Kitchen Thermometers

[Martin Fisher]

I have several Thermoworks thermometers, most are great, they're not all great. They used to sell some re-branded Chinese garbage in the not to distant past. That's probably why there are NO product reviews on theirs website, and why they hate the resale of their products so much—which belittles their loyal customers.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

I have several Thermoworks thermometers, most are great, they're not all great. They used to sell some re-branded Chinese garbage in the not to distant past. That's probably why there are NO product reviews on theirs website, and why they hate the resale of their products so much—which belittles their loyal customers.

 

 

And other than thermometers they sell stuff from other manufacturers, for example pH meters.  Still Theromoworks are probably the best choice out there for culinary use.

 

[gulfporter]

I have and use Thermopen and Thermopop. But what I really need is an instant read digital oven thermometer.  

 

Mexican ovens are not known for their heat calibration;  most do not even have a thermostat.   The oven knob on mine is Celsius and the markings are very close together.  Most of my recipes are in Fahrenheit.  

 

I have tried a few oven thermometers and all are slow in registering temps and have small dials making them difficult to read without opening the oven door. 

 

I have searched for a instant read digital oven thermometer and have not found one....most of my searches take me to meat-type thermometers for oven use (the kind with probes). 

 

Anyone ever seen what I am in need of?

[Martin Fisher]

10 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

I have and use Thermopen and Thermopop. But what I really need is an instant read digital oven thermometer.  

 

Mexican ovens are not known for their heat calibration;  most do not even have a thermostat.   The oven knob on mine is Celsius and the markings are very close together.  Most of my recipes are in Fahrenheit.  

 

I have tried a few oven thermometers and all are slow in registering temps and have small dials making them difficult to read without opening the oven door. 

 

I have searched for a instant read digital oven thermometer and have not found one....most of my searches take me to meat-type thermometers for oven use (the kind with probes). 

 

Anyone ever seen what I am in need of?

 

I have a Thermoworks Dot (sensor) permanently mounted in the oven.

It's always on, the battery lasts for months.

[gfweb]

@JoNorvelleWalker You have one of these? I use t he heck out of it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00DMI632G/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser+thermometer

[rotuts]

I don't have an IR temp gizmo

 

Ive always thought that measuring emissivity of the items was too complitcated

 

I have black pans , and shinny nickel pans

[paulraphael]

55 minutes ago, gfweb said:

@JoNorvelleWalker You have one of these? I use t he heck out of it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00DMI632G/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser+thermometer

 

I have that exact one. Forgot how cheap it was. It's great for getting a quick read on oven temperatures, seeing how the fridge or freezer is doing, and checking the temp of any non-shiny pans. When I bake bread I use a dutch oven, and the gizmo lets me check the actual temp of that vessel so I can know how long to preheat. And it's not a bad cat toy.

[gfweb]

17 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

 

I have that exact one. Forgot how cheap it was. It's great for getting a quick read on oven temperatures, seeing how the fridge or freezer is doing, and checking the temp of any non-shiny pans. When I bake bread I use a dutch oven, and the gizmo lets me check the actual temp of that vessel so I can know how long to preheat. And it's not a bad cat toy.

 

Our crappy GE Profile fridge has a completely unreliable thermostat. Laser boy is indispensable for checks.

 

The other fun use is looking for cool/hot spots in pans and how long it takes a pan to even out the temp.

 

Our last dog was so addicted to chasing the dot that all I had to do was open its drawer to set him off.

 

@rotuts you need this

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by gfweb (log)

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

I have a Thermoworks Dot (sensor) permanently mounted in the oven.

It's always on, the battery lasts for months.

How do you mount it...will it hook onto rack and face forward?  Can you remove the probe?  

I went to site but no pics of it hanging inside of oven that I could see. 

Edited May 24, 2018 by gulfporter (log)

[rotuts]

OK :

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00DMI632G/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser+thermometer

 

vs

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B013X0NQT0/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser%2Bthermometer&th=1

 

as far as I can tell #2 adjusts emissivity :    black pan is different than a nickel pan     

 

thoughts ?

 

a long time ago I almost got one to " test " the temp of my wood stove

 

then relized the WS  was " Hot "  and , well    that was that

 

BTW there is a magnetic temp thing-ey on the top of the WS.  if the WS gets too hot it damages the WS

 

but lower than that its all good.

 

after all , the WS does not have NaturalGas  injectors I can turn on to get it to " Just Right "

Edited May 24, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[gulfporter]

Rotus,

Thx for links, but am looking for a thermometer that stays in the oven at all times, not point and shoot.  I remain surprised that the only ones out there seem to be such old technology, but will continue to look. 

 

I chatted a few minutes ago with rep at Thermoworks about DOT....the unit stays outside the oven, only the probe goes inside, would have to buy a grate clip and figure out how to mount it and where to put outside unit, etc.  

 

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, gulfporter said:

How do you mount it...will it hook onto rack and face forward?  Can you remove the probe?  

I went to site but no pics of it hanging inside of oven that I could see. 

 

 

I'm not @DiggingDogFarm, but here's what I do:

My oven has vent holes on both sides of the convection fan cover that's part of the back wall of the oven.  I believe they function as air returns for the convection fan.  I was able to put one of the grate clips in one of those holes.  It's easy to remove just the probe or both the clip and probe. It would be more ideal to have the probe closer to the food and I did that for a while but I had to move it about all the time depending on what I was putting in the oven. The readings I get from the probe in this position track well with the little analog oven thermometer that I move around. 

 

Embarrassing dirty oven photo:

 

Edited to add this photo of the Dot on the outside of the oven and to add that the self-clean cycle is now running to remedy the above situation :

Edited May 24, 2018 by blue_dolphin (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, gfweb said:

@JoNorvelleWalker You have one of these? I use t he heck out of it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00DMI632G/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser+thermometer

 

No, I have never had a non contact thermometer.  Like @rotuts I wonder how this unit would compensate for black cast iron surfaces and bright stainless steel surfaces.  Though I must say the price is cheap enough.

 

[rotuts]

apparently there are tables that tell you the number to use to set the emissivity 

 

Im guessing that # 2 of the two links has that extra feature and # 1 does not

 

for 2 dollars more

 

Ill put # 2 on a list.

 

I refuse to buy  Prime.

 

saved me $ 20 just now !

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, gulfporter said:

Rotus,

Thx for links, but am looking for a thermometer that stays in the oven at all times, not point and shoot.  I remain surprised that the only ones out there seem to be such old technology, but will continue to look. 

 

I chatted a few minutes ago with rep at Thermoworks about DOT....the unit stays outside the oven, only the probe goes inside, would have to buy a grate clip and figure out how to mount it and where to put outside unit, etc.  

 

 

When my landlord got me a new oven I bought a probe with grate clip:

https://www.thermoworks.com/TW-113-442-GC

 

This worked wonderfully (notice how I avoided saying "great") for profiling the oven.  Indeed, I found a problem with an oven firmware setting.  (Though if your oven hasn't a thermostat it may not have much firmware.)

 

I do not leave the probe in the oven all the time.  If the stove belonged to me I would find or make a hole and bring the probe cable out the back so I could monitor temperature all the time.  As it is, the cable coming out the side of the oven door is inconvenient.  But for me the probe did it's job.  I have a WiFi readout so I was able to graph the oven on my iPad.

 

For your application various Thermoworks mounting methods are magnetic.  You could stick the readout right on the outside of the stove.  The grate clip is not hard to mount.  There are also clip on oven probes.

 

 

[boilsover]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

Ive always thought that measuring emissivity of the items was too complitcated

 

Most IR guns have adjustable emissivity these days.  You might have to switch back and forth between shiny and black, but it's not that big a deal.

 

One of the unsung heroes of Thermoworks is the Contact Thermapen.

 

BTW, Thermoworks has a sale that ENDS TODAY on Smoke, Thermapen, and ThermaQ--up to 32% off.

[boilsover]

5 hours ago, gulfporter said:

But what I really need is an instant read digital oven thermometer. 

 

Why does it need to be intant-read? You're leaving it in the oven, right?  If you open the door, it throws off the reading.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

11 minutes ago, boilsover said:

One of the unsung heroes of Thermoworks is the Contact Thermapen.

 

Indeed.  I have one.  But it registers only to 300C.

 

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, boilsover said:

 

Why does it need to be intant-read? You're leaving it in the oven, right?  If you open the door, it throws off the reading.

I just figured the new technology would be instant read and all of it inside the oven....evidently that is non-existent.  I don't like the look of the wires coming out of the oven on the ones available.  I will bide my time until technology catches up with my pipedream.  

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, gulfporter said:

I just figured the new technology would be instant read and all of it inside the oven....evidently that is non-existent.  I don't like the look of the wires coming out of the oven on the ones available.  I will bide my time until technology catches up with my pipedream.  

 

What you're asking for, then, is a wireless sensor inside the oven that transmits to a receiver outside the oven, like the wireless indoor/outdoor thermometers so common these days. That's a lot of heat for a transmitter to withstand, and would probably be expensive if it exists at the consumer level. Even in the industrial applications I used to see, we'd run probes with long wires into the heat source, and keep the measurement device out in the relative cool.

 

You're probably better off sticking with the old-fashioned needle-style oven thermometer.

[boilsover]

1 hour ago, gulfporter said:

I just figured the new technology would be instant read and all of it inside the oven....evidently that is non-existent.  I don't like the look of the wires coming out of the oven on the ones available.  I will bide my time until technology catches up with my pipedream.  

 

I would suggest that, if you're handy (or you find the right service person), you simply have a good hardwired thermometer installed inside the oven.  Route the cable through/around the cooktop and to the base unit.  If you use a Type K thermocouple, you might consider one of the new  Thermoworks ThermaQ Wi-Fi base units.  They have dual channels, so you can plug in a second probe (contact, penetration, etc.).  The cost for all 3 isn't much, but you would have the install to finance.  Otherwise, just get used to the cable hanging out the door.

[scubadoo97]

Thermoworks base thermometers may be over priced based on the competition but their customer service and higher end products  are top notch  which has value 

[gulfporter]

12 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What you're asking for, then, is a wireless sensor inside the oven that transmits to a receiver outside the oven, like the wireless indoor/outdoor thermometers so common these days. That's a lot of heat for a transmitter to withstand, and would probably be expensive if it exists at the consumer level. Even in the industrial applications I used to see, we'd run probes with long wires into the heat source, and keep the measurement device out in the relative cool.

 

You're probably better off sticking with the old-fashioned needle-style oven thermometer.

It's the analog thermometer that I want to replace....want a digital thermometer for inside the oven.  Because the digital need a battery, it would require a heat-proof casing.  IMO the technology is there, but for whatever reason (cost, lack of perceived demand) no one is making one.  

[HungryChris]

20 hours ago, rotuts said:

OK :

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00DMI632G/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser+thermometer

 

vs

 

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B013X0NQT0/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527166463&sr=1-5&keywords=laser%2Bthermometer&th=1

 

as far as I can tell #2 adjusts emissivity :    black pan is different than a nickel pan     

 

thoughts ?

 

a long time ago I almost got one to " test " the temp of my wood stove

 

then relized the WS  was " Hot "  and , well    that was that

 

BTW there is a magnetic temp thing-ey on the top of the WS.  if the WS gets too hot it damages the WS

 

but lower than that its all good.

 

after all , the WS does not have NaturalGas  injectors I can turn on to get it to " Just Right "

 

I have the first one and find it just about perfect for frying things. It is a huge help in determining when to put stuff in to fry ( usually at 375 F), when I have added too much at a time (I.E. the temp drops well below 350 F) . I also use it when I bring SV water up to speed on the stove. I get it within a few degrees of where I want and then put the Anova in to the bring it up the rest of the way.

It has made life easier for me.

HC

[Martin Fisher]

On 5/24/2018 at 10:19 AM, gulfporter said:

How do you mount it...will it hook onto rack and face forward?  Can you remove the probe?  

I went to site but no pics of it hanging inside of oven that I could see. 

 

 

I use grate clips.

ETA: The oven grates are too wide for the grate clip and run front too back..

I have a flat grate with narrow grate spacing sitting on top of the oven grate.

The probe is easily removable.

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by DiggingDogFarm (log)