The item(s) contained in this review were purchased by The Naked Whiz website, using funds sourced from reader donations and web site advertising. No considerations, financial or otherwise, were given to or received from INKBIRD Tech. C.L.
Introduction
Here is another truly wireless meat thermometer that gets a lot of mentions in BBQ groups, and it was recently
marked down significantly on an Amazon lightning deal, so we thought now would be a good time to review it to see how it
compares to all the other truly wireless meat thermometers that we have reviewed. So here we go with the Inkbird
If you aren't familiar with the term or concept of a truly wireless meat thermometer, let's take a quick look at what these truly wireless probes are. The first truly wireless meat thermometers were the MEATER line of products. They had no wires between the probe that is stuck into the meat inside of a cooker and the device outside the cooker that displays the temperature information. How did these probes accomplish this? By using Bluetooth to communicate between the temperature probe in a cooker and a smart phone or tablet running an App outside the cooker.
And you further ask, how did they do this without burning up the electronics? Oh, they were very clever, they were. By enclosing all the temperature-sensitive components inside the portion of the probe which is actually stuck into the meat, that's how. That portion of the probe will never get above the temperature of the meat, so neither will the electronics. The rest of the electronics which can tolerate the higher temperature of a cooker reside higher up in the shaft of the probe in the portion which is exposed to the high heat of the cooker.
So what does this mean for cooking meat? Well, no more wires, obviously. No more kinked wires. No more fried wires. And imagine what this could mean for users with rotisseries: no more opening the cooker, stopping the rotisserie and using a handheld thermometer to check the temperature of the meat.
Now that you know what a truly wireless meat thermometer is, let's take a look at the
NUGGET ALERT: When reading this review, keep a look out for Nugget Alerts. These are nuggets of information about the product that you might wish to pay particular attention to because of their importance.
Specifications And Features
Let's look at the features and specifications
that can be gleaned from the Inkbird website and owner's manual. Like most of these devices, the
For the probes:
A Photo Tour of the Inkbird
So now let's take a look at the Inkbird Case and probe. First. the base unit, which
Inkbird calls the Case. It is made from plastic and has a sliding cover. When you hold the case, you merely
slide the cover back to open it. The case houses
the a button, a LED, a Bluetooth repeater, and charging circuitry. It also has a magnetic back so that you
can attach to any appropriate surface.
The photo on the left shows the Case with the cover slid open. The next two photos show the two electrodes which make contact with the probe and charge it.
Now let's take a look at the temperature probe:
As you can see, here we have broken the probe down into halves. The left half, or the top of the probe, contains the handle, the ambient temperature sensor (red dot), the Bluetooth antenna and the minimum insertion line which is your guide to ensuring you insert the probe deep enough into the meat to protect the temperature-sensitive electronics. And the right half shows the tip of the probe which houses the single internal temperature sensor. The approximate location is indicated by the red dot.
This last photo of the probe shows the end of the handle which holds one of the charging electrodes. This must be kept squeaky clean in order for the probe to charge properly.
NUGGET ALERT:
For most brands of truly wireless temperature probes, it has always been vital that the
part of the probe which makes contact with the charger be kept squeaky clean so that
it can make electrical contact. If you have trouble cleaning your probe with soap and water, some |
NUGGET ALERT: Quite a number of people have reported over the years that with at least one brand of temperature probe, when pulling the probe out of the meat, the handle of the probe pulls apart from the shaft. The probe tends to stick to the meat at the surface due to juices solidifying and forming a bond between the shaft and the meat. We probably won't be able to determine if that's a problem with the Inkbird, but you can avoid this possibility by always remembering to first push and twist the probe a short distance into the meat to unstick the probe, then pull the probe out. |
The Display: The Inkbird Case doesn't really have a display, per se. What is does have is a single LED that is used for a number of purposes.
This is how the Indicator LED behaves regarding the probe:
Low Battery |
• When the probe battery reaches 10% left, the indicator LED will flash red. • When the probe battery is exhausted, the indicator LED will go out. |
Battery Charging | The indicator LED will slowly pulse green (breathing) and will go out once the probe is fully charged. |
Remove Probe | When you take the probe out of the charging Case, the indicator LED will display a color to indicate the probe's charge level. After 3 seconds, the LED will go out. |
Insert Probe | When you insert the probe in the charging Case, the Case will beep and the indicator LED will display green, slowly pulsing until the probe is fully charged. When the probe is fully charged, the LED will go out. |
Pairing | During the pairing process, the indicator LED will alternately flash red and green. When the pairing process is complete, if successful the LED will display green. If pairing fails, the LED will display red. The indicator LED will then go out. |
This is how the Indicator LED behaves regarding the Case:
Press the Operation Button/Battery Level Display |
• 35∼100% LED will show green. • 15∼35% LED will show yellow. • 10∼15% LED will show red. |
Low Battery |
• When the battery is less than 10%, the indicator LED remains red. • When the battery is dead, the LED will flash red for 5 seconds, the Case turns off. |
Battery Charging | The indicator LED slowly pulses green (breathing), remains lit after
the Case is fully charged, and goes out when you unplug the charging cable. |
The Controls: The Case also has a single button on the back edge which, like the LED indicator, serves a number of purposes. Inkbird calls this button the Operation button.
Here are the functions that can be performed by pressing the Operation button:
Resetting The Case
You can reset the Case to its factory settings by pressing and holding the button for 30 seconds.
Auto Power Off
The Case will turn off automatically if "left unused for a short time."
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