Maverick Redi Chek Smoker Thermometer

If you’re into bbq and smoking then chances are you’ve heard of or already have one of these thermometers. If not, read on to find out if this is a Smokin’ product.

Contents
1 – Remote Transmitter
1 – Receiver
1 – Meat thermometer probe
1 – Smoker probe
1 – Grill clip for smoker prong
4 – AAA Batteries



The Probes
The probes used for the Redi Chek have metal mesh around the wire to protect against high heat. They’re rated up to 400 degrees. Hopefully your meat never gets to a temperature that high (if it does, please don’t invite us over for dinner). On the inside of a smoker where the temperature can sometimes spike, this could be a limiting factor for the smoker probe.

This model comes with two probes. One is designed as a meat probe with a pointed tip for easy insertion into the meat. The other probe is not a long and does not have a pointed tip. It comes with a mounting clip that fits into most smoker grates. The clip has a hole designed for the smoker probe to slide into.

We like having two probes, and especially having one designed as a temperature gauge for our smoker. Unfortunately the probe wires are a bit thin which leads us to believe they are not as durable as you might hope.

The Transmitter
This is an area the requires some discussion. The wireless Transmitter is the devices the probes plug into. Maverick designed the transmitter to be somewhat water resistant. The issue’s we have with their water resistant design is their choice to place the On/Off switch under the battery cover. It’s good to take rain into consideration but placing the On/Off switch under the battery cover can be somewhat annoying. The good news is that turning the device on and off is not something that needs to be done frequently during the cooking process.

Another thing to consider is the range of the wireless transmitter. If you do not have line of sight (nothing obstructing your view like a wall) then don’t expect to get far away without losing signal. There are modifications available to increase the range of the transmitter, but not everyone is going to feel comfortable cracking open the transmitter and soldering to the circuit board.

The Receiver
There are a few nice features that we would like to talk about with the receiver. First, it has a back light. To some this might sound trivial but when your doing an all night smoke out or an early morning smoke, the back light comes in handy.

Have you ever fallen asleep while smoking something only to wake up with a low temp on your smoker? The receiver gives you the option of setting a upper and lower range alarms. This feature lets you rest at ease, knowing that an alarm will wake you if the temperatures get out of hand.

Our only real complaint about the receiver has to do with setting the ranges on the alarms. You can only increase the range value. If you want to set the upper range to something like 270 and you accidentally pass 270 you’ll have to wait for it to loop back around. To avoid this I hold down the button till it gets within 10 degrees of where I want it to be and then I let go and increase the degree one degree at a time till I get it to where I want it.

Conclusion
Overall this is a good unit. We can’t say it’s the best we’ve seen, but it definitely does the job. If you’re looking for an inexpensive wireless thermometer for your smoker, this one is better than any you will find at Walmart. If you don’t mind making a couple modifications to the unit, the minor annoyances of this unit can be overcome. This would be what we consider a solid mid range wireless thermometer for a smoker.