Most helpful customer reviews

173 of 174 people found the following review helpful.
Bar-B-Queing to the Nth degree!
By HeyItsDoug
We have been using this wireless thermometer since Christmas 2007. When researching wireless thermometers I liked the idea that this model allows you to set actual temp of the food rather then a setting of 'Well Done' or "Medium Rare' for various kinds of food. What I didn't realize is that we don't neccessarsily know what the ideal temperature might be of various foods based on thickness, size etc. So be aware that this wireless thermometer does what it says it will do you need to know your temperatures for various foods. Obviously I am not the cook in the house!

About the product
This item comes in two pieces. The receiver, which shows you the target temperature you have set that you want to cook to, as well as the actual temperature of the food you are grilling. It has two buttons on the front with up/down arrows. Upon turing on the receiver, which is done via a small black button on the back, you hold both black buttons down together until the display starts flashing with dashes. You then use the up/down buttons to set the intended temperature you want. Let go of the buttons and within 5 seconds (supposedely), the temperature is memorized.

The probe is the typical variety and is attached with a foil type of wire to the transmitter. The trans is non-descript with just a red LED on the front which blinks as the unit is sending out updates to the receiver. There is a push button toggle on the back for off/on and a recessed transmit button that occasionally we have had to push to get the transmitter and the receiver "talking".

Some of the pros -
Probe and foil wire have been very resiliant. Other devices have experienced these wires breaking at the slightest pinch from an oven door or grill lid. This one has proved to withstand basic wear and tear in both the grill and oven. You should be careful with it though when running the wire from the probe to the outside of the oven/grill as I doubt it is unbreakable.

Accuracy - we have found the temperature probe to report accurate food temperatures when compared to non wireless probes inserted into the food for comparison. You gotta be careful though that you insert the probe into the thickest part of the meat/poultry etc and only to the middle of the meat or else you will get inaccurate readings as the probe will pick up actual heat from the gas/coals and not just the food.

Ease of use - it is pretty easy to operate and is fast to register temperatures. It should not be considered a device to utilize for occassional temperature readings by inserting the probe now and then into the meat. The probe needs to remain in the meat and allowed to continuously monitor.

Cons

The transmitter battery cover is secured with 4 very small screws. It takes a jewler's screwdriver to remove them to gain access to the batteries. My only guess here is that because this device could be outdoors in various climates that a secure and tight fit is important. None the less it's a PITB.

Neither the trans or receiver have auto-off power. More then once we have left the receiver's switch in the on position (probably because we were more interested in eating the food then turning off this device) and the batteries expired.
Both units run off 2 AAA batteries.

Build Quality

For the most part these devices are manufactured to withstand over-all day to day use. The housings are plastic and the fittings are true.

Overall a good wireless digital thermometer set from a well-known company. The fact it does not provide "well done", "medium rare" etc. readings is of no fault of the manufacturer. It would have been nice if they provided some hints with various kinds of meats etc. of what temperatures to shoot for but the rather skimpy one page instruction sheet, in various languages, makes no substantiative mention of this.

Considering the price and the good experience we have had over the last few months with this device, I would recommend it assuming you are looking for a unit that provides real-time temperature readings instead of the more typical "well done", "medium well" readings.

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful.
Really good value
By JR
I'm a thermometer nut so I have lots of different brands. I have this exact thermometer with a different brand on it but it's exactly the same as the photo. I've used it for about 3 years with no failures in the probe. I haven't found a source of replacement probes yet so I don't use this one on my outdoor grill as I'm afraid of burning out the cable and not finding a replacement. But, I do use it indoors all the time and I find it to be pretty accurate. I compare it to my Thermapen and it reads pretty close in ice water. The wireless operation is pretty reliable. I can go all over the house and the unit still picks up the signal. Operation is very intuitive so I've never read the instructions. That's uncommon for wireless models in my opinion. I think this is a better deal than some of the other Mavericks. As far as not showing rare, medium or well-done; I prefer it that way. The pre-sets in other models are always useless. You want the alarm to sound BEFORE it reaches the pre-sets and you want to allow for a temperature rise during "resting" so this model is perfect and simple. Great value at this price.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
This one's a keeper
By David E. Boster
Used to have oregon scientific unit. It worked fine the first cuppla' times. Then it went down,turned on it would show 90 deg. put the probe into the freezer,down to 65deg. This new RediCheck is the best. The temp that it shows I believe is right on. I felt good enough to build a nice walnut case for it.