ThermoPro TP08 Wireless Thermometer

Product: ThermoPro TP08 Wireless Dual Probe Thermometer
Price: $36.79 sale price; Orig Price $43.99
Availability: Various Outlets
Purchased Date: November 25th, 2017

What to Look For in a Thermometer - Pre-Purchase Research

1. Dual Probes
For smoking, a dual probe thermometer is almost a must. Most, if not all, smokers have a dome thermometer but those can get out of whack and aren't reliable. Having the dual probe thermometer will allow you to measure the temperature of your grill in 2 different locations. If one is out of sync, you know you have an issue with one of them and need to do some troubleshooting. There is nothing worse than cooking your meat at temperatures higher or even lower than what is being reported to you. So to eliminate this, having dual temperature gauges is a MUST! Tri-probes can also be extremely beneficial, to have 2 in the pink and 1 in the stink. Or, 2 in the meat and 1 monitoring the temperature. However you want to attack that scenario, it's up to you.

2. Wireless Monitoring
Ever cooked in the rain? Not so much fun really. Plus you have to deal with the rain maybe getting inside your smoker and putting the fire out or really lowering the temperature. So constantly checking your temperatures in not ideal conditions is a must. The wireless monitoring will allow you to do this from the dry comforts of your home. Now, wireless monitoring also has it pitfalls. Have kids and a wife and trying to get away from them? Yea, the wireless monitoring doesn't help there.

3. Alarms and Notifications
With dual probes, at a bare minimum you'll want one probe to have a high and low temperature alert. The other probe only needs a high temperature alert. The probe with a high/low alert should be used for the grill temperature, while the other probe with only a high temperature alert will be beneficial to let you know when your meat is done.

4. LCD Backlight
Seems silly, but you'll want a LCD backlight on at least the receiver. If it's on the transmitter as well that's a bonus.

Using The Product

Benefits of the TP08

Plug And Play Setup

The TP08 transmitter and receiver come pre-syncronized, meaning the unit is ready to go upon receipt. Insert the supplied batteries, insert probes, turn unit on. Done and done.

Wireless Monitoring of your grill

Grilled in the rain and never did I have to go outside to ensure the grill was still at optimal temperature

Waterproof
High / Low Grill Alarm
High Meat Alarm (Meat Done)
LCD Backlight on receiver.
Lifetime warranty on the probe

The wires for the probes seem like they might be a cautionary tale to get pinched or broken. A lifetime warranty is a nice to have.

Cons of the TP08

Runs on AAA batteries. Wish this wasn't the case, and is my only complaint. See my review on the ThermoPro TP-03 Instant Thermometer for more on my thoughts on the use of AAA batteries. (Not the end of the world)
No indication for which probe insert is for grill and which is for meat

The 2 probes are labeled 1 and 2, and on the screen they are marked "Barbecue" and "Food". This is also of importance, because the barbecue you can set low/high temp alarms for, while the food you can only set a high alarm for. So you have to insert probe into the right spot every time. For reference:

1 is for Food
2 is for grill temperature

With more use expect this to become retained knowledge, if not, I'll break out a sharpie and mark the 1 side with a "F" and the 2 side with a "G" to indicate as such.

No meat pre-set temperatures or storage for favorites.

Some wireless thermometers have this option. Would be a nice setup to say Preset #2 is for Tenderloin, cook between 'x' and 'y' and meat is done at 'z'.

Summary

Initially this purchase was designed to meet a need, but I couldn't be happier with the performance of the product thus far. At the price I was able to get this, it has already more than paid for itself. If you are in the market for a wireless thermometer, I would highly recommend looking into the TP08. Will it hold up in the long run? That is to be determined and should it crap out, we'll update accordingly.