Need help choosing a thermometer

[TBoneJack]

I had a serious MCS flare up this morning!!!! I was looking at the Fireboard. Now I want one. Don't know if I can hold out much longer! I already have four MAvs. But no wifi, app, graphs or multiple probes. Sanity.......please wash over me.

I feel the same way. I have a WSM, just bought a new PBC, and am already looking at stick burning smokers.

[Brewmaster]

Love the Stoker 2, very easy to use and looks cool, Thermapen or a Thermapop is a must

[TheCountofQ]

I see it mentioned so rarely here (never it seems) that I thought I was the only one using it. Now I don't feel so lonely. :-D

[Danjohnston949]

JOE E, As you have Probably realized by Now you have just asked similar to "What Kind of Wife Should I Buy Next Time"? There Ain't No Right Answer!
As Spinaker said You may want to learn Your Smoker and its Peculiarities before Spending Your Way Into the BBQ Hall of Fame? If I was going to give a New Comer advice on Thermometers I would suggest starting with a Maverick et 732 or733 Leave In Two Probe! You can Monitor both the Grill and Food Temps Remotely and Dependably! In addition I would buy a MK-4 Thermapen Instant Read by ThermoWorks for Spot Checking! As time has went on I have added a FireBoard (Wi-fi & iCloud), 6 Probe Capable w/individual Labeling and Setting possible! I also have an iChef Bluetooth ET-737 by Maverick Industries that doesn't Work for our Steel Sided House? Lastly I do have a BBQGURU DigiQ Dx-2 Temp Control with both Pit Viper (small) and Pit Bull (Large) Fans! The Small fan is Used on the Weber S 'n S Combo, the Large Fan is used on My Oklahoma Joe Highlander Offset! The DigiQ Dx-2 works Great on the Weber and the Learning Curve Continues on the OK Joe! I hope this Toomb helps You Some! Welcome to "The Pit"!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[CaptainMike]

I have use the Smoke and thermopen and am very happy with both. My Smoke receiver went on the fritz and Thermoworks immediately replaced it at no charge.

[Quailsroost Smokers]

I have the Maverick ET-732 with the 2 probes. Works great and was pretty inexpensive. Even got some Bear Claws thrown into the purchase as a promotion

[EdF]

They work really well. I had a 30 person feed a couple of years ago, and I was so glad I'd bought them - even if my hands still ached all day!

[Huskee]

Welcome to the Pit JOE E!

You mention needing help deciding between a few thermometers and a DigiQ. The DigiQ is a controller (pardon me if you well know this), but a controller helps regulate the temp with a thermostatically-controlled fan. The others that you and most are referencing are just thermometers to tell you the temps and that's all. So, do you fancy yourself as controlling the temp with your hands-- doing it yourself-- or do you want the convenience of a controller? If controller, go DigiQ.

The others have pretty well outlined the differences in the others. I think the Maverick ET732 is the best bang for the buck out there, they've worked fine for many a year and many a pitmaster, it's the Holiday Inn of thermometers. The Smoke is a nice upscale version, same thing but a little fancier, it's the Hyatt. The Fireboard is a 7-day cruise!

[Irishfuente]

This is one of the best and easiest posts ever. I read for hours and this summed it up in seconds thanks.

[Huskee]

Thank you Irishfuente glad it helped! This post is a year & a half old, now there's a great new player, the Maverick XR 50. Give it a look if you're in the market for a remote thermometer. It's a 4-probe unit instead of 2, blows the Smoke away, and is only about $80. The XR 50, in my opinion, is the clear winner of the ones I mention above. The Fireboard is still the fanciest, but priciest.

[klflowers]

Huskee, I didn't know about the XR 50. I am not sophisticated enough to really want a Fireboard, but the XR-50 looks like it is right up my alley. Amazingribs is becoming my MCS pusherman (see Curtis Mayfield, Pusherman from the Superfly soundtrack...)

[JGo37]

I started with an instant-read folding pen, and that saved my cooks. I moved up, put a firewall grommet in my cookers, and got a dual probe with a local display and a remote. That upped my game, and I knew more about what was going on with the food in the cookers. I often put one probe each in two cookers, and move the base to see what's going on. I then put an external thermometer display in each of my cookers, in the indirect zone. That helped my manage the cooker, not just the food. Lastly, I got an extra instant read, a pop.

[HawkerXP]

Thermoworks Pop and Dot. Served me well for years.

[Irishfuente]

I started out with a dot and bought 2 probes. One for the meat and the other for the air temp in my pit. Id keep the air temp on constsntly and like once an hour change to the meat. Then finally when i got close to final temp. Id switch just to meat. Now i have a 2 probe thermometer and wow what a life saver

[ecowper]

Not sure what you chose or what all the other folks had to say. I’m going to weigh in on the Fireboard .... I have one and it’s awesome! Here’s a quite long thread that I started to review the Fireboard

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...-the-fireboard

[SmokeyGator]

Fireboard and bbq guru are controllers. I have the cubercue cloud, it is magic. Set the temperature and the controller does the rest. But if I had to buy another I think it would be a fireboard. It can accept more probes. I am happy with my cybercue cloud, but I think the fireboard edges it out.

Thermowerks is more of a good stand alone thermometer. They won’t work as controller, just as pit monitors and/or food probes.

Ideally you have both. A controller for long cooks (or overnight unattended cooks) and a thermowerks probe for checking doneness or for times when you aren’t using the controller (I don’t always use mine, sometimes I’m doing hot and fast or even warp 10 insane heat).

[alarsen77]

I am also thinking about adding a new thermometer as get more into grilling. We currently have a Thermoworks Chef Alarm and I am debating on a Thermoworks Smoke or getting a Fireboard. I would like to have something that I can monitor remotely while inside working on other aspects of the meal.

[obiQsmoker]

Recently got a Fireboard because my ThermPro unit doesn’t support low-temp alerts. My pellet pooper occasionally flames-out, so I want to know when it’s getting too cool.
Love that the Fireboard:
- supports high AND low temp alerts for each of up to six probes.
- Cloud and WiFi - allowing me to monitor and receive alerts from most anywhere I can get WiFi or cell service on my phone.
- Graphing helps me understand my Pit behavior and allow a look-back over periods I was sleeping or stepped away.

Given what we spend on meat and fuel/wood, I realized a good monitor helps ensure success, let’s me sleep a little longer during long cooks, and reduces the chance of a major failure. It’s not a guarantee, but just one more tool to help in our quest for delicious BBQ.

Besides, cool gadgets are, well, cool, right!? Have fun with it!

[SmokingSteve]

I am also new to smoking, but have hot cooked for many years on a gasser. I recently got the Maverick XR-50 and it has been awesome! 4 probes, remote monitor, able to set alarm ranges both high and low, and not expensive. Also got a Thermoworks POP for instant read.

[realdocBBQ]

I've got 2 Mavericks, a Weber iGrill2, a Fireboard and for instant reads a nice cheap (and effective) Maverick and 2 Thermopops.

The Fireboard is the bomb, that's what I know. I seldom use anything else, really.