suggestions for wireless thermometer?

[jfmorris]

After the wifi gateway for my Smoke died overnight during a cook, I'm becoming a fan of dedicated remotes versus relying on my phone to be the remote. So my vote is a Maverick XR-50 or a Thermoworks Smoke (or the new Smoke X2).

I don't think bluetooth is desirable or useful at all unless you are going to keep your phone within 30 feet of the grill at all times. My grill is a lot more than 30 feet from the den and kitchen. So I would only consider dedicated RF like the Smoke, Smoke X2/X4 or Maverick XR-50, OR a Wifi one like the Fireboard or Thermoworks Signals.

[Razor]

My wife still uses our 2006 MacBook Pro to remote into her office computer. 😂

I brought my 2010 Mac mini to my office just to run some backup jobs and sold my 2012 machine for $700 too buy a 2018. The great hardware, just hate some of the OS decisions.

[jfmorris]

Razor right now my issue is the hand me down 2011 MacBook Pro my wife uses reboots spontaneously during use, loosing whatever the wife is doing. I resurrected a 2003 iBook G4 this week, but don’t think she will like that! Daughter is on my old 2009 MBP for college, and I use a 2014 MBP and a 2017 iMac 27”. Like you, I feel they are going the wrong way in software. I say this as a iOS app developer. Every year they break the apps I maintain and I have to rewrite things.

[Huskee]

Hear hear!

[surfdog]

I got the Thermoworks Signals over the Fireboard for a couple reasons.
First off, I already have a bunch of their stuff...so I’m familiar with the quality. It seemed to by built better.

Four probes is plenty for me. If for some reason I need more...I can always use one of my ThermaQ units.

I REALLY like being able to see each probes temp without having to touch the unit or my phone.

And finally, I have zero desire to graph my cooks. It’s just not that important to me. If I were building/testing cookers I might have an interest...for cooking though...I’ve done just fine over the years without a graph telling me I had 10° dip 3 hours into a 10 hour cook. My ThermaQ WiFi can graph but I never use that function.

[Razor]

I use to save every graph. Now I don't bother. Never look at them afterwards anyway.

[Troutman]

I tend to agree with you on the Signals readout but I do watch the graph on my Fireboard with regard to the ambient temperature. I've found that wild spikes, dips or increases tells me quickly that my cooker is off before it becomes a problem with the cook itself. I monitor it for a steady and even line, not worrying about the ups and downs as much as the general trend.

[Suratp]

I just took a brisket off my 22" WSM after a 21 hour cook and a butt on a 18" WSN. My typical setup is two meat and one temp probe per WSM of which I can be running six of them at a time. I used my new Fireboard for the first time and I must say that the ease of use and wifi have made me a fan already. Setup was a breeze, Having 6 taps allowed me to use another manufacturer's probes for one smoker and the new ones on the other into the single, rechargeable, plug n play Fireboard. For me, a game changer. No longer have to use multiple Bluetooth base units and keep that little bunny (batteries) decked out in new clothes. Using my iPhone 6s as a monitor was easy. I'm actually playing with notes feature right now. It's going to make a great journal. Oh, did I mention competitively priced...

[Troutman]

Little late to respond but I've test driven most of the better thermo units out there (with the exception of some of the new variants) and I would rank them as such....

1) Fireboard Extreme with Pit Viper fan. Up to 6 probes, set and forget, WiFi and Bluetooth. Great graphs. Also cloud based. Phone operated. Excellent customer service. Only downside is the tiny readout on the unit itself, but that's minor if you have your phone with you

2) Thermoworks Signals with the Billows fan. Tries to be the Fireboard but have not had good experience with the firmware, it's not as robust. Love the readouts on the unit itself. 4 probe capability which is normally enough. Well built. Excellent customer service.

3) Either one of those units without fan control.

4) Thermoworks Smoke. I've had one with the remote readout for over 3 years. Never even changed the battery. As a standalone 2 probe unit it's built like a tank. New larger variant is killer !!

5) Maverick XR-50. Another solid contender. I've used mine sparingly but have read about problems,. Absolute BEST value award.

6) Other than variants to the above, forget about anything else, especially cheaper Chinese junk. Pay a little more for solid electronics and good customer service.

Those are my opinions anyway, for what they are worth.

[Red_Deck_BBQ]

Thanks for that rundown! i will take your advice and spend a bit more and get a fire board!

[JGrana]

I am in the Fireboard fan club as well. Can't beat the Wifi coverage and well done application. You can also use 3rd party temp. probes. Nice touch.

[smokenoob]

I have a "smoke" bluetooth
I like it but if I did it over, I would go wifi with capability to read temps on my phone from any location I have wifi

[Red_Deck_BBQ]

Thank you all so much for the advice!!

[TimmyR]

Following....I am in the camp of looking at a New Fireboard or the Thermoworks Signals I think. I want a minimum of 4 channels (1 for smoker temp and 3 for meat). I am on the fence between the two. I just started researching

[willsands]

Fireboard has a new model coming out and the price of the older ones has been reduced significantly.
I have had a Fireboard with the drive cable for a while and I am very pleased with the system. Of course, I had to pre-order the new model, just 'cause I like'm.

[mountainsmoker]

BBQ Guru just released there new UltraQ with four probes. It has a ton of features and connectivity options. Wit[h either one of their fans it is going to be a great controller. Plus all of their various connectors for the Pit Boss and Pit Bull fans.

[OliverB2020]

As some said, it's between Fireboard & ThermoWorks Signals IMO.

[STEbbq]

I guess I will be the lonely vote for the Inkbird 4 probe. The iPhone app is effective and easy to use, it connects to my smoker at the end of the driveway via Bluetooth when the smoker’s WiFi fails (I bought a bigger antenna to try for next time), and it is like $45 bucks. It delivers good temperatures and does exactly what I need it to do. They also have a WiFi version for $100 bucks or so that looks pretty good.

[DesertRaider]

I'm like several of the folks that have posted, my Thermoworks Smoke has been great. I went back and forth between the Fireboard and Thermoworks, and what sold me was I could always get in touch with someone from customer service. Couldn't with the others. Also, Bluetooth can be a pain. Having paired units means one less thing to have to mess with. If you need more probes, go with the X2. Good luck with whatever you get.

[willxfmr]

I know I'm going to be an outlier here, but I have a Thermoworks Smoke, and if you would like it, I'll sell it to you cheap. My experience has not been good with it since day one. I have contacted Thermoworks several times due to the unit freezing up mid-cook, loss of connection to the remote unit, and connection problems with the WiFi gateway. Everytime there is a problem, simply turning the thing off and back on has fixed the issue, so Thermoworks Tech support has assured me that this was just a one off bug and everything is fine. I have however, had a couple of cooks go South on me because the temp reading froze up and I didn't catch it in time. There is no way I would trust it to monitor a cook if I wasn't there to keep an eye on it. Thermoworks has a great reputation, and I highly recommend their Chef Alarm thermometer, but personally, I would steer clear of the Smoke.