Practical experience with Meater+?

[Jim6820]

In looking at the Combustion Inc website, @Greg Jones, it appears that the probe is about the same .30 caliber size as the Meater; is that correct? Is there some reason why these wireless probes have to be that large?

 

[Greg Jones]

In looking at the Combustion Inc website, @Greg Jones, it appears that the probe is about the same .30 caliber size as the Meater; is that correct? Is there some reason why these wireless probes have to be that large?

I measure the ThermoWorks probe to be .138, the Combustion probe to be .188, and the MEATER probe to be .204. The ‘brains’ of the wireless probes are in the probe itself (8 sensors in the Combustion, IIRC), so they will need to be larger.

 

[Jim6820]

I measure the ThermoWorks probe to be .138, the Combustion probe to be .188, and the MEATER probe to be .204. The ‘brains’ of the wireless probes are in the probe itself (8 sensors in the Combustion, IIRC), so they will need to be larger.
View attachment 18936

Thanks for that information, @Greg Jones; it is very much appreciated. Looks like I missed the calibers a little; Combustion is just about .19 Cal and Meater about .20 cal. They measure a bit smaller than they appear to my old eyes.

I understand the need for space for the probe “brain.” I wonder if they could be “wildcatted” as we used to do in the shooting world; neck them down (think .25-06)? Take those .19 and .20 cals and neck them down at the halfway point to .14 cal (like the TWs). Probably too much trouble.

 

[Pacman]

I wonder if they could be “wildcatted” as we used to do in the shooting world; neck them down (think .25-06)?

I agree and suspect that will be Gen 2 of these things. I always referred to the "Meater hole" as a 5.56 NATO /.223 round. I suspect the mad scientists at Thermoworks and Fireboard are already hard at work.

 

[Jim6820]

I agree and suspect that will be Gen 2 of these things. I always referred to the "Meater hole" as a 5.56 NATO /.223 round. I suspect the mad scientists at Thermoworks and Fireboard are already hard at work.

We're on the same page, @Pacman! I like the ".556 NATO / .223 round" reference

 

[Motodad1776]

My buddy has one for his gravity fed charcoal, he's quite the fan of them.

 

[dmills]

My son-in-law has an unused Meater+ unit that he has offered to let me try. I am planning a rotisserie cook of a 6# boneless leg of lamb for Easter and a wireless probe would sure be convenient. Does anyone have practical experience with this unit?

I do have my TW Thermapen One as a fall-back, but am wondering how the Meater+ would work surrounded by stainless steel inside a closed grill. Thoughts, anyone?

Both of my sons have the Meater + and I have the Meater Block. They say not to expose the probes to direct heat, but my son has used his on an open fire and it worked great with no issue. After he first used it he called and said that it was almost like "cheating" almost impossible to screw up your food. Exposure to a rotisserie flame would be for very short periods, so you should be ok. I definitely recommend that you try it.

 

[llbts1]

I use it with indirect heat on the Kamado Joe with rotisserie. I keep the heat between 400-450.

 

[101001011010010]

My son-in-law has an unused Meater+ unit that he has offered to let me try. I am planning a rotisserie cook of a 6# boneless leg of lamb for Easter and a wireless probe would sure be convenient. Does anyone have practical experience with this unit?

I do have my TW Thermapen One as a fall-back, but am wondering how the Meater+ would work surrounded by stainless steel inside a closed grill. Thoughts, anyone?

Not a fan. I find the ambient sensors to be absolute trash, and they are so thick.

I recently found this and am very satisfied

https://combustion.inc/

 

[Jim6820]

I was able to get the app downloaded and the probe paired, but we had to delay the cook due to my wife coming down with something. So, I have no first-hand experience with the Meater yet. I’ll try to use it in the next week or so.

 

[okie]

I've had my Meater for about a year now and it works well for me. Great for long cooks but if you foil wrap at some point, you should leave the Ambient portion outside the foil. (at least I do) so it will transmit. Not sure it is any improvement over the RT probes, except for the ease of use.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, the postponed Easter leg of lamb cook is underway this afternoon, using the Meater+ for the first time.

We are an hour into the cook and here are a couple of early obserations. First the Meater+ internal temperature is showing 8-10 degrees higher that the Thermapen One. Second, the ambient temperature is showing about 100 degrees less than the analog thermometer on the grill that has been reasonable accurate in the past. And, of course, the Meater+ is predicting the cook time based on its readings, so I think it will be off significantly.

I tried to insert the Meater+ probe just up to the marker line on it, but the proximity of a large chunk of meat may be influencing the temperature readings. That will be something to check on during the next use.

On the plus side, the app seems to work fine. With the charger unit sitting on the side shelf of the grill, I am easily getting the readings on my iPhone 13 inside the house (about 30’ away from the grill).

More later.

 

[Greg Jones]

Keep us posted. I’ll be interested to see, if at all, how your experience may be similar/different from mine.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, things got away from us, picture wise, due not the arrival of family—including our brand new great granddaughter—for our delayed get-together. I can say, however, that the Meater+ was spot on for both internal temperature and cook timing prediction. I’m not quite sure how that happened as was previously noted, the ambient temperature was more than 100 degrees low when compared to the analog temp gauge on the grill.

I suspect that ambient temperature is not used in the cook time calculation; just temperature rise and target temperatures. When I think about it, that’s all that is necessary to make that prediction.

I’ll need to use this tool a couple more times (hopefully, the SIL will allow me to do so. ) before I know what it is capable of, but I was pleased with my first test.

 

[okie]

Two things:
1. I find the "hole" with Meater to be no problem IMO.
2. The ambient temp on the Meater, early on, is always less than the temp seen on my grill control. I find this early on, and then as time passes, the "ambient" temp slowly rises to or near the set temp. Takes around 30 minutes or longer to do so. I suspect that the lower ambient temp is due to the proximity of the probe to the colder meat and until that temp rises significantly, the ambient temp lags behind the true temp. Also, perhaps even tho the RTD temp is at the set temp, it takes longer for the more distant grill surface and area to reach that temp as well. Maybe both reasons apply. Either way, Meater works for me. However, I can do without it since the RT meat probes work well also, and can also automatically shut down to "warm" after a set temp is reached. Just more work to use.
"Ah, boys and their toys."

 

[Jim6820]

The ambient temperature reading during my 2-1/2-hour cook never got closer than 110 degrees to the ambient temperature measured by the analog grill thermometer. I don’t—yet—have the TW Signals unit at the new house, so wasn’t able to use it as a second check.

The real usefulness of the Meater+ for me is on rotisserie cooks. The ”bang, clank, bang” noise coming from the cabled unit wrapped around the spit is annoying! Seriously, having a wireless probe in place on the rotisserie cook eliminated frequent opening of the grill lid to check IT with the TW Thermapen One. And, ”If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’!”

 

[AlphaPapa]

They say the man with two watches doesn’t know what time it is. Similarly, the man with two temperature probes never knows what the temperature is.

 

[Jim6820]

They say the man with two watches doesn’t know what time it is. Similarly, the man with two temperature probes never knows what the temperature is.

He does if one of the watches (or probes) has been verified through proper testing.

 

[Greg Jones]

For some further information on ambient temps vs. food surface temps, I’d recommend reading what Chris Young at Combustion, Inc. has to say on the subject. TLDR, the temp at/near the surface of the food will never read as high as the ambient temp of the grill. Chris Young is a scientist, and even if you are not in the market for (yet) another temp probe, there is no denying he’s done his research. As a result, his probe is much more accurate at predicting cook times, IMO.

 

[Greg Jones]

As to the hole that the MEATER makes, I’m a ‘you eat first with your eyes’ person. Perhaps some of your guests are as well? If i’m served something that looks like this (my cook), I’m going to wonder WTF. At a minimum, I’d recommend (as I mentioned earlier) to insert the MEATER in the same direction that you are going to slice the meat, then you can eat the slice that has the hole running through it.