I just completed my first cook with the Thermoworks RFX on a pork shoulder and was able to monitor meat temps for 18 hours which included ambient temps of the grill through a high temp air probe connected to the RFX Gateway. The hardware was rock solid with no signal drops between either the probes to the RFX Gateway or from the Gateway to my wifi.
The software may not be as robust as some other products on the market, but I was able to track the cook via graphs or temps of the probes. The RFX is definitely quality hardware and I would recommend it.
I’ve never had a pork butt or shoulder take that long. I’m not saying that’s bad at all. There must have been some incredible bark. I did one Sunday on my kamado at 275 F. It was at 185 F internal at 5 hours when I wrapped it and was at 207 F in 2 hours more. Dependable temp monitoring is the best way to get good food and learn your cooker. I’ve been using the same smoker, with the same charcoal, in the same place, for so long all I measure now is the grate temp when it’s something I cook often like brisket or pork butt. I know from experience when to grab an instant read and go check it. If I changed any of the variables I’d be back to monitoring it all again. Good luck!
I agree Oak Smoke that's a looooong cook. But then, I do remember 15 hour cooks when doing 225, so maybe that's it.
I got some pork butt done the other day, at 210ºF in like 4-5 hours. And it was running sub-250 for the first 2 hours at least, because I had chikkins on the top rack and didn't want to burn them up. So the pork butt underneath was getting gentle smoke all that time.
But you're right, with that kind of a long cook, the bark was probably pretty solid!
It was an interesting cook. First off it was cold (15 degrees and windy) so that may have caused things to progress slower. I was cooking on a Grilla OG which initially was set to 225. However, the RFX indicated temps were 278 adjacent to the pork shoulder. Since I was going for low and slow to get more smoke out of the pellets, I dialed the Grilla back to 200 which gave me a consistent 250 according to the RFX. Went with that and after 18 hours (no wrap) we reached temp of 203. The bark was excellent and the meat pulled apart easily.
I have previously used a Thermoworks Smoke on my OG and temps registered about 50 degrees higher than what the Grilla was set at so I'm pretty sure the high temp air probe was reading correctly.
Looking at doing a turkey breast or chicken for the next cook.
My wife got me the RFX for my birthday, and I absolutely love it! Not having to deal with wires has been a game changer for me. I agree wholeheartedly on the strength of signal - it's rocksteady. Can't speak to the Fireboard option. There are a lot of Firebird devotees, though, so I'm sure it is an outstanding product as well. I've just never had an issue with Thermoworks (Thermapens, Signals, Node, IR gun, etc.), so I saw no need to change over to a new ecosystem.
NumbWhistle That is not how the system was designed. You may destroy that prob. Check with those smarter than I or call Thermoworks.
Ambient is way hotter than food I.T. sounds like trouble.
My apologies. I was being a bit facetious, as I believe the sensors are only rated up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. I just wish they had come out with a wireless ambient probe.
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