Meat probe reads grill temp

[nitrohuck]

Recently picked up a Pro 575 and am having some major issues with this meat probe

I'm familiar with the newbie mistakes (probe pushed too far through meat, ends up touching actual grill, etc), this is different.

It's as if the probe is reading temperatures from 4-5" up the actual device, rather than from the tip. Last night I was cooking chicken breast, it spiked up beyond 250F and then just reads "Probe Fell Out".

I calibrated it just last night using ice water. Today I fired up the grill to 225F, put 7lbs of pork shoulder on and inserted the meat probe, it immediately jumped to 130F in a 7lb slab of meat that's been sitting in the fridge all night, something is definitely jacked up here.

Anyone else ever have this issue? Is this thing just defective? I've seen people complaining about 5F +/- degree swings on their probe, but this is much much different.

 

[Murphy's Law]

Welcome to the board, from your neighbor to the north!

If you spend any amount of time here you will see a consensus that the Traeger probes are JUNK. All of them.

Meat probe? Junk
Ambient probe? You guessed it, junk.

Just about everyone uses some type of external thermometer such as the Fire Board 2 or an Ink Bird (can't remember the full part #, sorry).

These little devices are WiFi and Bluetooth enabled and are very accurate. They have nice apps to track and manage cooks, and offer multiple ports. For example, the Fire Board 2 (pretty much gold standard) has 6 ports so I use one probe to accurately monitor my pit temp and then I can use other ports to monitor multiple meats, map the temperature gradient across the grill, etc.

A quick search on either brand will pull up several good threads, and the Ink Bird has had a 50% promo running on Amazon which puts it around $50 vs. $200 + for the Fire Board 2.

That said, Traeger makes a great grill and my family and friends really enjoy the food that comes off of it but you need to have the right set of tools to maximize your success.

 

[Slimpicker]

.... Oh and BTW... JUNK!

 

[Grill Monster]

I have the same issue with my meat probe, and everyone says they are junk. I get that, but they are supposed to work correctly as it is part of the Traeger product we all paid way to much money for in the first place. I would call customer service and get their read on the situation. If you figure it out, please let me know how to fix it via Traeger.

 

[CMTiger]

I have the same issue with my meat probe, and everyone says they are junk. I get that, but they are supposed to work correctly as it is part of the Traeger product we all paid way to much money for in the first place. I would call customer service and get their read on the situation. If you figure it out, please let me know how to fix it via Traeger.

You’re not going to be able to fix it.

 

[Slimpicker]

You’re not going to be able to fix it.

He's right... your gonna end up eating bad food if you trust your meat probe...

Traeger included a $10 probe made in China, you figure it out.

 

[Dcgunman]

I have the same issue with my meat probe, and everyone says they are junk. I get that, but they are supposed to work correctly as it is part of the Traeger product we all paid way to much money for in the first place. I would call customer service and get their read on the situation. If you figure it out, please let me know how to fix it via Traeger.

Good luck with T CS. Many many others here and on FB forums have complained too. They send them a replacement. Same issue. Either get a 3rd party temp probe or return the grill. The finish product is great. Everyone should have a instant temperature read and/or 4 probes anyways. I’ve had my 885 for a month now. I put the T’s junk probe away after 1 week. It’s junk.

 

[Jacky]

JIANGSU HUAFENGAOLING INTERNATIONAL TRADE CO.,LTD
TRAEGER PELLET GRILLS LLC
The barbecue grills sold are all purchased from this company in China

Does it feel uncomfortable
TRAEGER's marketing is so good, it cannot do without the support of Made in China.

 

[midwest]

I had another thread going after I spoke with a Traeger tech. She basically said the number of complaints they get on their probes is very low based on the total number of sales that have. Not sure if that is just a sales pitch or what but it seems 100 % of the people on here have a problem, but the lady from Traeger said they have only documented about 5000 confirmed cases of probes being more then 12 degrees off. She said out of millions of units sold it is a small number so they don't consider it an issue.
Back to your point, I just bought the Inkbird off of Amazon. They had a 50% off coupon so I got it for $50.00 which is a great price for it. I started a pot of water boiling yesterday and from the time it started until it got to temp I was spot checking it against my MK4 and it was within a degree from start to finish. I would buy one of those and forget about the Traeger probes. You shouldn't have to buy aftermarket but you won't likely get a good dependable fix from Traeger.

 

[Murphy's Law]

You have to wonder how many people have zero idea their probe is off, or in my case - I am not going to waste my time calling so it's 5000, and not 5001 people calling. If I didn't start hanging out here and learning about the probe issues I would be cruising right along wondering why my cook times are all over the map and my food is always over done or under cooked.

 

[Dcgunman]

I’m not going to bother with calling CS on the temp probe issue. I have 2 Inkbirds and a Dot I’m using. I’m still learning probe placements in meats. Chicken seems to my hardest. But learning.

 

[midwest]

I have better lucking going straight in from the side on the thicker end of a chicken breast and steaks etc.

 

[Jacky]

Inkbird

Shenzhen Inkbird Technology Co., Ltd.

Maybe you will feel the difference. The same functional product has been well received by another company in China.
In fact, a good product does not need to care about the country of the manufacturer, as long as it is more applicable to customer requirements, it will be easier to accept

 

[Jacky]

The most original traeger Digital Thermostat Kit is also the most reliable, although there is no needle
-GROW LUCKY

Digital Thermostat Kit Barbecue Grill Replacement Parts for Traeger Pellet Wood Pellet Grills, Digital Thermometer Pro Controller, with 7" RTD Temperat

ure Sensor for Traeger Parts Replacement​