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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)
  • Like 3

~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!

 

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
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

  • Like 5
  • Haha 1

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

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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!

 

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

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!

 

I'm with you on the Dot.  Mine lives here:

IMG_6091.jpg.d64621474d8cfcc104d4c42e87075c28.jpg

  • Like 2
Shalmanese

Shalmanese

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, Anna N said:

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

 

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

  • Like 1
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PS: I am a guy.

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)
  • Like 3
  • Haha 4

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

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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!

 

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.

 

  • Like 3

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

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

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

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

 

  • Like 1

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

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

Raamo

Raamo

Posted
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

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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)
  • Like 1

~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!

 

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
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.

 

  • Like 1

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

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

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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)
  • Like 1

~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!

 

Darienne

Darienne

Posted
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

  • Like 1

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

chromedome

chromedome

Posted
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...

  • Like 2

“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

 

  • 6 months later...
kayb

kayb

Posted
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.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

boilsover

boilsover

Posted
Posted
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.

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

@kayb

 

nice

 

I got a red-dish one as a spare

 

" Chipotle "

 

of course i mangled my email address

 

so i have no idea when it will come

 

and I can't fix it

 

¬¬

 

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
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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