Meat thermometer

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Burgos

Assistant Cook
Joined
Sep 17, 2021
Messages
6
Location
Skanderborg, Denmark
Hi,

I have over the years bought many digital meat thermometers. Reason - the probe always ends up not working.
It works fine in the beginning, but it always ends up broken. I have absolutely no idea why that is. I have done nothing wrong with it, and it looks perfectly fine. No temperature can be read anymore though.

Can someone explaine to me how the probe works, and maybe give advice to solve my problem. I tried to google this, and some say that it is because of moisture. I dont think that is the case. I tryed baking one in the oven for an hour to get rid of moisture, but it did not change anything.
 
Hi Burgos, and Welcome to DC!

Can you describe your temperature probe? There are many on the market and each could be different.

Not too many of them are meant to be left or 'baked' in the oven though. I've also never heard of one not working due to moisture. Usually one removes the food to outside of then oven and then probe inserted to read the temperature and then removed again.
 
themometer.jpg

The thermometer is the kind where the probe is in the meat in the oven all the time. The probe is connected to an outside unit with a mini jack plug.

I think the probe is generic, but not sure. I have been looking to buy probes seperately, but with no luck until now. I found one on amazon, and it showed the correct temperature, so I think they all work the same way.

Sorry, I can not rotate the picture correctly!
 
Last edited:
Hi Burgos, and Welcome to DC!



Can you describe your temperature probe? There are many on the market and each could be different.



Not too many of them are meant to be left or 'baked' in the oven though. I've also never heard of one not working due to moisture. Usually one removes the food to outside of then oven and then probe inserted to read the temperature and then removed again.
Instant-read thermometers work that way, but there are also thermometers that stay in the meat. You can even get thermometers that work with an app on your phone to monitor the temperature and let you know when a preset temperature is reached.
 
The tip of the probe and 2cm up the probe is where the temperature sensing mechanism is located. It's important to get this part of the probe into the center of the biggest muscle in the met you are cooking.

However, the probe can be ruined quickly if the tip is exposed to extreme heat (beyond the range of the probe). Another possibility is damage to the cable connecting the probe to the display unit. If it becomes crimped or damaged it will fail.

If this has not been the case, the quality of the probe comes into question.

I don't know what's available where you are but this is a quality product. You can buy replacement probes if the original one is damaged. https://www.thermoworks.com/DOT?quantity=1&color=16
 
I suspected low quality. When I look at this DOT product, the probe looks a lot more solid, especially where the cable is connected. The fact that you can get replacement probes only makes it better.

Thank you for the answers
 
Burgos, I had 2 thermometers like that. One had a jack into the oven wall and the other, like your picture, sat on the counter.

I was never able to figure out the instructions for the oven jack - (yeh, I know, slow learner) and the other would signal temperature reach about 15 minutes into roasting... wha?? So I stopped trying to use them as too frustrating.

Now I just use the individual probes that you put in the meat each time you need to check.

caseydog's sounds wonderful but a little pricy for my pocket book.
 
Burgos, I had 2 thermometers like that. One had a jack into the oven wall and the other, like your picture, sat on the counter.

I was never able to figure out the instructions for the oven jack - (yeh, I know, slow learner) and the other would signal temperature reach about 15 minutes into roasting... wha?? So I stopped trying to use them as too frustrating.

Now I just use the individual probes that you put in the meat each time you need to check.

I have no problem getting this one to work. It is just that after perhaps 20 cooks, the probe fails - and the display shows HHH or LLL.
 
I suspect it is the wire. Perhaps because it is being squeezed when the oven door is closed. If that is the case - I should be able to find something to protect it there.
 
That Meater thermometer looks like a good product. I believe the wires in most of the thermometers is the weak link, as they are damaged over time to to pinching by oven doors, BBQ lids, etc. The sensors are simple thyristors, and don't usually fail.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I have a Chef Alarm and a Thermapen from Thermoworks that I bought in 2015. The Thermapen still works great. The Chef Alarm still works fine as timer, but it doesn't recognize the probe anymore. I don't know if it is something inside the main body of the Chef Alarm that doesn't work or if it's the probe that has failed. One of these days I'll get around to dealing with that. I have been reluctant to buy a new probe, that may or may not solve the problem, because shipping to Canada was USD 14.00 in 2015 and I figured it had probably gone up since then. I just checked. It has actually been discounted to USD 9.99. It's quite a good deal if you are buying something more expensive or several items. It includes all fees, taxes, and duties. But, for a $19.00 item, it seems like a lot.
 
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