Customer Reviews

Maverick ET-7 Remote-Check Wireless Thermometer With 2 Probes

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(60)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(83)

 

 

This is useful and fun, what more could you ask ? You can use one or two probes. The probes are connected to the transmitter, you then turn on the remote, then the transmitter. I use it for everything, steaks, chops, whatever. I go into the living room and watch the remote. When the temperature gets over about 100 I turn the meat over if necessary. The only thing I have noticed is the temperatures that trigger the audible alarm are set too high, likely thanks to lawyers. For example, when I set it to medium rare for beef, it was more like medium. Now I set it on rare ( 140 ) and get a perfect medium rare. For pork the number is 170. I take it off at 160. After all, it continues to cook after it is taken off. Before I bought this I used to guess but now I get perfect results every time. Highly recommended.

Great product, I can have a steak and chicken on at the same time and don't have to keep going back to the BBQ to check if they are done. The down side is that it goes through batteries quickly but with rechargeable not a major problem.

This thing is very handy. I am just getting the hang of a new smoker, and bought this so I did not have to be chained to the smoker on hot summer days.

I put one probe in the smoker to measure heat temp, and the other in a pork shoulder. It alternates back and forth between the two, constantly keeping me update. the convenience is awesome. Allows me to work on my computer and take care of customers while I smoke my meat.

This is the first time I've used it, so I don't know about battery life, but regardless, it is great. The radio reception works great through an outside and one interior wall.

This transmitter works flawlessly. The dual-probes let you track two meats - or if you are like me and like to cook things at low (200-250 degree) temperatures it is invaluable to free you from having to sit next to the grill the whole time.

You can set your own custom temperature you want it to alert you at - if none of the presets work (in my case I just set one of them up to beep if it goes above 275 - so I know it is getting too hot...)

Unlike other wireless transmitters - this one is rated up to 500 degrees... and if it gets out of range it will display "HHH" instead of just frying itself like other brands probes. If a probe should ever go bad - Maverick will replace it for free (instructions in the box tell you where to mail it to)

The only reason this thermometer doesn't get 5 stars is because the interface is not completely intuitive... You really do have to read the manual to figure out how to do basic things like reset the countdown timer, or set the clock. The other thing keeping it from being a 5-star unit is the lack of setting a "temperature floor" that you want it to beep if it gets "below" which would be useful for when I'm using it as a gril thermometer.

The few drawbacks aside: this is an excellent unit that works wonderfully well. Heck - it even comes with batteries! Buy it today and you wont regret it.

UPDATE: 2010 -

This thing died on me after about a year of using it. For most things now I use a thermapen, and for wireless stuff I use a stoker connected to wifi - so I haven't missed this very much.

I would no longer recommend this unless you are looking for a cheap thermometer that might not last that long.

I was hesitant to buy given some of the reviews, but it seems to work well. Temps from the two probes are within 1-2 degrees of each other, and the signal gets through to the receiver which is about 40 feet away inside the kitchen. I thought at first it wasn't working, but it seems as if the unit only transmits when the temperature changes. So if you are testing it and it's just sitting outside and the temperature is stable, it looks like it's not working. It does occasionally miss a transmission, so the receiver might be a few degrees off from the transmitter, but then it seems to catch up on the next transmission ten or twenty seconds later. This is not the best way to design this, but it seems to work well enough. The controls are a little clunky, hence the 4 stars, but it does seem to work for me. Also, you can customize the settings for doneness, despite reviews to the contrary, but you have to read the instructions and realize that there are two temperature tables -- actually it's quite flexible. It does lose all the settings including the time of day if you turn it off, but there's a standby mode that only runs the clock. Again, not the best design, and they could probably have made it more robust for another $5, but it works well as a basic temperature monitor, and is sure beats running in and outside all day to monitor the smoker temperature.

This is the worst wireless device I have ever owned. You'll be lucky to keep the transmitter and receiver linked for more than 30 minutes. I even went so far as to return it to the manufacturer for a new one. The new one is just as bad as the old one. As I write this I'm trying to use it along with another brand (NU-Temp). The NU-Temp is on a pork roast and the Remote Check is on a whole chicken. The Remote check lost its connection with the transmitter after about 10 minutes. The NU-Temp is still working perfectly after an hour of use. Needless to say I will never buy this brand again.

Ok, sure, a real man can BBQ without using a thermometer, and should be able to tell the doneness of steak with the touch of a finger... but the first time you mess up $80 worth of steaks by burning them to a crisp because you were busy drinking a beer and talking with friends, you'll wish you had this thermometer with the remote.

While this isn't too useful if you have to constantly flip/turn the food you are trying to cook, it is great to get spot-on perfectly cooked food. Cooking 4 steaks, two rare, and two medium-well? No problem, set the different probes for the meat type and doneness preferred, and PROMPTLY get the food off the heat when the beeper goes off, and the food is cooked perfectly, every time. I've used this so far on chicken, sausage, lamb, beef steak, and the food has been absolutely perfect. Works in the oven and on the grill, no complaints.

The only bad thing I don't like is when you shut the unit off, it forgets the time of day you set on it, but I'm not really using this thing for a clock so it's not a big deal. You could also just leave it in 'standby' mode which displays the time, but I didn't want to eat up the batteries any faster than I had to.

Highly recommend, especially if you prefer spending your BBQ time enjoying the party rather than keeping an ever-watching eye on the grill.

Initially I was very excited about the features of this unit. I especially liked the two probes as I often BBQ two different cuts of meat and need temps from both. I was a bit hesitant to order the item after reading the user reviews- a typical mix of good and bad. But I took a leap and ordered a unit. After receiving the unit and fooling with it over 4 BBQ sessions I am thoroughly disappointed. The automatic registering of the transmitter never worked so I had to do it manually. The manual setup is hit and miss. It took several attempts for me to get it working each time. Once I did get the units (one is a transmitter and the other a receiver) communicating they lost contact with each other regularly- even when sitting 10 feet from each other. What made things worse is that the receiver still displays the last temperature reported for many minutes even when communication with the transmitter is lost. This is completely unacceptable as you can be burning something on the grill when the receiver says things are just right. In addition, the two probes read about 25 degrees different from each other. When I tested them against my two manual thermometers (which read within 2 degrees of each other) one probe read 15 degrees low and one about 10 degrees higher. As you all know 15 degrees is very significant when BBQ'ing meats. I returned the unit.

This thing only worked to about 25 feet and that was outside...when i went indoors, forget it. If your grill is sitting outside and you are inside, you better be close...like 15 feet max if you're going thru ONE WALL....think you're going to sit in the living room, watch the game and watch the temps on your backyard grill?...it ain't happening! Tried new batteries same results.Doesn't live up to claims.

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.