Home Thermometer Test

[troymeister]

Oven set @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so. I would say 3 very different readings. All are ambient temp probes. I thought they would be closer. What the heck? Interesting none the less.

[HawkerXP]

Lets say its your oven that is off. With Smoke being the newest we can assume it to be closest to correct. That makes the Ready Check off by 4 and the other one off by 6. That's not bad at all for home cooking.

[troymeister]

This is true...I didn't expect the oven to be off by 20+/- degrees. I was hoping the others would be at least a little closer though. Considering each is $60.00 to $100.00.

[Mosca]

They are most likely all three correct. Home oven temps are all over the place on the inside, with hot spots and cool spots everywhere. The difference of less than 10* among those is actually pretty good.

This was actually a "magic trick" in the 1700s and 1800s. The magician had a trick oven where one corner was much cooler than the rest. He/she would climb in, they would roast a bird in the oven and the magician would emerged unscathed. There is a great book, now out of print, about all these types of oddities: Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, by the esteemed Ricky Jay.

[troymeister]

Next test will be an ice bath. Results to follow.

[Jerod Broussard]

Those probes are too far apart. I have to tie mine together to get accurate readings in any smoker. I've had them off by 30 degrees with just a few inches of separation, then tie together and get exact or a 1-2 degree difference at the most.

[troymeister]

I never would have suspected that. Thinking about it makes sense.

[Histrix]

Exactly. Air currents, position of heating element, etc. can readily cause a few degrees of variation.

[RonB]

I'm betting on the smoke...

Ovens vary wildly in their accuracy, and they may cycle 20* to 30* above and below the set temp.If one of you thermometers saves the min/max temps, let the oven heat up with the probe in the oven - wait at least 30 min. Then reset the thermo and let the oven cycle a few times to get the max and min temps. The "set" temp for the oven should be right in the middle. If your oven needs adjustment, you can probably find directions for your model online.

[troymeister]

Much happier with these results.

[Jerod Broussard]

Lookin' goooood. I have to have someone calibrate a thermometer for me in ice water every single day I go to work.

[troymeister]

Just curious, why is that?

[Jerod Broussard]

I take food safety temp's throughout the day with Critical Limits of 40.0 F, 55.0 F, and 46.0 F. The fact someone else does it validates it. And if the temp's aren't right, I make mention of that validation in my report.