Thermoworks Smoke Thermometer Review

Thermoworks Smoke bbq thermometer review

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Since its release, the $99 Smoke by Thermoworks has been our most recommended smoker thermometer.

By really focusing on the core features and ease of use, Thermoworks has succeeded in creating the default thermometer for smoking enthusiasts.

ThermoWorks Smoke™ 2-Channel BBQ Thermometer
4.8

The outstanding build quality, user-friendly design, and the best in class probes make the Smoke our top pick for any serious smoking enthusiast.

Check latest price

Smoke overview

If you’ve owned a wireless thermometer before then the basic setup should be very familiar to you. For your $99 you get a transmitter (that’s the part that sits next to your smoker) that can accept two temperature probes at once.

Smoke receiver unit LCD screen

That sends the temperature reading to the receiver which you can place anywhere within 300 feet.

As I write this review I’ve got some pork ribs cooking on my Weber Smokey Mountain and the receiver is sitting on my desk keeping me up to date. (Because I’m doing ribs I’m only using the ambient probe so you can see it’s showing nothing for the second probe.)

The first thing you notice after taking the Smoke out of it’s box is the size. This is great for two reasons.

  1. The LCD screen is much larger than its competitors. You can easily read the temperature at a glance. If it’s dark or you have bad glare you can also tap a large button on either the receiver or transmitter and it will illuminate for 20 seconds.
  2. This is a durable unit. According to Thermoworks, “Smoke features a rugged housing with molded-in seals for splashproof protection”.

The more you use the Smoke, the more you appreciate the design. It’s clear Thermoworks decided to focus on making the setup and operation as simple as possible and removing all the crap features you’ll never use.

This is evident from the moment you turn the unit on. The transmitter and receiver come paired, so there’s no confusing setup process. This is refreshing as we counted 9 steps to pair a iGrill 2 thermometer! This unit radio frequency technology instead of Bluetooth which helps explain why it’s so simple to connect, and once it’s paired it stays like that for the duration of your cook.

It’s clear Thermoworks decided to focus on making the setup and operation as simple as possible, and removing all the crap features you’ll never use.

Setting low and high alarms is also super simple. Those of you who have owned another thermometer will appreciate you get an up AND a down button for setting your desired temperatures. This sounds like a tiny feature, but there’s nothing more annoying than overshooting your temperature by 1° and having to start from scratch.

Once you’ve set a high and low alarm, you’ll be notified by a loud beeping noise if your temp exceeds or drops below the limits. You can also keep track of the max and min temperature you’ve reached during a cook on the right side of the transmitter.

This is handy to check if you’ve had any flareups during a cook you haven’t been keeping a close eye on.

ThermoWorks Smoke™ 2-Channel BBQ Thermometer
4.8

The outstanding build quality, user-friendly design, and the best in class probes make the Smoke our top pick for any serious smoking enthusiast.

Check latest price

What’s in the box & manufacturer specifications

Smoke packaging box thermometer

Smoke ships in a small box with plastic ports that let you see the receiver and the transmitter. Both of these come with a screen protector that you peal off. This doubles as a demo to show you what the screen looks like when it’s turn on.

Inside the box you’ll find the receiver and transmitter, as well as:

  • Pro-Series High Temp Cooking Probe
  • Pro-Series High Temp Air Probe
  • Grate Clip
  • Lanyard for the receiver if you want to hang it around your neck
  • Operating instructions

The air probe is thin and slides right into the handy grate clip. This looks different to the cooking probe which is a 6″ probe with a right angle bend.

The unit comes with batteries pre-installed so you don’t need to worry about buying them.

You also get a small operating instructions manual, which comes with a quick start guide (which you barely need to skip). There’s also a guide to what every button and item on the display does, and a very simple meat doneness chart (if you need a more comprehensive smoking temperature chart then click here.

Themoworks smoke assembled parts

Manufacturer specs:

  • Probe Range: -58 to 572°F (-50 to 300°C)
  • Probe Cable Range: Max 700°F (370°C)
  • Accuracy changes between different temperature ranges:

– ±1.8°F (±1.0°C) from -4 to 248°F (-20 to 120°C)

±3.6°F (±2.0°C) from -58 to -4°F / 248 to 392°F (-50 to -20°C / 120 to 200°C)

±5.4°F (±3.0°C) from 392 to 572°F (200 to 300°C)

  • Resolution: 0.1°F (°C)
  • Units: °C/°F switchable
  • Water Resistance: IP65 (excluding probe connector)
  • Operating Range: 32 to 122°F (0 to 50°C)
  • Backlight: 20 seconds (both Smoke & Receiver)
  • Max Sounds Volume: Smoke: 90dB / Receiver: 75dB
  • Sensor: Thermistor
  • Transmission Range: 300-feet line of sight

Using the Smoke thermometer

Smoke probe connection

Everything about using the Smoke is very straightforward. The first time you use it you’ll need to remove the screen protectors, and then there are some pull tags to remove the battery protectors. Removing these will automatically turn the unit on.

Each probe plugs into the unit, and the temps should start reading automatically. The large LCD screen is split in two, with the top half used for probe 1 and the bottom for probe 2.

Each button sits in a logical position, and the buttons are decent size (handy for those of us with clumsy fingers).

On the left side of the transmitter, you can select “Set” to set the limits for that probe. Simply press “Set” then use the large up and down buttons on the center of the unit to get to your desired temperature, then press “Set” to lock it in.

Quick start guide:

  1. Power the unit up by pressing the ON/OFF switch on the back of the receiver.
  2. Connect the air probe and (if you’re using it) the High Temp cooking probe (that’s the one with the bend in it).
  3. Press “set” and adjust the arrows to select your high temp then press set again to lock it in and start toggling the low temp. For a typical low and slow cook I’ll set my high to 250° and my low to 200°. If you’re using the meat probe, select the ideal done temperature for what you’re cooking.
  4. Once your smoker is setup, thread the air temp probe through and attach it to the grill clip by pinching it
  5. Check that the temperatures are displaying on both the receiver and transmitter.

Now you’re ready to cook! I’ll usually leave the transmitter sitting on my grill next to the smoker. It does have a magnet on the back, but my WSM gets too hot to attach it directly. If you have any cool surface you can attach it to that instead.

If you’re going to be outside you can turn the Receiver off to save battery power. Because of the large LCD screen on the transmitter, I can easily check the temperature by looking out the window. But if I’m watching a movie or cooking something else it’s handy to have the receiver close by.

If the temperature goes above or below your set limits both the transmitter and receiver will start to let out a loud beeping noise. The receiver also vibrates to make it extra obvious (and super user-friendly for any hard-of-hearing pit masters out there).

Accuracy and speed is where the Smoke sets itself apart

The large screen and buttons and simple interface make the Smoke very enjoyable to use. But at the end of the day a thermometer will be judged on it’s accuracy (and to a lesser extent, speed).

When it comes to low and slow, speed isn’t quite as important. Since you’ll generally leave the thermometer inside a piece of meat for many hours, getting a quick read isn’t as important. Having said that, the Smoke can read temperatures in 4-5 seconds which isn’t quite as quick as the legendary Thermapen but is more than enough for our uses.

The two “Pro-Series” probes that come with the Smoke are a definite upgrade over competitors in terms of accuracy and durability. Everything is calibrated so there shouldn’t be anything for you to do before using it.

The probes are accurate to within plus or minus 1.8°F for temps up to 248°F. The accuracy drops a tiny bit when cooking between 392 to 572°F, but you can always fine-tune this with an ice bath test.

Pro features

Pro Series Smoke Probe

Thermoworks claim that Smoke was “designed for competition BBQ teams and professional chefs”. While we can definitely see how the usability, accuracy and speed would come in handy during competition BBQ, we were interested to see what else sets this unit apart from the competition.

  • Pair with multiple receivers – Will the base unit comes with one receiver, you can purchase additional receivers for $45 each. So if you’re everyone can have their own receiver. If one member needs to get some shut eye there are now no excuses for sleeping through the alarm and vibrations.
  • Flexible probe configuration – While some units force you to have a meat probe and an air probe, the Smoke gives you freedom to configure however you wish. It accepts all Pro-Series probes, so you can use the same probe as a DOT or ChefAlarm, or buy replacement food or air probes
  • Durable construction – There are a lot of little details that show the extra care and attention Thermoworks put into this thermometer. The Pro-Series probes come with extra metal casing to protect the weak points. While I would still try and avoid water, the IP65 water resistance on the transmitter is a nice feature. You won’t have to run in a panic if it starts to drizzle.

While it’s being marketed as a tool for professionals, the $99 price point makes this an excellent choice for backyard barbecue and amateur pit masters as well as more serious cooks.

At the $99 price point, you might expect a few more bells and whistles, like being able turn your phone into a receiver. I respect that Thermoworks decided to focus on the key features and user experience, but was excited to hear that they do have something in the works…

The Smoke Gateway

Smoke Gateway

If you like the sound of the Smoke, but want to be able to connect to your phone like most common Bluetooth Thermometers, then the Gateway is for you.

This small device is sold separately, and works with your existing Smoke to connect to your home Wi-FI network and allow you to connect to your Smartphone or Tablet.

Te gateway is about the same size as the receiver.

The reason why Smoke + Gateway is better than a Bluetooth thermometer, is that WiFi is much more reliable technology. Lots of the Bluetooth options struggle with pairing and connectivity, which you don’t get with WiFi.

Get latest price on the Smoke Gateway.

The competition

Smoke VS the Weber iGrill 2

We gave the nod to the iGrill 2  in our guide to best bluetooth thermometers but how does it stack up against the Smoke?

  • The probes on the Smoke are superior in every way. They’ll last longer and provide more accurate readings.
  • The pairing on the Smoke is also much easier, and because it uses WiFi the range is better and more reliable than the bluetooth unit.

If you want to connect your thermometer to your phone, the iGrill is still your best choice. At least until the the Smoke Gateway is released.

Smoke VS the Chef Alarm

Until the launch of Smoke, the Chef Alarm was solid thermometer choice if you didn’t mind paying extra for quality. But as a single probe unit, you don’t have the same flexibility the Smoke offers.

  • The Smoke accepts two probes and displays their temperatures simultaneously while the ChefAlarm only has one.
  • The ChefAlarm doesn’t come with a receiver so you have to check the temp at your smoker
  • The ChefAlarm does include a timer, but we don’t find this super useful for barbecue

If you think you’ll ever need to monitor two pieces of meat, or your pit temp plus meat temp, there’s no reason to go with the ChefAlarm over the Smoke.

Where to buy

The best place to buy the Smoke is from the Thermoworks website. For some reason, you find a lot of sellers buying these up and trying to sell them for a huge increase on some of the third-party seller websites like Amazon and Ebay.

But if you buy from Thermoworks you will get the best price, and the two year warranty on defective components, and 6-month warranty on probes.

ThermoWorks Smoke™ 2-Channel BBQ Thermometer
4.8

The outstanding build quality, user-friendly design, and the best in class probes make the Smoke our top pick for any serious smoking enthusiast.

Check latest price

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10 Comments

  1. Richard Tumolo says:

    Will this work with my Pitboss or will the heavy cover crush the probe cable ?

    1. joseph.clements12@gmail.com says:

      Hey Richard,

      It’s not recommended, however the these probes are pretty hardy and it should work fine. That said you run the risk of wearing out your probe prematurely.

      Most smokers include a probe entrance whole somewhere, are you sure there’s no other way to get your probe into the chamber?

      1. LEONARD SUSKIN says:

        I AM THE OWNER OF SMOKE , I SET THE TEMP IN THE HOME OVEN TO 220 DEGRES BUT I WAS UNABLE TO GET SMOKE TO EVER READ THE SAME TEMP IT WAS ALWAYS WAY HIGER , I WOULD REDUCE THE OVEN TEMP BUT WAS NEVER ABLE TO MAKE THEM THE SAME , IS MY SMOKE OFF

        1. joseph.clements12@gmail.com says:

          Hey Leonard,

          It’s much more likely that your oven temp is inaccurate, and the Smoke is reading the right temperature. If you want to be sure, this is a good guide to checking your thermometers

  2. Mike Jungles says:

    Hello, can you please tell me the diameter of the cable connector. My ports into smoker are 1/4 inch pipe thread and need to know about before purchasing.

    1. joseph.clements12@gmail.com says:

      Hey Mike I’m travelling at the moment so I’m afraid I can’t measure it for you. From memory it’s pretty small so should fit easily. You can also get in touch with Thermoworks support who should be able to easily answer this for you.

  3. Hi Mike Do you know if anybody is having issues with the base display unit.. Fading ( washing out) within 10 to 15 minutes after exposed to the sun? On the Smoke. I called support and they said it was common!

  4. larry loois says:

    Why I stopped using Thermoworks Smoker temperature probe. Even though it works well, the
    replacement probes are a very costly maintenance item for this brand.

  5. Anthony Maxwell says:

    Where can i buy replacement probes? My cooking probe has died in less than 2 years and maybe 30 cooks/uses.
    Looks like I can only get them from the US and this comes with a $70 shipping fee, not great if they only last this long
    Thanks

  6. Product worked fine for a while then the receiver stopped syncing with the main unit. Customer service replaced the receiver only and it worked fine for a while (this also pushed the main unit beyond the warranty date), but then it stopped working again. Customer service was no help after that. Recommend buying a different brand.

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