go!Comment
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So I just pulled the chucks to wrap in foil and push them along a little bit so I can cube and sauce them. They look great!
I did a little test on the RFX with the first one. I wrapped the probe inside the heavy duty aluminum foil just to see. Result were as expected, the heavy duty double wrap foil was too much for the RFX to get through. I would have been absolutely shocked if it did! Went out and cut a small hole in the foil to expose the end of the probe and voila, perfect connection once again.
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Ok. So the RFX REALLY does not like foil! I’ve had a few disconnects since I wrapped the chuck. Now, I used heavy duty foil and the piece was long enough that it’s at least 2 or 3 layers (after folding ends over), so that’s likely a factor. Thats a big ask of any wireless type device. But basically created a faraday cage around the probe. Also, I didn’t fully charge the gateway before I started. That’s on me, wasn’t patient enough to wait, so that could also be contributing to the disconnects. I’ve enlarged the hole for the probe a bit more and plugged in the gateway, so everything seems to be running smooth again.
Will keep you posted! Thanks for following my rambles!
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Well, they turned out pretty good! I probably should have left them on the smoker a little longer, but…… impatient. Remember? Lol. Flavor is excellent!
The RFX was awesome. I think I’m going to have a steep learning curve with all of the extra things that it will do, but it is pretty simple to just plug and play. And cleaning it was the easiest probe I’ve ever cleaned! Because it’s sealed and submersible, it’s literally as simple as put it under the faucet and scrub. I’m looking forward to my second probe arriving and really starting to exercise this unit! I look forward to everyone else’s experiences and also a review by one of our AR professionals if they get a chance!!Comment
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I used mine for a rotisserie chicken which is why I bought it. It was fine. They did a good job with it.Comment
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That smoker has a pretty awesome history. It was my first cooker and my wife bought it for me for my birthday when we still lived in Vegas, but she told me I had to go inspect it first to make sure it was what I wanted. When I met the gentleman who was selling it, he was an older gentleman and told me the story of its travels. Apparently, it was originally purchased by a Navy Sailor who was about to be stationed in Okinawa. He brought it with him and used it for a few years before he got out on a boat for a long cruise. He sold it to another guy who brought it back to the states with him. Several years later, an Army guy bought it and brought it to Korea. While there, he sold it to an Air Force guy that brought it to Germany. After many years of use, the Air Force guy was headed back to the states and gave it to a German family that lived way out in the countryside somewhere. After some years, they kind of stopped using it and left it sitting out near their farmhouse. The gentleman that I bought it from was a long retired Air Force guy and his son was also in the Air Force stationed in Germany. He told me that his son would take drives through the countryside and saw the smoker sit there for years and finally stopped to talk to the German couple about it one day. They sold it to him and he used it a lot while he was there and then brought it back to the US again and gave it to his dad. His dad, the gentleman I bought it from, had cooked on it for many years and got pretty emotional about parting with it. I assured him that not only would I cook on it regularly, but that it was going to an Army guy that would take care of it. I always thought it was incredibly cool that the travels and story of the cooker always went with it and the gentleman was able to give me the oral history. Since I’ve bought it in Las Vegas, it has moved twice. Once to Houston and now up to Indy. It’s an older Oklahoma Joe when they were still made with thick steel. I’ve often thought of trying to get some naval jelly to get some of the rust off of the firebox, but it somehow seems a disservice to remove the patina that it has earned. It’s leaky and challenging to get just right most times, but I don’t see it ever leaving my possession!Originally posted by Alan Brice View Post
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That is very cool! Great history. I have been using avocado spray inside and out. The extra that puddles in the bottom I will redistribute with a two inch china bristle (food safe) brush.
The lil collector tin always has some I can touch up problem areas with. Neat history. -
What a phenomenal story. Thanks for sharing. The stories that cooker has seen and the memories it has helped to make must be awesome.
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I got an email saying that mine will ship on 11/05. Theoretically, I'll have it in time to grill a practice turkey before Thanksgiving (I'm planning on using my grill rotisserie for the big bird this year).Last edited by PGH_RAM; October 29, 2024, 11:33 AM.Comment
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Got a meatloaf in the standard kitchen oven. Gotta say that I love this WiFi probe. No wires. Just pop it into whatever you want. The oven has a glass viewing port so I can't comment about WiFi signal in an all metal enclosure in the kitchen. Good stuff!Comment
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Mine shipped today! I should have it by 11/05. Woohoo!Comment
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I don't understand why folks are annoyed that the gateway for the RTX goes at the cooker, with the ambient wired probe. That is how my Smoke has been, or my son in law's Signals, all along. You use the APP on your phone to read the temp on the RTX remotely. As long as you have Wifi outside at your cooker, which most suburban backyards probably will these days, you should be fine. Additionally, if you want to use a Billows fan on your cooker - it has to connect to the RTX.
So it just makes sense to me that the gateway goes out there next to the cooker, unless you don't need the ambient probe or don't use a fan.
Anyway, I see this RTX system as my next purchase in the world of Thermometers, at some point, so that I can have something that controls a better fan than my aging PartyQ, and so that I can have a wireless probe for my rotisserie.Comment
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Evvy Yes, that is part of my point. Please do not misunderstand - I have ordered the RFX and look forward to seeing how it performs versus my Fireboard wireless Pulse probes. The Fireboard offering does have an ambient component for their wireless probes, but many find the ambient temp issues of measuring that close to the food to be problematic. Many, including me, monitor ambient in multiple locations in a cooker (front vs back, side vs side, lower vs upper grates). -
Evvy (cont) So if you do not care to monitor ambient temps, benefiting from the RFX's greater distance from RFX Gateway to probes certainly is helpful.
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I got mine today! I'll spare you all of the unboxing pics I took because Ricky Bobby already did a great job with his and I realize that not everyone is as big a geek as I am when it comes to new toys. I'll just include these three pics. The last one is of Leo pretending to be interested in my process, but really just begging for the empty box to tear apart.
Setting up the RFX Gateway and the Meat probes was about as easy as it gets. The gateway connected immediately to my home WiFi and the probes connected to the Gateway instantly. All four wireless probes plus the wired ambient temperature probe registered temperatures within .1 degree of each other, so I took that as a good sign. I'll be able to give them a test run on Wednesday with a plate of Wild Fork dino ribs I've got thawing out in the fridge. Based on RB's write up, I'm expecting beautiful things.
Last edited by PGH_RAM; November 6, 2024, 11:56 AM.Comment
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I'm four hours in to my dino ribs cook. So far everything is working very well. No lost signal between the probe and the gateway, although I've got the gateway only about five feet from the grill because I'm using the ambient temperature probe. I wouldn't expect signal drop at that range even with a poorly designed system.
The gateway has stayed perfectly connected to my WiFi even though my router signal gets kind of weak on the back deck. The updated app still talks to my watch, which I enjoy an inordinate amount.
The batteries in the gateway and the probe seem to be holding up pretty well. Four hours in, the gateway battery is at 85% and the probe battery is at 80%. I have the probe set to transmit on every 1 degree change (the available range is 1 to 3 degrees), and the gateway to transmit the ambient tempt every minute (options are 15, 30, and 60 seconds).
So far I've only encountered one minor annoyance: the rate of change function doesn't actually display for the ambient temp channel. It shows for the probe channel just fine.
It's a feature that I really enjoy on my Signals. It makes it very easy to see how effective vent adjustments are. The button is there to activate it, so I'm guessing it's an oversight in the latest edition of the app. I'll email ThermoWorks support about it unless someone here has actually managed to get it to work.
So far I'm very happy with this system. I'll post again after I have a chance to test the range of the probe, which I will do with a rotisserie yard bird next week, or if something comes up during this cook.Comment
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Looks like there are currently two Cadillac wireless thermometers on the market. The ThermoWorks RFX and the FireBoard Labs Pulse. Does anyone have an opinion on the benefits of one over the other?
Thanks and Have fun!
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I'll give RFX a little leeway for being so new, but the fireboard app is so much better. The RFX probe appears to be thinner, and I liked Thermoworks reasoning why they did a wired ambient probe, but I'm second guessing because of the usability in comparison to fireboard. -
hamiljockey did you report those glitches to ThermoWorks customer support? I found a bug in the app and they responded in less than 12 hours that they had recreated it in their lab and would work on it for a future update. -
PGH_RAM yes I did. They were responsive, and there happened to be another firmware update which could have fixed those issues (time will tell). I think RFX will be great, I'm just curious which one will be best.
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bep35 I have not received my RFX setup yet (11/20 ship date maybe?). I do have the Fireboard 2, Fireboard Spark and 2 Pulse probes. I have many Thermoworks products, and have had a Signals (next up from a Smoke).
1. Both companies are stellar in their support. Thermoworks has many more products across a broad range of needs for measuring/monitoring conditions needed for food prep and cooking while Fireboard has a much narrower range of products.
2. The Fireboard Pulse has an ambient temperature monitor component to their probes. The RFX probes do not measure.
ambient temps. The RFX uses a Gateway that includes 1 wired ambient temp probe for that function.
3. Due to #2, the RFX Gateway must be next to the cooker if you want to measure ambient temps with it. The FB does not need to be next to the cooker(s) to report ambient, although there is much debate/concern that ambient measurements right next to the food the probe is distorts the overall ambient temp of a cooker. You can use the FB2 to monitor up to 6 wired probes, which can all be ambient or a mix - essentially, it is Fireboard's "gateway" in that scenario.
4. The RFX probes have 4 internal sensors and report the lowest, while the Pulse has only 1 sensor at it's tip. The 4 sensor approach helps mitigate the fact that most food will have different levels of internal temp based on muscle, fat, etc.
5. The RFX can handle much higher direct heat exposure (close to 1000* F), while the Pulse's max is 630-ish* F for 3 minutes or less, or 532* F for more extended exposure.
6. The radio frequency range specs for both products are misleading to me. My Pulse range using their S1G antenna is about 30% lower than the specs say, although it is quite sufficient to allow having the base unit (the FB2 in my case or Spark) in my house's first floor. I will be testing the RFX's distance, but I already know that if I use the RFX wired ambient, the radio frequency distance is immaterial, at least for one cooker.
So, my opinion, IF you have an existing Fireboard 2, Fireboard Drive, Fireboard pro or a Spark, the Pulse is an excellent wireless probe to add to that ecosystem. I also think the FB App and functionality is a step ahead of the Thermoworks App. I know the FB App integrates all the data from any of their products so you can see them all in one App session. Not sure about TW's App, but I don't think so, but I have no specific knowledge on that.
If you do not have the above, I think the RFX product line is going to be not only cheaper, but just as effective given the limits stated above. AND, Thermoworks seems to imply that they are working other wireless products such as a wireless ambient only probe that will be compatible with the current probs and Gateway. Just note that the RFX does not integrate with the Smoke or Signals.
I did not include Combustion Inc's products here, which I also own. That is a whole other comparison discussion that I may spout about another time. Sticking with your Cadillac label, I would tag CI's current offering as a Tahoe.Comment
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