ThermoWorks ThermaQ -- Probe to fit under the hood of a Kamado Joe?

[scottranda]

I see there is a Father's Day sale for the ThermaQ product line, and I need a good digital thermometer to measure meat and the temp of the cooker.

First of all, it looks like I need to get a "kit" which actually include the probes, right? Gee wiz, it's getting more expensive!

My other question is will the probes that come with the ThermaQ Kit fit under the hood of a Kamado Joe? It seems like Meathead's review says it will not work: "It has two ports for probes, so you can use the Smoke House Penetration Probe #THS-113-178 which can be left in the meat and the stainless cord is super heavy duty and will not fray. This cable is far sturdier than any I have ever seen. But it is thick and will not fit under grill lids without letting hot air out. You need to have a hole through which you insert it. It functions up to 662°F (350°C) so it can be used to measure hot air temp as well as meat and that will measure the temp in a hot grill."

Here are the kits: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/...q.html#KitsTab

I'm guessing I'll need the "ThermaQ Kit" for $176.80 ??

If it really costs that much, maybe you can steer me towards another brand? I see lots of talk about the Maverick.

Thanks for your expert advice!

[jholmgren]

That should work fine. I use a CyberQ Wifi on my Kamado Joe and I also sometimes use a Thermoworks ChefAlarm.

The felt gaskets on the lid and base have enough 'give' to allow the probe wires to come through without any appreciable heat loss. I think Meathead is referring to metal lids on gassers.

Jim

[fuzzydaddy]

I typically have (4) cords passing through the standard Big Green Egg felt (all in the same location) and haven't noticed any negative impact on really long (16 to 18 hour) cooks. If my PartyQ is blowing during I might see some smoke come out of the area around the cords so I know it's not air-tight, but I suspect it's minimal. I've tried running them through the top vent but don't like that as it uses up most of the cord length, but that might be an option for you. Of course my cords are not "super heavy duty"--- (1) PartyQ air probe, (1) ThermoWorks air probe and (2) ThermoWorks meat probes. I have (2) ChefAlarms and (1) DOT.

[Breadhead]

@fuzzydaddy

I use a DigiQ Dx2 and a Maverick ET 735 in my LBGE. I run the cables between the felt line. I only use those devices on low and slow cooks.

When I bake bread in my LBGE the preheat temp gets as high as 650°. I just use the tru-tel gauge on the Dome knowing its reading 30° to 40° higher than the actual dome temp is.

I don't get smoke leakage having the probe cables mounted there. If I do it would be very minimal.

[fuzzydaddy]

Breadhead, the reason I have a tiny amount of leakage is that my lid has become a little misaligned (under-bite) and doesn't sit completely flat on the base...got to fix that! I did check and all my bolts are tight.

[Breadhead]

A misaligned lid is fairly easy to fix. You can google that on YouTube and watch a video of how to do it. If you're like me you'll put that on your list of things to do and get er done in about 6 months to a year.

[scottranda]

Thanks for the comments! I'm going to suck up the price of the therma q and buy it!

[scottranda]

Bought it!!

... now I need to explain to my wife I still need an instant thermometer ...

By the way, I used the link in the AR website to support AR!