Thermapen: Where to get the best price?

[walker]

I'd like to get a thermapen but don't want to pay $90 plus for it. Any ideas?

[John Francis]

A little more about that sale: also $76 for Limited Edition Flame. No deadline but it's "while supplies last."

[DoobieWah]

Open Box Sale $69.

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/t...

[craigbuck1]

I've got an old one and wanted to get the new one when it was on sale but couldn't justify the cost since the old one works so well. I love mine. Waterproof would be nice, but I just take care when washing and haven't had a problem yet. It's been a couple years and I use it several times a week.

[hobbess]

They have a sale going on right now for thermapens:

http://www.thermoworks.com//products/...

I didn't snap one up just because I'm too paranoid about getting used electronic items, even if they're refurbished.

But, this is probably the best price we'll ever see for the thermapens.

[srgoodman]

"Sold Out"

[walker]

Just curious: since they are sold out, I cannot see what the great sale price was.

I finally got one but was thinking of buying one for a gift.

[scubadoo97]

From a recent email they were selling the splash proof model for $69

[smkit]

Btw, another reason to get a Thermapen is their great customer service. Someone (I don't know who, maybe a relative) dropped mine on the floor and cracked the housing right near the probe. I told Thermapen that it got dropped (my fault) and they told me to send it in. They simply sent me a new one free of charge. That was pretty nice of them.

[scubadoo97]

How long did you have it? I have a thermoworks digital thermometer/hygrometer that fell from a height of maybe two feet on to the tile floor and no longer works. The warranty period was pretty short. I may have to give them a call

[smkit]

I had mine under a year I think, but it is always worth trying.

[naggie]

If I get a thermapen, then do I need to get a separate meat thermometer for when I'm grilling meat or can the thermapen handle that task as well?

[scubadoo97]

for grilling the thermapen should work very well. It is not the kind of thermometer that you can leave in a grill or smoker obviously. For continued monitoring a heat proof wired sensor is best

[skwid]

Just purchased a water proof thermapen (direct from Thermoworks) when they had discounted them a bit. It works really good. We've been using the "original oven termometer" which is fantastic for cooking meats to just the perfect temperature. The only thing we've found is the temperature probes seem to give out every once in awhile. Otherwise I couldn't live without one as we get perfect doneness on those expensive cuts of meat and everyone always raves about the meals.

[smkit]

At KingAurthur flour you can get a discount on Thermapen -- until tomorrow (Thursday, 21 Oct). You won't see the sale on the site, but add the item to the cart and you will see the reduction at checkout. It will be $86.35 and free shipping.

Also, if you add another $4+ of purchases, you will get a 15% discount. So just add in a free shipping item such as Vietnamese cinnamon and the price will drop to $85.77 and you get the cinnamon for free.

[walker]

Thanks for the notice: I just called them and they say you must order $100 worth to get the 15% discount. I wanted the saf instant yeast but that item requires their min. shipping charge, which is $6.50, so I nixed that. Instead, I tacked on the V. cinnamon, cheesecloth and silicone strips for cake pans, and, of course, the thermapen.

[iyc_nyc]

YAY! I think you'll like it and Thermapen has great customer svc so hopefully this will be the last one you'll need to get.

[DoobieWah]

This one seems to have good reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-9842-Com...

[cowboyardee]

I've used this model. It didn't last long (~6 months). Ditto with several other cheap instant digital thermometers from Taylor and Polder. They all die like goldfish. You'll then assume the battery is dead, drop more money on a new battery, only to find that money is wasted as well.

I grudgingly came to accept that I needed a Thermapen. No problems at all since I got one (waterproof type). If others manage to find a cheap digital thermometer that lasts, congrats. I can't recommend one. From my experience though, the good people over at Taylor make crappy thermometers. I resent having given them my money (more than once, stubborn idiot that I am).

[wekick]

My thermapen did not last very long either and I have been very careful with it. When you open it it sometimes seems to read but the decimal is off 7.19 for room temperature. Sometimes it won't read at all.

[cowboyardee]

Did you try returning it? Half the upside of the thermapen is not the construction but that fact that Thermoworks will hook you up with a new one if need be. They'll also recalibrate.

[srgoodman]

You can also recalibrate on your own - there are two recalibration screws under the label. If you email Thermoworks, they'll send you complete instructions. They even sent me a new label to cover up the screws when I was done. (I bought my Thermapen in 2004, and it was reading 214 for boiling when I recalibrated it last year. It's been spot on ever since.)

[wekick]

I looked online and they have recalibration instructions. I am outside the warranty. I have been using it even though the decimal point is off.

[srgoodman]

Why not contact Thermoworks anyhow? They may surprise you. If not, you've lost nothing.

[iyc_nyc]

I've found Thermoworks to have amazing customer service so I wouldn't be surprised if they'd want to try to help. They went above and beyond from beginning to end to resolve a minor issue.

I know it's pricey, but think it's worth the investment - I'm very happy with mine.

[walker]

I'm leaning toward buying one but I really think it's overpriced.

[scubadoo97]

Agreed walker but it's nice to have. A luxury for sure but mine get's used a bunch.

[wekick]

I'll do it!

[Mother of four]

Good for you! All you needed were a bunch of enablers!!! Good site for that!!! But, you will love it...worth the price.

[wekick]

I emailed thermapen. They want between $15-25 + shipping to fix it. I just can't see putting that much more into it and still have it be subject to water. It is less than 2 years old. You can go through quite a few cheaper thermometers for what it would be costing me to have the thermapen. I had been using the probe type before the thermapen and they lasted for years, but were a little slower.

[wekick]

Thermapen did stand behind their product and made sure I had a working thermometer in time for holiday cooking__OUTSTANDING customer service. I am a loyal customer now and am buying a few for gifts.

[Paulustrious]

If you need that level of accuracy then take into account atmospheric pressure. Then again you would need an a pressure of 1055 for the 214-F to be accurate. The Dead Sea would be almost perfect for that reading.

To wekick: In Toronto where I live you can expect a difference of 0.8F depending on which suburb you live in. I presume the recalibration takes atmospheric pressure into account. Is there a barometer built into the thermapen?

[srgoodman]

Need that level of accuracy? Probably not, but the Thermapen read 212 for nearly five years when immersed in boiling water, so I was irked when it changed.

Thermoworks provides a boiling point calculator on their web site:
http://www.thermoworks.com/software/b...
which allows you to adjust for both elevation and current barometric pressure.

This is more important in Denver or Mexico City than Boston or Toronto, of course.

[Rella]

As I mentioned above in my posting, try a new battery - if you haven't already. It will go ahead and read erroneously instead of going blank, IMO.

[scubadoo97]

They sell on a few different sites but the price is the same @ $96 I bought one of the originals that they were getting rid of as they move to the splash proof model. It still wasn't cheap at $65.

ThermoWorks sells cheaper digitals that have a response time of 6 seconds. There are other brands that have good response time and accuracy but they top at at 248*F. Okay for most things in the kitchen. and they are only around $18

[walker]

I have an instant read thermometer but it's not easy to read. Just can't see paying that much -- maybe I would if I cooked every day for a big family.

[scubadoo97]

Walker, check out this Taylor thermometer

http://www.wirelessthermometers.net/9...

[Mother of four]

They were just on sale on their site for $89, but I don't know if it's still on. I got one and love it. It was the new waterproof one.

[scubadoo97]

I know they are expensive and I'm just a home cook cooking for 2 on average but I use mine a lot. It's fast, accurate and easy to use and I hope it last a long time, Going on 2 yrs with no issues.

[rainey]

I agree. I wanted durable, easy to read and, above all, accurate -- when you're tempering chocolate accuracy *matters*. I pulled up my big girl pants and popped for the Thermapen.

When I got it and started using it, I loved it so much I got a second one so one could stay at my baking counter and one could be in the kitchen proper. In addition to all it's other great qualities, the Thermapen comes in different colors so that everyone knows the red one goes in the baking area and the black one stays in the kitchen. ;>

[Rella]

I've had mine for a looong time. The only issue was when I first bought it; it was so hard to open up the prong, that I had to send it back. The next one was pretty tough going to, and I was told to keep moving it back and forth to loosen it up. Really! Now that I've had it a number of years, it's easy enough to open. You really have to pay attention when it seems that it is not working correctly; it seems to me that it will work erroneously when one needs a new battery, instead of just going blank.