Traeger Meat Probe +/- 7.5 Degrees!?

[fkrall]

Had a disastrous prime rib cook yesterday using my newly-gifted Ironwood 885. Most of it pilot error brought on by Traeger's meat-probe temperatures on the downside that I had trouble believing but trusted anyway. When I checked Traeger's site today I was shocked to learn that Traeger states that a " properly working Traeger meat probe will read within 7.5°F of the actual temperature." Seven-point-five degrees!! I reveal this as I never would believed that a reputable manufacturer would build in a deviation that extreme. As soon as my wife stops reloading I'll determine whether that's a classic or a criminal inaccuracy.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Can you calibrate it or at least check it with ice water? I check all my probes and won't use anything not accurate within .5, and anytime I do something expensive I use multiple probes just in case.

That's a huge bummer that they are ok with that large of a margin of error

[fkrall]

Still getting used to it, but the calibration selection on the menu was just that--calibration with the message "Meat Probe Calibrated" or the like. No degree readout that I found.

[RonB]

Wow! That's ridiculous. But if you can figure out the amount of the error, you can pull early or late to compensate. Or just buy something from Thermoworks, (factory calibrated).

[fkrall]

Correct, and my error. My go-to is the Smoke, which I didn't use, or the Thermapen MkIV which I did, to compare. I can't explain why I trusted the Traeger, but stupidity probably has something to do with it.

[Michael_in_TX]

My original meat probe on my Chimp was off by thirty degrees. Its replacement is off by ten.

I'm of the opinion that the stock meat probes on these things are just too inaccurate for those of us who regularly read a BBQ forum. For peace of mind I've switched over to my Thermoworks Smoke for any meat measurements. (The built-in ambient temp probe on my Chimp works just fine, and 10-15 degrees is not so critical there.)

[glitchy]

Sadly, this isn’t just a Traeger problem. I think pellet grill companies think it’s a huge selling feature, then invest the minimal possible in both the hardware and the software around them. I’ve only had a couple pellet grills I would trust the probes on and went back to using the Fireboard instead of bothering with the grills monitoring system. I had probes on a different brand that the readings would freeze occasionally during a cook.

With a larger company like Traeger, the question is are they really variable by 7.5° or is that something the legal department decided to avoid thousands of warranty probe claims and lawsuits around overcooked dinners? The probe check mentioned above might get you a closer answer. I usually do both an ice bath and boiling water check on new devices before using them.

I don’t know your Prime Rib cooking experience, but depending on how you’re cooking it, it can rise 10 plus degrees after pulling it from the grill. I pulled mine yesterday at 122° and when I removed the probe 15 minutes later it was up to 131° and hadn’t stopped climbing.

[fkrall]

I thought of the warranty thing, too, and I've shared your positive prime rib experience with my Weber Performer. I was looking forward to crossing my ankles rather than adjusting vents. But I did learn from this experience and I will conquer the beast!

[Redwng]

You are right +/-7.5 degrees is extremely deficient for a meat probe. I am always checking anything I cook with my Thermapen (I have 2 and a Fireboard Spark) to double check when it gets to within 15 degrees of where it is supposed to be.

[bbqLuv]

Is not technology wonderful? If it were not for technology I would have to learn how to cook. Really, Pellet grills are a good example: it was not until I got a pellet grill that I was able to cook better food constantly.

[GolfGeezer]

Apparently some models can be calibrated. But teh one interesting note I saw was this:

"TRAEGER WIRED MEAT PROBES VS INSTANT-READ THERMOMETERS


Traeger's wired meat probes read temperature by averaging the temperature of the entire length of the probe. Instant-read thermometers generally have sensors right on the tip."

[glitchy]

Honestly, I don’t see how that would be possible with a simple barrel plug thermometer probe. To average, you’d need multiple sensors in the probe and the ability to read them all and average them out.

[fkrall]

I noticed that, too, this morning! There was lots of internal fat in the meat, and perhaps the "average meat and fat" measurement caused the inaccurate reading. From now on, the Smoke will be my default, with or without the meat probe.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

That sounds dumb, and more expensive for a worse result.