Maverick ET-733 thread

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What's rtv and what's heat shrink?
 RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanization) silicones are used for their ability to withstand stress and temperature extremes.

And Heat Shrink is tubing that fits loosely over a wire or splice, and when heated shrinks tightly around the wire.

Bear
 
 
What's rtv and what's heat shrink?
RTV is a sealant you get at auto parts stores to make and help seal gaskets with. Heat shrink tubing is a plastic tube that you slide over an electrical connection. Once you hit it with heat from a heatgun or lighter it shrinks very tight to seal the connection. You can get Heat shrink at radio shack or the auto parts store you get the RTV at.
 
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Sorry if I missed this somewhere in the thread, but there were 2 things I was wondering about

1) Is setup as bad as the amazon reviews sound?  Seems like a lot of people have issues with configuring it and find it confusing. 

2) Is it not possible to set your own fully custom temps for alarming (if temp goes either above OR below, for at least one probe like the 732).  I couldn't tell for sure, but it seemed like many people were upset that they couldn't set their own custom temps and had to use the built in pre-sets by food type or soemthing? 

These Mavs (and it seems like wireless thermometers in general) seem to be so hit and miss on quality.  Reviews are either great or terrible, and my 732 confirmed that for me when I bought it a few years ago.  I've had a love hate relationship with that thing ever since.  Probe readings are sometimes perfect, other times range from 10 degrees off, to fully wigging out (from the dreaded LLL/HHH, to just giving me totally different temps each time I try to 'fix' it by turning off/on, disconnecting/reconnecting probe.   Each time I basically have to use my thermapen + other methods to figure out if it's off, by how much, and that the discrepancy is at least consistent throughout the cook...

But on a 16-20 hr cook, there's just no substitute for a wireless, alarming remote to let you get some damn sleep!  lol.  At least at my experience level...   I'd gladly shell out big bucks for a thermometer/probes that I could count on being accurate every time, with solid hardware/software build quality.... 
 
I just get a scrub sponge hot and soapy, and pinch the probe, and then the wire, in the rough side, and pull it through a few times.

Be careful how you pull it, so you don't pull it apart. I cleaned my ET-73 like that for a year without problems. Then the second time I did it with my brand new ET-732 the cable pulled right out. Turns out when the 732 first came out they had a problem with their probes. They sent me a new one, and I got an extra. That was 4 years ago & I'm still using the same probe.

BTW: I also sterilize my meat probe with an alcohol wipe before I insert it into the meat. They're cheap at the drug store, if you buy a box of them. I got a box of 250.


Bear

I'm with Bear on this. I've never had any moisture problems with my 73, 732, or iGrill probes, I scrub the same way, but I don't alcohol swap. If I die eating my Q I hope Bear chainsaw carves my epitaph!
 
This may sound like a dumb question but when you put your meat probe in do you do it so that the probe is entirely into the meat or do you just stick it in so that its in the middle and leave the rest exposed to the inside of the smoker? I was under the impression you wouldn't want to leave any of the meat probe open to read the temp inside the smoker.
 
This may sound like a dumb question but when you put your meat probe in do you do it so that the probe is entirely into the meat or do you just stick it in so that its in the middle and leave the rest exposed to the inside of the smoker? I was under the impression you wouldn't want to leave any of the meat probe open to read the temp inside the smoker.

The tip of the probe is where the reading comes from. You want the tip to be in the middle of he thickest part of the meat. The rest of the probe can be exposed.
 
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The tip of the probe is where the reading comes from. You want the tip to be in the middle of he thickest part of the meat. The rest of the probe can be exposed.
Like Case said, It's the tip that does the reading.

Depending on the manufacturer, it could be from the very tip to up to 1.5" from the end, but the rest of the probe should not affect the accuracy by being exposed to the hotter smoker air temperature.

Bear
 
 
RTV is a sealant you get at auto parts stores to make and help seal gaskets with. Heat shrink tubing is a plastic tube that you slide over an electrical connection. Once you hit it with heat from a heatgun or lighter it shrinks very tight to seal the connection. You can get Heat shrink at radio shack or the auto parts store you get the RTV at.
Thanks, I wasn't aware of those products before I read your comment. I just got the Maverick ET-733 and I want to try it a few times before considering if I want to mod it. I've been given tips on what causes the probes to short out so I'm going to follow the how-to's and what-not-to's before making any changes.
 
 
 RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanization) silicones are used for their ability to withstand stress and temperature extremes.

And Heat Shrink is tubing that fits loosely over a wire or splice, and when heated shrinks tightly around the wire.

Bear
Thanks, Bear. I like using stuff as designed and without mods, mainly because I'm not very mechanical and I also like to keep things as they were manufactured. When it comes to using my new Maverick ET-733, I really don't want to seal the wire connections to the probes because from what I've read and been told, most probe failures are do to user error: leaving probes in a cooker that's 400 or more degrees and/or pushing/pulling the probes where they connect to the wires. I have another brand dual probe therm I've used for a couple of years which still works fine; it's just not as good as the Maverick.
 
 
Thanks, Bear. I like using stuff as designed and without mods, mainly because I'm not very mechanical and I also like to keep things as they were manufactured. When it comes to using my new Maverick ET-733, I really don't want to seal the wire connections to the probes because from what I've read and been told, most probe failures are do to user error: leaving probes in a cooker that's 400 or more degrees and/or pushing/pulling the probes where they connect to the wires. I have another brand dual probe therm I've used for a couple of years which still works fine; it's just not as good as the Maverick.
I'm about the same way, and so far the only probe that went bad on me was bad to begin with, because the first or second time I cleaned it, it came apart at the probe to wire connection, and I've been cleaning the others that same way for years.

Bear
 
I'm with Bear on this. I've never had any moisture problems with my 73, 732, or iGrill probes, I scrub the same way, but I don't alcohol swap. If I die eating my Q I hope Bear chainsaw carves my epitaph!
I also think alcohol swapping the probe is not necessary. The internal temps meats reach when they're done are sufficient to kill most bacteria, including e coli and salmonella. Undercooking is one of the prime causes of food poisoning.
 
 
I'm about the same way, and so far the only probe that went bad on me was bad to begin with, because the first or second time I cleaned it, it came apart at the probe to wire connection, and I've been cleaning the others that same way for years.

Bear
I gotta look at
 
I'm about the same way, and so far the only probe that went bad on me was bad to begin with, because the first or second time I cleaned it, it came apart at the probe to wire connection, and I've been cleaning the others that same way for years.

Bear
I need to look at the probes to see which is the "rough" side. Besides, I would think that doing a mod on the wires would void the warranty.
 
 
I also think alcohol swapping the probe is not necessary. The internal temps meats reach when they're done are sufficient to kill most bacteria, including e coli and salmonella. Undercooking is one of the prime causes of food poisoning.
I do it all to be safe for others who eat my stuff---Too late for me to worry for myself.

Yes---High heat kills bacteria, but not the toxins that the bacteria produced. Others can explain this better than I, but I never tried to learn how to explain it----I just believe it, and do it.

So----I don't keep everything clean. Then Smoke for 3 hours to kill all nasties on the outside for 3 hours before inserting my probe. And then insert a Non-Sterile Probe deep into the meat I'm smoking. I don't take a shower & put on dirty underwear either.

I learned from some of the best safety guys on this forum, and I don't think it takes that much effort to do it safely, the way they taught me.

Of course it doesn't mean everybody, or anybody has to do it the way I do it. I just put it out there as information to use or ignore.

Bear
 
 
I do it all to be safe for others who eat my stuff---Too late for me to worry for myself.

Yes---High heat kills bacteria, but not the toxins that the bacteria produced. Others can explain this better than I, but I never tried to learn how to explain it----I just believe it, and do it.

So----I don't keep everything clean. Then Smoke for 3 hours to kill all nasties on the outside for 3 hours before inserting my probe. And then insert a Non-Sterile Probe deep into the meat I'm smoking. I don't take a shower & put on dirty underwear either.

I learned from some of the best safety guys on this forum, and I don't think it takes that much effort to do it safely, the way they taught me.

Of course it doesn't mean everybody, or anybody has to do it the way I do it. I just put it out there as information to use or ignore.

Bear
Aye but it's a winding and circuitous road when talking about foodborne illnesses. I learned that there are viruses and toxins in fish and shellfish that can't be killed by cooking. As far as I know, adequate heat and time kill nasties in beef, pork, and poultry, but I don't think heat kills hoof and mouth disease or mad cow disease nasties.

The one thing I've been lax about is cleaning the inside of my MES and the one thing the guy who taught a 6-hour BBQ class was a stickler about was cleaning the inside of smokers. I kept waiting for him to mention the word "creosote" but he never did. I only clean the inside of mine when I think there's too much buildup.

As for the meat temp probe, washing the thing with soap and warm water before inserting it in the protein of my choice is protection enough for me.

Oh, Bear, you may not worry about yourself but I had a nasty case of food poisoning which I refused to allow to ruin a very romantic 29th wedding anniversary weekend with the wife at a B&B by a river. You gotta worry about yourself, my friend. If not, who will BBQ for family and friends like only you can?
th_4th_of_July.gif
 
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I have had my Maverick for 6 years now and never put any RTV or sealant on it and it still reads fine. Adding it would be the individuals choice.

Craig
 
I have had my newest maverick for over a year now without rtv or heatshrink and everything is working like a charm. I did learn my lesson on the first redi check I ever had to not throw the probes in dishwater to soak. Only did it once.
 
I plan on getting one of these but wonder if I need to get different probe to measure my rig temperature or if one of the probes does that?
Thanks
 
The et 732 and 733 both have two probes. One for the meat and one for the smoker. You can purchase an extra meat or universal probe in case you want to monitor two hunks of meat or two smoker chamber temperatures.
 
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