Maverick ET-7 Remote-Check Wireless Thermometer With 2 Probes
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Maverick ET-7 Remote-Check Wireless Thermometer With 2 Probes
Customer Review: It's cheaper to throw it away than to overcook another roast
Summary: 1 Stars
I purhased this unit after my Weber wireless remote finally bit the dust. I thought that the dual probe was a good idea, so I choose the ET-7 model. After using it several times I learned that the design and functional features contains a few nuisances and a couple major flaws.
One of the nice features of the ET-7 is that the transmitter has an LCD display on it so you can read the temperature while standing in front of your BBQ even if you don't have the remote with you. I liked that feature and found it quite convenient.
The biggest problem I experienced with the ET-7 was the inaccurate reading on the remote unit. Three times it happened that the temperature on the remote would stop updating, leading me to believe that my roast was at a lower temperature than it really was. After checking on the temperature two or three times over a ten or fifteen minute period, I realized that the temperature displayed on the remote hadn't changed during that time. Upon further inspection, the transmitter's LCD display demonstrated that the actual temperature of my roast was much higher than what the remote said. In fact, two times I ended up overcooking my roast. This was extremely disappointing when cooking a $40 roast that I've marinated for four days.
Some of the nuisance issues I discovered with the ET-7 pertains to the power on sequence. First, there is a cumbersome on/off/suspend mode switch on the back. Operating this switch requires small, nimble fingers. Not particularly easy when you have messy hands from recently inserting the probe into raw meat.
Second, the remote must be turned on prior to, but within 60 seconds of, turning the transmitter on. You will not establish a link if you power on the transmitter prior to the remote, or if you delay more than 60 seconds after turning on the remote. This is awkward since most of the time I find that after placing the meat on the BBQ, it is convenient to power on the transmitter and then go inside the house and power on the remote.
Very annoying is the fact that the remote unit keeps beeping even after you have acknowledged that the target temperature has been met. Other units I have used would be silent once you acknowledged the temperature alarm. The ET-7 will continue to beep at you about every 60 seconds even though you acknowledge the alarm each time. This is incredibly annoying when you want to give your roast another 5-degrees over what the target temperature was set for.
In conclusion, I consider it less expensive and more satisfying to simply discard the ET-7 and use another model, like the simple but practical Weber wireless remote.
Customer Review: Things to know
Summary: 2 Stars
In common with several other folk I initially thought that the wireless operation was, at best, flaky, otherwise no good at all. With a probe attached to the transmitter I switched on the receiver, then the transmitter. The receiver displayed the probe temp just fine. After a short time the little antenna symbol on the receiver screen (which indicates wireless reception) stopped showing, it seemed that the wireless link had stopped working.
By a process of trial and error, putting the probe in and out of a saucepan of hot water, I worked this out:
1. When the probe temperature has stabilized, the transmitter will only transmit the reading about once per minute. A change of a degree or so does not trigger a transmission, so the transmitter and receiver can show a difference of a few degrees, which is generally insignificant. The receiver only updates when a transmission is received.
2. When the temperature changes by more than a few degrees (I haven't found the exact figure but it could be as much as 5 degrees) transmissions are triggered every 2 to 3 seconds until the temperature stabilizes again, then it goes back to once a minute. Every transmission is indicated by an antenna symbol on the transmitter screen, and a red LED on the transmitter flashes.
3. In open air I easily got a range of 50 feet in a straight line, but simple obstacles can block reception. I have some wrought-iron railings down some steps from the house to the patio, and arranging the transmitter on one side of the steps and taking the receiver to the other side resulted in no reception, the railings blocked the signal. In spite of the comment in the user instructions about using the probes in a barbecue then taking the receiver indoors, I found that this does not work, the transmission is too weak to penetrate walls (wood frame, plywood/stucco outside, sheetrock inside). With the probe in the water and the receiver outdoors, both units displayed 95 degrees. I tool the receiver indoors then took the probe out of the water. 5 minutes later the receiver still indicated 95 while the transmitter said 71. I took the receiver outside again and waited; nearly a minute later the receiver updated to 71 - I must have just missed a transmission.
My conclusion is that this device does work after all, with limitations. The wireless transmission is only reliable in straight unobstructed lines, and will not work through walls (a major drawback). And remember - if the temperature is fairly constant the system only updates about once a minute.
Customer Review: Idiot-proof your meats!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a huge fan of this wireless thermometer. Basically there are 4 parts: 2 temperature probes to be inserted into meats; a pager-sized transmitter into which the probes can be connected; and the receiver, which also contains a clock and some solid-state logic so you know the USDA recommended temperatures for various kinds of meats and various degrees of doneness. You can also plug one probe straight into the receiver, skipping the transmitter, if desired.
I have a cheap Home Depot Brinkmann electric water smoker, and one of the issues with this is you never know quite how hot it's getting. Repeatedly opening the top lets all the smoke and heat out and prolongs cooking time. So, just put the probe into the meat, thread the metal probe wire out the top, and put the receiver close by. You can then wander inside with the receiver and it will alarm you when the desired temperature is reached. I have found it impossible to screw up - it works every time.
Some caveats for the first time user:
1) You have to turn the receiver and transmitter on pretty near simultaneously to get them to sync up. Supposedly you can sync them without turning them off, then on, but I've never been able to figure out how to do this reliably. When you do power cycle them together, they wake up and sync up reliably each time.
2) Their range is about 30 yards, as described. If you go further you will lose touch.
3) The USDA recommendations about cooking chicken will give you dry chicken that is well done all the way through. For more on this topic, hit the Internet.
4) The probes are of questionable quality. Spares are about ten bucks and I, like other reviewers, do recommend keeping one or two on hand, as they do just 'go bad'. I have one that conked out after a year of use weekly, and another that's still going strong.
This thermometer is pretty much the best thing ever if you are wanting to cook meats to the correct doneness every time with no worry or uncertainty. Everyone should have one.
Customer Review: Lousy, Lousy, Lousy!
Summary: 1 Stars
I recently bought myself a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, and wanted to get a wireless thermometer for monitoring pork, chicken & other goodies during "low...slow" cooking.
I started with a Walmart unit with a single probe, but the range just plain sucked. It couldn't transmit from the smoker on the back porch to inside the house very well at all. We're only talking 30-40 feet, versus the claimed range of "up to 100 feet."
I returned that one, and got a super-duper Maverick Redi-Chek ET-7 off Amazon.com. That one has 2 probes (so I can measure the temp of the item being cooked, while tracking temperature inside the cooker itself. The wireless range, however, is even lousier than the Walmart unit.
It may be just fine if you're willing to stand within 30-40 feet (clear line of sight) of the smoker, but if you dare go inside your house, the ET-7 receiver loses its connection with the transmitter. Of course, as others have noted, there's no OBVIOUS signal that the temperatures being displayed by the receiver are the temps from before signal was lost.
Yes, if you're observant, you can stare at the receiver for 2 minutes (don't blink, or you'll miss it!), checking for the blinking "satellite dish" symbol to show that it's still linked with the transmitter.
After losing the connection between the transmitter & receiver, if you DARE to try & re-establish the link, you've got to go back to the smoker. Then, shut off the transmitter & receiver. Then, turn on the receiver to "operate", and within 60 seconds (thou shalt not count to 65...memories of Monty Python's "Holy Hand Grenade"), turn on the transmitter.
GREAT! Now you've got a link re-established. Sit within a few feet of the smoker and you can trust the temperature readings. If you dare move, however, all bets are off.
At nearly $40 (twice the price of the Walmart unit), I had hoped for a whole lot better. This is a poor excuse for a "remote" thermometer.
Customer Review: Horrible product
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a great idea and it would be awesome if it worked. Too bad it doesn't work half the time. I tried everything to get it to be reliable. What really sucks about this is it will just fail randomly, and it will fail. Worst of all, you won't know when it fails. When it desyncs or stops getting a signal there is no visual indicator that this has occurred unless you really watch it. There is a small satellite looking symbol that will flash when it receives data but it only does this about once every minute or so. Really annoying.
I'm not a novice at electronics or wireless devices. I tried everything to get this to maintain a connection. I replaced the batteries with brand new fresh from the store Energizer Lithium Ultimate batteries and it still didn't work. It stop receiving as soon as I went inside or turned around.
Others have had success with it, it might be hit or miss. Maybe there are just lots of bad units out there. If you want to play roulette with this product you can give it a shot, it'd be really awesome if it worked as advertised. It is possible that Maverick just has a horrible or nonexistent QA department. For as much as they charge I really expected something better than I got.
To me though, even if I got one that did work it's too unreliable since there's no visual indicator of signal quality. You could be sitting watching TV totally unaware you haven't been receiving temp updates for hours. Good way to ruin your meat.
I promptly returned this product and ordered a ThermoWorks Original Cooking Thermometer/Timer. I recommend this if you have no probe thermometer. If you already have a wired one, forget wireless and just keep using what you have. After reading the reviews on here it seems no one can make a half decent reliable wireless one. ThermoWorks makes a USB one, maybe I'll just use a laptop and remote desktop, hah.