Customer Reviews

Oregon Scientific AW129 Wireless BBQ Thermometer with Probe Thermometer and Remote

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(62)

 

 

This is the way to go. Perfect results every time. No more wondering if it's done. Whether you BBQ or smoke steak, hamburgers, chicken, veal, turkeys, pork - know when the right temperature has been reached each and every time. One MAJOR tip - the main unit and the probe both require to be RESET before the first use in order to sync up both signal and reception. The reset button is located inside each device's battery compartment. If your unit doesn't work right out of the box, then this is most likely the reason. With both units on, press the reset button.

I like OS products, especially their weather stations, which I use. But I cannot recommend these grill thermometers. I threw both in the trash after they gave bizzare readings. Today, I was set to grill a prime rib roast....the OS probe (the one I had NOT thrown away because of the same problem) registered 199 degrees out of the refrigerator.

I compared to my Maverick thermometer, bought also on Amazon. It registered the correct 52 degrees.

I covet my meats done to perfection, and so far OS has not done the job. The Maverick dual senor thermometer has performed very well in my Weber grill and my Charbroil fryer. And yes, I know how to use digital, remote thermometers....lol.

For my money, try the Maverick.....good performer and does not give you wacko temp readings like BOTH of my OS did.

I purchased this product because we have a four-story house and I did not want to be stuck near the kitchen to hear the temperature gauge sound. The range on this product is exceptional. Being three floors away from the base unit was not too far for the receiving sensor; it still functioned as it was designed. I have also been outside the house in the yard and the sensor still worked appropriately.

I use this product mostly in the oven. If takes the guess work out of large cuts of meat. The beef temperature that is preset is too high for my taste. But, I know this and just monitor the temperature and know that the alarm will not sound until the meat is overcooked, in my opinion.

As one of the other viewers indicated you do have to "synchronize" the base and receiving until by pressing the reset button on both items after installing the batteries and turning both products on. Check the directions, they spell out the process.

The belt clip and/or table stand is a nice feature of the product.

Another highly recommend product.

If You have a smoker,or use indirect heat on your grill You REALLY

need this item.

Since I started using it all of my meat,smoked and grilled have turned out perfect.

NO MORE DRYED OUT_OVER DONE CHICKEN !!

I am writing this in response to several reviews that critisized the lack of control for various cooking temperatures. Actually there is a wide range of cooking temperatures if one ignores the recommended ranges for specific meats/fish. Beef starts at 135 degrees (rare) and poultry is fixed at 180 degrees. This effectively allows a range between 135 and 180 degrees which covers the gamut of doneness. I really like this tool.

I used this once or twice, and the next time I went to use it, it didn't work (I believe the part without the screen stopped turning on). Hoping that it was a lone defective model, I exchanged it for a new one, which worked for perhaps a year.

My house has thick plaster walls, so the reception wasn't the greatest from one floor up, but when it lost signal, I'd move it and it would eventually start working again. I used it inside, not outside, and treated it carefully. Leaving it on the 135 degree setting causes it to beep at 130, which is when I'll take a pork roast out of the oven. For beef, I'd prefer about 120, so I try to keep an eye on the display.

A week or two ago, I realized that the temperature of a roast seemed low, so I went to check with a second thermometer. It read 130, but the wireless said it was 75... and as I watched over the course of a few seconds, 75 changed to 78, then 71, then 89, then 65... I tried changing the batteries, resetting both units, etc., but nothing helped.

I cannot recommend a product with such a short life span. While this is the only wireless model I've tried, we've also had Polder models with a wired probe and digital readout, and they, too, have failed quickly. It is obvious that most of these thermometers are manufactured by the same place and rebranded -- this Oregon Scientific model looks identical to a Weber, for example -- so I'll now be shopping for ones made by different companies, with different displays and form factors.

Be it 5", 5 ft, or 50 ft away, the remote would not accept a signal from the base station. This happened after one or two uses. No amount of resetting, re-powering or tinkering would make it work.

I am fairly handy with electronics - this unit just had a bad radio or receiver. Not worth the hassle to exchange or fix, I finally just disappointedly through it in the trash.

Well a month after Christmas was the first time I used this it was working fine despite I was loosing the signal from the transmitter from less than 20 feet away. When I was done using it my wife cleaned the probe with a lightly damp sponge with a little dish soap without submerging into water. Well that was the end of it after that. Now when you turn it on it reads 199 degrees F.

Today I called their customer service department and the man there told me I have 2 choices. I can either BUY a replacement probe for $5 or I can return the entire unit for a replacement. The replacement unit sounded fair but I became annoyed of the thought of buying a part after using it once. He also wasn't overly friendly about the whole ordeal asking me if I abused it.

after setting it up and reading the manual, i put it in some boiling water to check the calibration. it showed 188F, not a good sign. then i waited for it to cool off before plunging it into a glass of ice-cold water (water with lots of ice cubes, well-stirred and rested). the temperature came out to be 67F. my room temperature is at 70F, and this thermometer showed 92F. i was hoping at least that if it's off, it's off consistently so that i could still use it with some simple arithmetic, but the readings are almost completely erratic. what a piece of junk.

My BBQ'd chicken breasts have never tasted this juicy! Good range, easy to use, well constructed ... so far, so good!