Back in 2019 I bought a fancy digital smoker thermometer that was all hype

It was one of those with four probes and a phone app that promised perfect cooks every time. Cost me almost $200. The app crashed constantly, and two of the probes gave readings that were 20 degrees off after just a few uses. I ended up ruining a whole pork shoulder because I trusted it over my old analog gauge. Now it's just a paperweight in my shed. What's a reliable thermometer you all actually use that won't break the bank?

2 comments

2 Comments

faithf7724d ago

Man, that story hits close to home. My brother got one of those for his birthday last year and had the exact same problems with the app. He spent more time trying to get it to connect than actually cooking. He finally went back to his old single probe digital one from the hardware store. It was like fifteen bucks and just beeps when it hits the temp. What a waste of money those fancy ones can be.

hill.barbara24d ago

Totally get the frustration with bad apps, but some of the newer ones actually work fine once you get past the setup. My friend's Inkbird connects every time and sends alerts to her phone from the backyard. The real waste is when the hardware itself is cheap and the probes die after a few months, not just the app being buggy. A good one should do both simple beeps and reliable remote monitoring without the headache.