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Favorite Thermometers....

Martin Fisher

By Martin Fisher
in Kitchen Consumer

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have a bunch of thermometers.

I'll start with a couple of my favorites....

 

I absolutely love the ThermoWorks Dot—I keep a Dot probe in the oven at all times so I can adjust the oven temperature more precisely.

I usually leave it on all the time....forget to turn it off. The batteries last a LONG time!

And the oven knob temperature markings have wore off anyway! >:(

 

Although I do have a Classic Super-Fast® Thermapen® (2-3 second readings.)

I much prefer the ThermoWorks Super-Fast® Pocket Thermometer (RT600C) (5-6 second readings.)

I almost never use the Thermapen!

I start taking the temperature of stuff 3 seconds early—makes the pocket thermometer just as fast as the Thermapen! xD

The pocket thermometer isn't as bulky as the Thermapen and I can place it in a beaker or the like without it being top-heavy like the Thermapen.

 

ETA: The Dot has a magnet on the back. I stick it to the range hood.

 

:smile:

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Anna N

Anna N

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2 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

ETA: The Dot has a magnet on the back. I stick it to the range hood.

 OK this is the first I have heard of this particular thermometer and I am definitely leaning towards one!   I love my Thermapen and I love my Pop  but thermometers are a little like knives; you can never have too many. xD

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

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Posted
11 minutes ago, Anna N said:

...thermometers are a little like knives; you can never have too many.

 

Yep! xD

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, Shalmanese said:

 

A man with one thermometer knows the temperature of everything. A man with two thermometers knows the temperature of nothing.

 I'm willing to take the chance... not being a man. 

Edited by Anna N (log)
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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

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Posted
37 minutes ago, Shalmanese said:

A man with one thermometer knows the temperature of everything. A man with two thermometers knows the temperature of nothing.

 

Especially bimetallic coil thermometers!

From Dr. O. Peter Snyder's Food Safety Website:

THE DANGEROUS BIMETALLIC COIL THERMOMETER

CHOOSING THE RIGHT THERMOMETER TO VERIFY FOOD TEMPERATURE 

 

:wacko:

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Sorry for the old picture, but my Agilent.

 

RefrigeratorTemperature07232015.png

 

 

Downside, it has to be plugged into the wall and there is a thirty minute warmup.  I also have a few Thermapens, including the pro-surface Thermapen.  Orange is best.

 

Since I recently acquired a new stove I would like to get an accurate digital thermometer that would monitor oven air temperature for baking.  For my baguettes I've found I have to set the new oven slightly higher than the old.  My Agilent is only good up until around 350 F.

 

Is there a consensus that the Dot with an air probe is best for the purpose or is there something else I should consider?  (Such as two Dots.)  I note the Dots are currently on sale.

 

This question has time value, what with the glacially imminent Modernist Bread.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Raamo

Raamo

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Posted

We use our thermapen a lot - we also have an infrared thermometer that I use very often.

 

Thanks to this thread I just ordered a DOT with the brackets for stovetop and oven use and the submersible one for sous vide.

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

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Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

It appears the Dot (and Smoke) accuracy is +-5.4 deg F, whereas the oven temperature is set in 5 degree increments.

 

That's supposedly at high temperatures of ~400°F or more.

I've compared the readings of the DOT to the readings of my Thermapen and Therma K professional thermocouple and the readings are within a couple degrees at the most.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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7 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

That's supposedly at high temperatures of ~400°F or more.

I've compared the readings of the DOT to the readings of my Thermapen and Therma K professional thermocouple and the readings are within a couple degrees at the most.

 

 

Well, my bread bakes at high temperatures of ~400 or more.  With the oven set to 475 results compare to 460 on the old stove.  What I finally ordered was a ThermaQ.  Had I noticed the Therma K, I might have gotten that instead.

 

I restrained myself at the last moment and postponed ordering all sorts of probes.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I restrained myself at the last moment and postponed ordering all sorts of probes.

 

The k-type probes are generally less via Auber Instruments (assuming their shipping charges haven't skyrocketed) but some may need to have the plug installed—not a big deal.

In the past, I've also found k-type probes reasonably priced on eBay.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Darienne

Darienne

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Posted

I'm way behind in this one obviously.  I have a Canadian Tire Mastercraft  Laser gun type thermometer and I'm a happy camper with it.   Learned of this one from the indomitable Kerry Beal.  :x

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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chromedome

chromedome

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Posted

I have two of those left over from my restaurant. It's very handy when one buys a used bar fridge from Kijiji, as I did this past week. :)

 

I've also used it to scope out the refrigerators in potential rentals in the past. In one, the freezer portion of the fridge was at 51F. Not exactly auspicious...

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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kayb

kayb

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Posted

I couldn't bring myself to pay the price for a Thermapen, so I got a knockoff, a Lavatools. Far as I can tell, it works fine. Not instant read, but close.

 

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Don't ask. Eat it.

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boilsover

boilsover

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1 hour ago, kayb said:

I couldn't bring myself to pay the price for a Thermapen, so I got a knockoff, a Lavatools. Far as I can tell, it works fine. Not instant read, but close.

 

 

I bought a Taylor folding probe that is cheaper and IMO more ergonomic than the Thermapen.  It's about 2 seconds slower, but for me ain't no thang.

I also have a Thermapen Contact (Which in addition to being clunky has several other problems) and their 2-channel Therma Q with armored probes.  I would buy the Therma Q again.

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paulraphael

paulraphael

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Posted (edited)

I have an older version of this Taylor that I like:

 

 71hb36OaG0L._SL1300_.jpg

It's got a pretty good thermocouple, and a fair-to-middling IR thermometer. I didn't have an IR gun thermometer at the time so this seemed like a good idea. Now I rarely use the IR feature. But I love that it's water resistant. I just wash it like a utensil and put it away.

 

I don't have one of these, but want one: 

Smoke_generic-01.jpg?resizeid=6&resizeh=

Not so much for the remote feature, but the dual probes. They sell other probes (the included 2nd probe is for measuring oven or bbq pit temp. I'd want a second food probe). 

 

I've shopped for scientific and technical dual probe thermometers; the Thermoworks version looks like a bargain ... possibly because it uses thermistors instead of thermocouples. It's also splash-proof. Anyone used this?

 

Edited by paulraphael (log)

Notes from the underbelly

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