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Testing Maverick ET-732 probe calibration against ThermoPop instant read

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    Testing Maverick ET-732 probe calibration against ThermoPop instant read

    All this recent talk of folks having trouble with their Maverick probes and I had been relatively trouble free...until I made that comment.

    The very next time I started my Mavs up the ambient temps were all haywire. It was 28 degrees outside and one probe read 132 and another 39. I would unplug the wires and replug them and the 132 one said 118, then 124 and so on. WTH?? It was this way with 4 probes, all erratically off and all different from each other. And all those erratic readouts would change as I unplugged the wire and re-plugged. Is it the probes or the units?

    So I decided to see if they were all shot or what else was happening.

    I decided to do the boiling water test. I boiled a pot of water, and at my elevation ~900' boiling point should be in the neighborhood of 210.

    I brought my probes inside wondering if it was just the colder temps making them go nuts and perhaps room temp would help. The ThermoPop said room temp was 70. My probes were reading from 84 to 113. Not looking good.

    I initially stuck the 4 probes I use most (the ones in question) into the water but not touching the bottom of the pot.
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    One probe on each unit read 212, and one on each unit read 214. These temps held there for twenty minutes without moving.
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    I marked with a small piece of tape at the plug end of each probe whether it was 2 degrees high or 4, for future reference, mostly for when doing steaks or chicken when you need a tighter tolerance. I also did the water test with 4 other spare probes I use when I need my 3rd Mav up & running (plus 2 spare probes I had on hand). The exact same thing showed up there- one probe read 212 and one read 214 on each unit. The ThermoPop said exactly 210, which is what Google tells me my boiling point should be.

    So all 8 of my probes read either 2* or 4* high. To me, this is plenty tolerable, especially since now I KNOW it and have the probes marked accordingly. Also good to know is my ThermoPop is dead accurate at boiling!

    But, this is at boiling. So this tells me temps in my cooker will be fairly accurate, at least in the general boiling range, but it doesn't tell me if steak or chicken temps at 130-160 will be accurate.

    I decided to let the water cool and retest them. I taped my ThermoPop crudely to the pot to monitor the water temp. When The T-pop read 141, my Mavericks (all 8 probes) were 2 to 4 degrees off, the same variance each one had in boiling water! *What you don't see in this pic is that the T-pop changed one second after I took this pic to 140. The Mavs all read 142 to 144.
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    So, I was very pleased to see that my probes were not in fact off. 2-4 degrees is plenty accurate for me, especially since I was able to mark each probe. I will take my 135 steak to 139 if I'm using a +4 marked probe, etc.

    Also what I learned is my $24 (now $29) ThermoPop which reads in 5 seconds, is dead on in boiling water.

    What I haven't figured out is why I had all the outside ambient air variances initially and why unplugging and replugging made those wild variances change.

    Oh well, at least they're accurate at the levels that count!

    HAVE YOU CALIBRATED YOUR PROBES TO MAKE SURE YOUR MEAT IS WHERE YOU THINK??
    Last edited by Huskee; December 23, 2014, 01:55 AM.

    #2
    Strange that your probes went nuts on you like that and then worked good indoors. Any other issues with them outside? Just put in an order for the ET-733, but that has the new hybrid probes. I have an iGrill now and I have had the same issues with probes reading squirrely and then start working normal again so I hope to not have the same thing happen with the new Maverick probes.

    Comment


      #3
      Ya know its been about 4 month since I checked mine and I think I added the white super deal Mav to the mix after that. Its time.

      Comment


        #4
        Is it as simple as the probes are not intended to measure air temps? ThermoWorks has separate air probes. Don't know how they are different and I know nothing about the Maverick but just a thought. They seem to work fine when measuring liquids and meats.

        Comment


        • Huskee
          Huskee commented
          Editing a comment
          I'm sure they're not designed specifically for ambient air, other than the cooking chamber, but both the cooker probe and meat probe can measure either.

        #5
        I have a ThermoPop also and trust it to give me accurate readings in air or meat. I was considering getting the Mavs but may reconsider to purchase more Thermoworks gear based on the erratic nature of the readings you were getting, Huskee. Has the manufacturer been able to give you a reasonable explanation for the wild readings?

        Comment


        • Huskee
          Huskee commented
          Editing a comment
          I attribute it to leaving them in the humid rain for a couple days. I haven't contacted the manufacturer about this since the problem resolved when I did the above test. I have however contacted them before about another matter and they were very helpful. Good customer service in my limited dealings with them.

        • Jon Solberg
          Jon Solberg commented
          Editing a comment
          Ray I wouldn't let this sway you away from Mavs. Thermoworks are IMO a much better product BUT you cant beat a Mav for remote use.

        #6
        I wonder if humidity had gotten into them while sitting around outside and putting the probes in boiling water caused the water in the probes to boil off, thus fixing the problem.

        Comment


          #7
          I think you nailed it Dave. I left them out in the rain for 2 straight days, probes and transmitters. BBQ Dragon too, but it still works too. These haywire ambient readings haven't happened before so I attribute it to that. And like I said, I don't need them to tell me the air temp at ambient levels, only at cooking levels and meat temps and they're spot on at those levels.

          Comment


            #8
            I had this happened to me one time on a cold morning. I had left the Maverick in the shop so everything was cold. When I hooked it all up I got some wild readings. First thing I did was change the batteries. After that all was well. so I did not go any further. Don't really know if that was it or not. Cold batteries? Or just run down batteries.

            Comment


              #9
              I recently had some wild readings on my ET733 after leaving the probes out in the rain. I was concerned that I would have to order new probes, but the next time I used them a couple days later they were fine.

              Comment


              • Spinaker
                Spinaker commented
                Editing a comment
                put them in the oven at 350 F and dry them out. they'll work again.

              • Ligoniera1
                Ligoniera1 commented
                Editing a comment
                Spinaker, in your experience putting these into a 350 deg over....do you put the entire probe in? I'm wondering about the plastic shrouded 90deg jack at the monitor end. Or do you leave that hanging out of hte oven while the sensor itself dries in the oven? I'm thinking I just talked my way through this question....

              • Dewesq55
                Dewesq55 commented
                Editing a comment
                Ligoniera, you have to leave the plugs outside the oven when drying the probes. This has been discussed on other threads on this site.

                DEW

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