Hi good day ,just wondering on people's recommendations on Bluetooth or wireless BBQ probes.
I've got a Weber family q, one without the temp gauge on the front lid, just looking to be a bit more adventurous with the BBQ ,with bigger roasts or larger portions of meat and decent steaks. So I've seen a few ads and short videos on social media with these probes in the meat to help.
How have people found them? Any brands or value for money items you'd recommend? Guessing father's day ain't far away so might be some BBQ offers around too to look out for awsel!
BBQ Wireless or Bluetooth
Francis82 on 01/09/2025 - 12:14
Comments
Ive just done basics with BBQ, especially with Weber family q you gotta keep lid down for best cooking,so looking to advance more with that and ideally helps with entertaining other guests and other meal prepping,where your not babysitting as much.im assuming
and ideally helps with entertaining other guests
Your guests would be entertained by watching the readings of a temperature probe? Fun times.
Only tried the Thermopro Tempspike 2 pack and it's decent when it works, but have had a few issues.
Within 6 months one of the probes stopped connecting to the base station, it's got a 3 year warranty so a replacement was sent but one of the probes in the replacement unit also didn't connect, currently awaiting replacement #2.
They claim a 500ft Bluetooth range, maybe if you live in a faraday cage but when I tried to connect from my local bar which is well under 500ft away it rather unsurprisingly didn't work - my dreams of being able to down pints while making sure my brisket was in the ideal temp zone were completely dashed.
I've heard Meater is good if you're willing to stump up the extra cash.
one of the probes stopped connecting to the base station
Sounds like it's cooked…
Yes thanks jv… very on brand comment :)
I used the Inkbird probes.
Base is USB-CHave used "Smart" wireless probes, regular wireless probes and the standard instant reads.
My Meater Probe (smart wireless) didn't have the range it claimed and ended up having charging/battery issues. Was awesome when it worked but was fairly disappointed considering the price - this was years ago though, there are cheaper options now. Otherwise, it was especially good for long cooks where you need to maintain temperature (in the app there are graphs). Was also useful for roasting the in oven.
Ended up moving onto this:
Used once a week since Feb 2024 and hasn't missed a beat. Not as convenient as true wireless but the range is awesome and battery lasts forever. Also comes with 2 probes so you can measure ambient and internal (which you'll need considering your Q doesn't have a gauge for ambient).
That looks great value to be honest and decent reviews too
Ooh id hope the meater would last a good few years at least
It did for about 6 months. Then I started getting overheating warnings on the app. Then battery issues. Maybe just bad luck?
Also, I always felt uncomfortable throwing a $300 thermometer into a BBQ. The Thermopro linked above is cheap and tough enough for me not to care about dropping it, grease fires, rougher scrubbing/cleaning with scourers, etc.
I'm not completely against the Meater by the way. Was really good when it worked.
I would just rather reliability over convenience.
I've had the Weber igrill for longer than I can remember and it's worked fine. Nothing fancy, range is a bit short, app is basic rather than filled with bells and whistles but that's a good thing IMO. Lot more options on the market now however and I haven't looked at any of those.
I've had an Inkbird iBBQ-4T going for about 5 years now and haven't had to replace any probes and it gets treated like absolute s**t, I can't count how many times I've left it out in the rain for a few days. On the other hand everyone I know has had issues with the wireless ones.
The only advantage to wireless is that it would work with a rotisserie but if you're cooking on a roti you're most likely cooking hot and fast in which case you just lift the lid and check with your quick read thermo when you start getting in the ballpark of a finished time - grab an Inkbird IHT-1P for that.
I use a few different ones depending on the cooking situation. For easy temp checking I use an Inkbird instant read termometer, if low and slow charcoal cooking I use an Inkbird IBT-26S wifi thermometer (with multiple probes) and if using rotisserie I use a wireless Temopro Tempspike thermometer.
You can't go wrong with Inkbird imo, they're good value and accurate.
I have the Inkbird INT-12-BW.
Its a pretty good unit so far, but does have occassional issues of dropping out - even when the base is just a couple feet away.
Would generally recommend it.
I have just gotten into low and slow bbq and set up a ChefsTemp S1 and smart fan to do temperature regulation for me. It has been an interesting learning curve.Cheers many thanks , definitely gonna look at the inkbird and thermpro ones
I use a meater Plus, it's been great and still going strong after 2 years use, i believe there is a PRO model now too.
What wrong with Charcoal or Gas ?