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Meater - Completely Wireless Meat Thermometer

FauxPas

By FauxPas
in Kitchen Consumer

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FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted

Wondering if anyone else has seen this Meater tool? Completely wireless, can be used in ovens or grills and will send notification to smartphone when meat reaches desired temperature. 

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1977846026/meater-the-first-truly-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?utm_source=eggaddiction&utm_medium=campaign&utm_content=cross&utm_campaign=kspledges

 

Any thoughts? 

 

 

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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted (edited)

A metal enclosure is known as a Faraday Cage. Faraday cage is used to cut off radio wave to shield sensitive electronics from RFI. You can survive a direct lightning hit if you are inside a car or airplane. 

 

I am curious for the effectiveness of this device used with many metal cooking appliances.

 

Obviously they don't make their own solid state chips. All solid state chips are very heat sensitive. I am curious about it's  long term durability.

 

 In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon  being observed. The design of the device looks very much like a heat pipe. I wonder how it can effect the temperature it is supposed to "observe".

 

dcarch

Edited by dcarch (log)
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Shalmanese

Shalmanese

Posted
Posted

A metal enclosure is known as a Faraday Cage. Faraday cage is used to cut off radio wave to shield sensitive electronics from RFI. You can survive a direct lightning hit if you are inside a car or airplane. 

 

I am curious for the effectiveness of this device used with many metal cooking appliances.

It's using standard Bluetooth LE which is generally fine in anything except a microwave (ie: a device built specifically to contain 2.4Ghz radio waves).

Because it's waterproof and wireless, it could be a good option for time-to-temp SV. Most SV nowadays relies on setting the bath temperature to the desired internal temperature but this isn't optimal for certain fast cooking proteins, especially fish. Instead, it's often better to set the bath temperature to slightly above the desired temperature and pull at the right moment. Previously, this relied on charts to predict core temp which are clunky and not 100% accurate. Instead with this, you could just seal the probe with the meat and know when to pull the bags.

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PS: I am a guy.

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dcarch

dcarch

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Apparently this is how it can work in very high temperature, looking at the pictures and the video, the device shaft, where the electronics are housed, must be inserted almost completely into the meat, which prevents the electronic from getting higher then 212F. Only the ambient sensor can be heated to above 212F. So for some food geometry, you will not be measuring the center temperature.

 

At 212F electronics can be really stressed, so can the battery. That's why they say the rechargeable battery will only last about 100 hours, which is a very short time. I don't know what would happen if the battery dies in the middle of a cook. I have had electronics in 185 F water (SV vegetables), and they don't last long.

 

If you burn your food, you will fry the Meater. 

 

33 feet range is very short. In some houses/apartments with metal stud walls the range can be much shorter.

 

I am sure the Meater developer has answers to all my concerns.

 

dcarch

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Shalmanese

Shalmanese

Posted
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At 212F electronics can be really stressed, so can the battery. That's why they say the rechargeable battery will only last about 100 hours, which is a very short time. I don't know what would happen if the battery dies in the middle of a cook. I have had electronics in 185 F water (SV vegetables), and they don't last long.

Depends on the kind of electronics. There are chips and batteries designed specifically for high temperature. Plus, normally, the operating temperature of the device is going to be in the 140 - 160F range. Standard desktop CPUs operate at higher temperatures than this and last for years.

 

33 feet range is very short. In some houses/apartments with metal stud walls the range can be much shorter.

You can buy an optional WiFi bridge that you place besides the oven and will relay the signal. If you buy the bridge, you can receive the temperature even from the other side of the planet.

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PS: I am a guy.

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MSRadell

MSRadell

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I didn't see where it said that the rechargeable battery would only last about 100 hours, maybe I missed it. They said that the battery in the charger base will only last for about 100 charges which means a device must use very little electrical power.

 

Overall the device seems very interesting but I certainly would be worried about its longevity in a hot environment. Would be nice to see their testing results. That is one thing that concerns me, they do a lot of promotion in the video and in the text but very little discussion about the technology nor testing results. That kind of makes me skeptical.

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I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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  • 2 years later...
chileheadmike

chileheadmike

Posted
Posted (edited)

I had one from Oregon Scientific that is completely useless. 

Last two times I tried to use it was for barbecued brisket. In my 225F smoker, the internal temp went from 50F to 190F in 30 minutes. 

I 86'd it shortly after. 

Edited by chileheadmike
Tense (log)

That's the thing about opposum inerds, they's just as tasty the next day.

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