Customer Reviews

CDN Digital Programmable Probe Thermometer

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

Having burned out, drenched, accidentally kinked, and destroyed enough Polder probes to fill an oven, I finally threw in the towel and went elsewhere for a digital probe thermometer. CDN's Proaccurate may finally be the end of my search for a worthy successor.

Digital probe thermometers are a godsend for cooks who like to set it and forget it when cooking. You want that steak done to exactly 145 degrees? The probe thermometer will tell you. Just stick it in the meat, set the finished temp, and let the beep tell you when it's exactly medium rare. When it works, this kind of thermometer is indispensable.

Therein lies the rub, though. "When it works...." Most of the digital probe thermometers on the market suffer from the same chink in the armor--their probes are flimsy. Not only are the wires inside the probe itself thin when compared with the braided metal housing that holds them, but they can't take the heat, either. Most probes top out at a little over 380 degrees. You run the risk of burning it out when checking oil temperatures, something every probe should be able to do. And if your oven cycles its heat on and off, you could have it set for 350 but it may vary between 300 and 400 while cooking for twenty minutes or more. The result is a cooked probe.

But not with the CDN Proaccurate. The probe cord itself is significantly thicker (fifty percent or more, from my guess) and the temperature tops out almost a hundred degrees higher than the other guys at 482. Plus, unlike the other guys, this unit carries a full five year warranty--including the probe. You can't find that in any other digital probe thermometer I've seen.

Pros:
* Probe withstands highest heat I've seen offered--482 degrees F--and is far more hefty than competitors
* Meat selector settings (Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Pork, Veal) with doneness levels
* Accurate. Approved for Food Service Industry usage
* Twenty-four hour count down and up timer
* Large display
* Includes wall mount, magnetic attachment to metal surfaces, and is free-standing
* Good price point
* Five year warranty
* CDN was swift in answering e-mailed questions I had about the unit

Cons:
* No seconds displayed on timer
* Design won't be confused with anything coming out of Europe :-)
* Non-intuitive operation on a couple functions
* Plastic case is not heat-resistant
* Tiny indicator makes it hard to tell if the unit is running when using timer
* Alarm is not as loud as other units out there
* Probe still prone to water damage (no dishwasher)
* Hard to read times less than ten minutes due to shadow of case on digits near the right side

Overall, as a new user my review is positive. Time will tell concerning ruggedness, but I am hopeful given the clear difference in probes between the CDN and other units out there. This CDN model is almost worthy of five stars, but the lack of seconds on the timer is a bad design decision from my point of view. I know from experience with other units that watching those seconds roll by gave me some assurance from a distance that the timer was running.

So for all you Polder and Taylor users who are exasperated with probe failures on your thermometers, this CDN may be what you've been looking for.

I am a big fan of probe thermometers, and I have owned and ruined several of them; each a different brand. The CDN is the most accurate and can withstand high heat - best on the market in this price range. I have owned this thermometer for over a year now, and in this time it has:

1. Been rained on at least 5 times.
2. Dropped in our pool.
3. Been hidden in our sandbox.
4. Been dropped on hot coals and backing partially melted.

Each time this thermometer has miraculously come back to life and worked perfectly! The original battery is still going.

If I had to purchase a new one, it would be this thermometer!

After much research into these devices, I decided to purchase the CDN brand for my husband as a gift. I chose this brand since it had a higher temperature range than that of the other brands available. This one goes up to 482degrees. So far he seems to love this thermometer. It seems very accurate in reading the internal temp of the meats. He loves that it allows him to program what type of meat and for beef the taste(rare,m.rare,med,well). The cable connecting the device to the probe seems to be pretty strong--braided wire. I have seen other devices by other brands that the cables "burn out". This was one of the deciding factors in purchasing the CDN brand. My husband loves the magnetic feature that allows him to stick it to the side of the oven! I am also excited to see the thermometer comes with a clip for candy making and frying. I havent had a chance to use it for this purpose yet, but it makes the device much more versatile & useful. The temperature display is quite large and easy to read...so it will work good for someone who cant read small print. I would actually give this product 4 &1/2 stars. The only reasons I would deduct half a star are: 1)the casing is plastic (cannot use on BBQ)and 2)the timer beeper isnt that loud (you cant hear it if upstairs or more than a room away, so you need to stay in earshot to hear the timer go off). All in all its a great product. I would recommend it. Buy it and you will never have dried out or undercooked meat again. Its well worth it! The chef in your life will thank you!

I bought my thermometer about a year ago and have used it to cook beef and chicken to perfection. No more dry meat whether it is in the oven or in a smoker or grill. Then I tried it to make fudge. Best fudge I've ever made and the temperatures were very accurate. Plan on buying one for each of my children for Christmas.

I found myself doing quite a bit of research before buying a digital probe thermometer... it seems that each brand and model has it's 'gotchas,' so unless you spend several hundred bucks on a laboratory grade thermometer, you're gonna have to deal with one or more disadvantages... unreliable probes, inaccurate readings, inconvenient menus, inadequate range, flimsy construction, etc. The questions I ended up asking myself were, what are the most desirable qualities, and what are the disadvantages I could live with?

First and foremost, I wanted one that was reliable. Unfortunately, every single model contained reviews from folks whose thermometers didn't make it a month let alone a year. So the next step was to look at the frequency of problems, and perhaps more important, the warranty. CDN was the only one with a five year warranty (one that they seem to cheerfully honor, judging by feedback), so that went a very long way toward making my decision.

Next was temperature range... most digital probe thermometers peak out at under 392 degrees. I didn't feel that was enough so there was another point in favor of the CDN, which is one of the very few that tops out at 482 degrees.

Finally, it came with a metal clip for use on the rim of saucepans, stockpots and so forth... why this cheap but useful little accessory is an optional extra purchase with many other models is a testament to the idiocy and greed of companies who want to get the product out there for the cheapest possible price and then hit you up later for things they should have provided in the first place.

Now that I've lived with the CDN Proaccurate a month or so, I have to say I'm pleased. Tested against two other thermometers the CDN seems accurate, and though it's response seems a bit slow, it's not really meant for instant readings anyway. Other minor gripes? Well, it's not very intuitive when it comes to setting some of the functions... but once you use it a few times you get used to that. Probably my major disappointment is that the timer counts only hours and minutes, no seconds... this coupled with the very small blinking indicator means that it's difficult to tell when it's running. As I said, these are minor gripes... overall I'm extremely pleased with this purchase.

The thermometer looks really good at first. Great range for candy making (unlike one of the more inexpensive models that Amazon sells) and reasonable wire length. For the past two months its been great. Then it suddenly gave poor measurements (based on salt free ice water, fully equilibrated, and salt free boiling water). It is approx 25 degrees below what it should read. So I'm sending it back. The unit comes with a 5 year warranty. We'll see what type of response I get.

Update: ended up getting a warranty replacement. This too worked for a while and then failed. Stay away

I've had this thermometer for about 8 months now, and it worked fine until a couple weeks ago when it just stopped working. It's possible that it's just the probe, but since getting a new probe costs almost as much as buying a new unit, I probably won't try it.

I didn't find the ability to specify the type of meat all that helpful, since you couldn't specify bone-in or not. The temperature it goes to automatically seems to be the bone-in temperature, and since I rarely use any meat with bones it it, I had to manually set the temperature anyway (or have overcooked, dry chicken, which is what I use a thermometer to avoid)

The unit makes a loud, annoying whine every time you turn it on. Not annoying enough to keep me from using it, but enough that I wouldn't buy it again.

I did find the wide temperature range handy (the primary reason I got this model) and it comes with a little clip for the side of the pan so you can suspend the tip of the probe in oil without worrying that it will slip to the side or bottom.

Update: I called CDN to see if this would fall under their 5 year warranty, and they told me to send it in and they would send me a new one. They had really quick turnaround time (about 2 weeks- faster than any warranty replacement I've ever gotten!) and great customer service. I'd add a star back if I could.

I and my professional barbecue team partners have been using three of these units (same model)for a year and a half, with no problems and usage of an average of 45 events per year/40 tests per event. Just use average, sensible care and they work well. I suspect that some of the users who rate these poorly do not have experience and the sense to utilize them the way they are intended. A fine product for the money. Even if I got a year out of each of them, they would be an accurate bargain.

I have owned this unit for around 6 months and it has worked flawlessly. I selected the unit because the probe could handle higher temperatures without damage. I have used it in the oven, a fryer, on the grill and in a charcoal smoker with great results. It has selectable doneness levels for multiple types of meat or you can select any temp in between as your goal. It also has an alarm when the temperature goal is reached.

I had the exact same experience as B. Davis. Once again the thermometer worked great for a few months, then suddenly it went in the opposite direction with an over-read of about 30 degrees, ruining a batch of caramels. The next time I used it was with beef, and by touch I knew I had a thermometer problem. I checked it with two other thermometers and the difference against both of them was 28 degrees. I hope to get a replacement on warranty, but certainly don't believe it will hold up. Not having faith in your thermometer is worse than not having a thermometer at all. Stay away.