CDN Dual Sensing Programmable Probe Thermometer and Timer

This thing has a nice strong cord that's plenty long to reach out of the oven or grill, and it works like a charm. Unless you care about getting all fancy with wireless, this is the way to go. Programmable either to your own set temp or to their defaults, which is also helpful. UPDATE 11/28/11 I've used this now for a few years and it's been very reliable and accurate. My only gripe is that chicken only has an option of 180 degrees, but I can get around that by using a beef setting at 165. I've gotten my money's worth in the fact that I've ruined zero meals since buying it, and if it conked out tomorrow I'd buy another. UPDATE 9/20/12 Still going strong after all this time. I use it in skillets, the oven, and on the grill. For a pork tenderloin or a steak, I stick it in the end and leave it in the whole time while cooking. That configuration allows me to roll the tenderloin or flip the steak without having to pull it out and release the juices. I even leave it in while the meat rests, and make sure my temp ends up about where I need it. UPDATE 12/1/2014 Finally conked out on me. Around Thanksgiving 2013, when I used it to monitor a submerged frying turkey, it started acting very unreliable. Temps would be all over the place over the last year. Grilling a steak, I'd get temps between 30 and 290. I finally had to retire it and replace it. It might be that the last few inches of cord were submerged in 325-degree oil, so I can't fault the instrument. It saved a pound of meat for every penny it cost me over the years.

This is the best thermometer out there. It is a meat thermometer and everyone crying about candy and cheese and other things that aren't meat need to not post reviews for not using it for what it was intended for. I have used and abused my for over 2 years now and always rely on the information it gives me. I am still on the original batteries that came with it and I use it every time I cook. It has been set out in the element while I smoke ribs, briskets, shoulders, and chicken; and the thermometer still works. The one thing that made me worry was when it was in direct sunlight and the screen went black. I thought I fried the screen with the sun. But when I but it in the shade again, it returned to the normal screen. Answer to problem, keep the screen out of direct sunlight. All of my competition meats have turned out with perfection. Throwing the other unreliable thermometers away, I have purchased another one for the other smoker and bought one for a friend. I recommend this thermometer for anyone that is wanting to cook with the right temperatures and never have to guess. I was an amateur when I started with this product and turned into a pro. Friends and family gatherings have made me more confident to cook for them. In conclusion, this is not a candy or cheese thermometer. It is for meat. I recommend this for those that question there ability and want to make it perfect.

I found myself doing quite a bit of research before buying a digital probe thermometer... it seems that each brand and model has it's 'gotchas,' so unless you spend several hundred bucks on a laboratory grade thermometer, you're gonna have to deal with one or more disadvantages... unreliable probes, inaccurate readings, inconvenient menus, inadequate range, flimsy construction, etc. The questions I ended up asking myself were, what are the most desirable qualities, and what are the disadvantages I could live with? First and foremost, I wanted one that was reliable. Unfortunately, every single model contained reviews from folks whose thermometers didn't make it a month let alone a year. So the next step was to look at the frequency of problems, and perhaps more important, the warranty. CDN was the only one with a five year warranty (one that they seem to cheerfully honor, judging by feedback), so that went a very long way toward making my decision. Next was temperature range... most digital probe thermometers peak out at under 392 degrees. I didn't feel that was enough so there was another point in favor of the CDN, which is one of the very few that tops out at 482 degrees. Finally, it came with a metal clip for use on the rim of saucepans, stockpots and so forth... why this cheap but useful little accessory is an optional extra purchase with many other models is a testament to the idiocy and greed of companies who want to get the product out there for the cheapest possible price and then hit you up later for things they should have provided in the first place. Now that I've lived with the CDN Proaccurate a month or so, I have to say I'm pleased. Tested against two other thermometers the CDN seems accurate, and though it's response seems a bit slow, it's not really meant for instant readings anyway. Other minor gripes? Well, it's not very intuitive when it comes to setting some of the functions... but once you use it a few times you get used to that. Probably my major disappointment is that the timer counts only hours and minutes, no seconds... this coupled with the very small blinking indicator means that it's difficult to tell when it's running. As I said, these are minor gripes... overall I'm extremely pleased with this purchase.

I've owned this thermometer for almost 3 years now. From a functional standpoint, this is a very nice thermometer. I'm not one of those people who has trouble with these in any brand, mostly because I don't cook where it is in a steamy environment, don't wash the probe submerged, and don't put water on the probe when it is hot, drawing water inside of it as it cools. For that reason, mine all work perfectly, or at least the way they are intended. 3 year in, this unit is accurate to +/- 1 deg F to my other two, and accurate with boiling or ice water. My #1 complaint for this is the alarm. When you power this thing on, it leaves out this annoying loud beep for 5 full seconds. Now, a normal person would think that means the alarm is on, I mean it just screamed at me, right? Wrong. The default for the alarm is OFF. Ypu have to hit the "Alarm" button in order to turn it on EVERY time. Now, I don't know who wrote the firmware in this thing but they should be ______ (you can fill that in). It is infuriating the first couple times you use it to find out that yea, it's checking the temp fine, but it isn't telling you it hit the limit. And the indicator that shows the alarm IS on is so small and light it's difficult to see. Having owned 2 other probe thermometers, this is not something I've ever had to deal with. Set the temp, and walla, it's ready. Not this thing. I'd also like to have a setting for High/Low temp alarm. Meaning, alarm on when it goes up to a temp, or down to a temp. There are others out there now with that feature, this one does not have. Battery life is good in this thing. 3 years in and I've not changed the batteries. It's a shame the person who designed the circuit didn't also write the firmware.

I liked this model so much that I purchased another one when I got my second kettle. I use these with my weber Smokey Mountain Kettles with wonderful results. They do a great job of monitoring the temperatures of both my meat and kettle temps. I have been using the original one for about 4 years, I have replaced the battery twice, Most of my smokes are at least 12 hours in duration. I run the probe thru the upper vent of the kettle, the probe cord is never pinched, I then set the thermometer next to the kettle on a stand. I have never used the thermometer to measure temps any higher than 225 to 250 degrees. However, this item has been used in the pouring rain, in outside temps of 30 below zero, in 100 degree weather, and in snowstorms. It is easy to use and thus far.. Extremely reliable so I decided to buy the second one.

I have used this thermometer 5 times. The first time was on 1 1/2" thick New Yorks. Out of the box, at room temperature, the thermometer registered different temperatures for food and oven but was close. Stuck it in the center of the steaks from the side and it worked great measuring the food temp. The second use the room temp difference was bigger. On the fourth use the oven temp would bounce all over making it useless in my wood smoker where I need to know the temperature and effect of refueling. It would show something close to accurate then drop to flashing "Lo" then high, medium etc. Now the oven doesn't register at all, just keeps flashing "Lo" so I can only guage by food temp which is useless when doing an 8-12 hour smoke. Started out with great optimism but this product is a big disapointment. I think many high reviews are from their first use and either they haven't used it enough or haven't updated their reviews. Programing is also a negative as you can only change temp going up so if you want a 220 degree oven temp for smoking and you go over, you have to go to the max setting before it will start at the bottom again. Not a big deal in and of it's self but given how poorly it has performed for me I cannot recommend. UPDATE 12/09/10: Sent an email to CDN and did not receive a response so I followed up with a phone call to their 800 number. They were very accommodating and expressed concern that my email had been missed. They indicated that the probes can short out and are sending me out a new probe under warranty. Will wait and see if that fixes the problem. If so I'll be interested to see how long it lasts and will update my star rating then. Good customer service but not such great quality control on the probes. UPDATE 02/22/11: Received the new probe and smoked a batch of home cured bacon. Worked great! Several weeks later I roasted a duck and then the probe showed the food as hotter than the oven and bouncing all over. Tried it one more time thinking maybe it was a one time glitch but it still shows the food to be hotter that the oven, and the temperatures bounce up and down by the second. Really getting frustrated with this product. UPDATE 03/02/11: Returned unit to CDN and they are sending me a complete new unit and an extra probe. The product has been frustrating but CDN's staff and service has really been excellent. They definitely stand behind their product. Suspect their problem is the quality control of the company who manufactures their probes. If this one works better will upgrade my star rating.

I use this mainly for smoking meat in my SmokinTex electric smoker. Before this I either had to go by time or pull the meat out to test the temp. With the CDN Digital Programmable Probe Thermometer, you can either use a preset for the type of meat or select your own temperature. When it reaches the internal temp you have set, you can choose to have an alarm go off. I use this feature all the time. The probe has a wire on it that snakes out of the door to your smoker or oven. To date, I have used it for burgers, chicken and steak. All perfectly cooked. I set the temp 3-5 degrees less than optimal, then wrap the meat in foil and let it rest. It will come up to the ideal temp in about 5-10 minutes. There are lots of articles on the web you can find about smoking meat. Reasonably priced and seems to be accurate, judging by the quality of the finished product. Yum!

Gives accurate temperature readings...