man I love this maverick 732 but these probes are just junk. I bought mine in October of 2011 last week in fact. My first probe went out on the second or third smoke. Within two weeks they both were bad. So I wrote and they sent me two more. Now 3 months later in the middle of smoking my meat probe is gone. This time I removed the units and left probes hooked to smoker. Its in side. So I know their not pulled or kinked. I wash the probes only on the ends not clear to the wire with a damp cloth. I make sure to position probes no no juices or condensation rolls down to the wires. Im feed up. And these probes are about 20.00 so a person can just about buy a new one for what they cost! Well thanks for letting me rant and rave. Now to send them a letter.
I talked my coworker into purchasing one. He hasn't had it more than 3 weeks and one of the probes went out. He's also having problems
With it loosing connection at less than 100 ft. Only thing between the units is a set of French Doors. Oh. Probe never got wet. Just wiped clean. Mine came in today. We'll see what happens.
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I started having problems with one of my ET-732 probes last weekend. Just now I inserted the metal ends in a glass of ice water. The food probe reads 39*F. The BBQ probe reads 147*F. :o
The pdf owner's manual says the ET-732 has a 90-day warranty and I know I've had it longer than that so I guess I'll buy a new probe. The manual does say if I want to buy an out-of-warranty probe they are $12 each, including shipping and handling, directly from Maverick.
ET-732 Owner's Manual (http://www.jentek.biz/ebay/V3/ET732x1/ET732x1%20information.pdf) for anyone interested.
Last time I wrote they sent me two of them free. But more interested in finding a cause. I cant afford to be replacing these every couple month or even weeks. Mine was reading over 269 in a 150 smoker. They said any time you get a wild swing its the probe.By the way the price at maverick is now 17.00 for one and 30.00 for 2.
That's what my buddy's is doing. Reading that high when he is smoking sausage at @ 150'
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I'm very careful with not letting moisture run down the wire, so I don't know why mine failed. I plugged the probes into the opposite jacks when they were still in the ice water a few minutes ago and the high temp reading followed the bad probe, so it's not a transmitter fault.
I'm trying to decide if I want to purchase a standard 3' replacement probe from Maverick for $12, including shipping, or get a 6' probe from Yard and Pool for $23.98, including shipping. And if the BBQ probe failed will the food probe soon follow, meaning should I order a spare and be ready for when it does?
Well Ebay has the 6' probes for 18-19. Im going to get two this time again. Probably wont be long for the other. Wish i had know this also. I talked quite a few people into buying this product. Now I feel bad.
Has anyone discussed sealing the probes with RTV silicone where the wiring meets the metal tube of the probe?
T
How 'bout if I tell you it may not the probes at all but maybe the transmitting unit? Could be there is moisture in the sockets you plug the probes in. Could also be the transmitting unit itself. Don't ask me how I may know this. :o
No moisture in mine it stays inside and used inside a garage. Besides according to maverick any wrong readings are probe. Also last time it did this a new one fixed it. Now I m not saying im positive but that's what they say.
Quote from: KyNola on February 21, 2012, 08:42:29 PM
How 'bout if I tell you it may not the probes at all but maybe the transmitting unit?
Well, as I mentioned in one of my posts I swapped the probes into the other jacks and the high temp reading stayed with the same probe.
Same sob story here. Have had the maverick for about 45 days and the chamber probe crapped out. Bought a new one to get it right away but now will be contacting them for a warranty replacement.
I've had the same problem, first the meat one went out and then the internal smoker one went out.
Ole
Please don't think I am being pushy.....(as I did not see any acknowledgment of what I posted earlier)
But - seriously - the point at which the cable meets the probe *is not* water-tight.......
I find that sealing this with a food grade RTV silicone increases the life of the probes. I have not had a single failure since doing this almost a year ago.
Moisture can get into the probe as it comes from the factory. And - this does not mean from immersion in water - it means that the moist envirement we cook in could create a problem for this design issue in the probe.
HTH!
T
Quote from: teesquare on February 22, 2012, 04:59:57 AM
I find that sealing this with a food grade RTV silicone increases the life of the probes.
Who sells this? I'm guessing that it is different than the high temp RTV stuff that I can get from Autozone. I'd be willing to buy a tube and try it out if it'll save me from having to buy a couple of probes every few months.
I did a little Google searching and found that Permatex high temp red RTV is supposedly food safe for indirect use, according to an email from the company. I might try that unless someone can name a better product.
Permatex RTV Discussion (http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?p=185056&sid=33d831ce602f715b02917cd299bf460a)
Permatex F81160 Hi-Temp Red RTV Silicone (http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-F81160-Hi-Temp-Silicone--3-Ounce/dp/B0002UEN1A/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1329916922&sr=1-2)
I've got a high temp food grade Red RTV sealant at home. Let me look at the label tonight to see where it came from. I remember that it wasn't inexpensive..
Looks like this one is ok to use. According to the company's response to the member's email to them.
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I'm on my second set of probes as well. I got mine as soon as they came out along with two other friends and they are having the same problems.... I dont trust my maverick at all and usually have the old maverick backing it up and then use my analog for a triple check on stuff like chicken and pork. The 3 of them never read the same. I need to bite the bullet and get a therma pen. Should have gotten in on that open box deal. :(
The RTV that I use is made by Perma-Tex also. I think I got it at Lowe's a couple of years ago.....You just want to read the fine print on the back of the package for applicable uses to be "food safe" when cured.
It does not take much - And I like to push it down into the probe tubing as much as a I can when applying.
Again - we are talking about a tiny amount. But it really has helped me.
Just one further note: Be absolutely certain that your probes are dry, dry, dry...... You may even want to place them in the oven at a low temp ( 200F?) for an hour or so - and let them cool slowly, to insure you are not trapping any moisture inside the probe body.
Best!
T
Well kynola,teesquare I really never thought about humidity. Which good very well be what's going on. At least to me it seems like a possibility. I've pulled my hair out trying to figure this out. And believe me I can't afford to lose any more hair. Lol. Where do you buy a food safe RTV?
It's available in most auto parts stores and big box places like Lowes or HD.
Quote from: viper125 on February 22, 2012, 07:34:21 AMWhere do you buy a food safe RTV?
Did you click on the Amazon link I posted above?
Quote from: TedEbear on February 22, 2012, 09:54:54 AM
Quote from: viper125 on February 22, 2012, 07:34:21 AMWhere do you buy a food safe RTV?
Did you click on the Amazon link I posted above?
Sorry TedEbear must have read right over it. But I went back and read it thanks. I have found it here in town at auto zone for 6.99 also Walmart carry's it but not sure of price.
Well after thinking what was said about the humidity in a smoker I figured id see if its recoverable.
Ok well seeing the probe was bad any way I thought I'd go a little farther this time. Also its in the warranty if you mess with the probe it voids the warranty. But I don't think this would.I was baking some potato's 3 to be exact. I put them on the top shelf of the oven. Put my probes into the potato from the bottom so the opening to the fittings was downward. Set it to bake at 275 degrees and left them to watch TV. I had the monitor and kept looking at it. First of all the wife's often gets way hotter then it says,as i have suspected all along. The probes started heating up. The one said 260 and the other 70 when I put them in. after awhile the bad on was at 310 and the good one was at 170. kept going till the bad one started to drop a degree or so from over 300. Pretty soon it started going down. Till they pretty much evened out. Pulled out and all is fine now. So I believe what was said earlier about the smoker and its humidity. Will now apply silicon and have sent a letter to maverick suggesting they do the same with them.
Good info. Thanks.
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Wife picked up the red at Walmart for around 4.00 I did about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches long. Half on probe and 1/2 on wire. Just so I know its waterproof at the joint. Will see if this is any better. By the way it's working fine now!
If any of you do automotive or other light electrical system work, you might try a piece of Heat Shrink tubing (NAPA part number 784661 for the red tubing for 18-20 ga wire, believe the blue for 14-16 ga is p/n 784662, but not sure)...just slide a piece on and heat it up to seal it.
Don't know if they are the same but I have an ET73 and have replaced the probes about 2 years ago. (My fault got the cable wet) but after that have not had a problem. Wonder if those would work?
The et73 I have reads 12' off on the
Food side, but it's something internal. Not the probes.
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I had read some were that the cords work off resistance I believe. So that's not surprising. But I have used the smoker probe pushed into meat to watch temps also. You can use either on th 732.
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Ordered the rtv off Amazon today. Also put my 5 different probes in a 200*F oven for 2 hours to bake out any moisture that may be in there. Just for yuks watched the displays and saw significant variations in response times as the oven heated up, but once it reached equilibrium they all displayed within 2*F of each other. I also put an old fashioned oven thermometer in the oven and it agreed as well. Will seal all the probes once the gooey stuff arrives.
Well my problem was that Maverick said that any time the probe is reading way off,LLL or HHH it's the probes fault. And once a probe was shorted there was no fixing it. So I didn't try to dry them. Now I think it may be why the sell so cheap. They make their real money off the probes. LOL They were always quick to reply but when I sent a fix they didn't reply at all! Least not yet!
Viper, that's what I was led to believe about the probes. Once moisture damaged they're a throw-away. I've tossed out around 2-3 and had 5-6 damaged. My ET-73 is so new that they've been sending me replacements free of charge. I've let them "dry out" in a 200F oven and all but one recovered. I'm sealing them all with red RTV. I've already bought some tougher/higher heat replacements from Big Poppa Smokers(for the ET-73), so when the originals crap out I'll use them. Just in case, before I use those I'll seal them too. I also have the ET-732 sitting on the shelf in case of catastrophic failure. :)
Probably se refurbished soon. May be why they want the old probes back.
I put my probes in the oven for 2 hours at 350*F yesterday, pulled them out and let them cool. I was surprised that my bad one was again working just fine. I was ready to throw it away and buy a replacement.
I'm going to get some of the Permatex high temp red and seal the joint and hope that cures anymore moisture issues. Excellent thread and thank you everyone for the tips on getting this fixed. :)
Just got me some for my et732. Brand new. Got it a few days ago and haven't used it yet.
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Well seems to work. Some times even a blind squirrel finds an acorn! LOL
Quote from: viper125 on February 24, 2012, 01:28:17 PM
Well seems to work. Some times even a blind squirrel finds an acorn! LOL
Here in Texas it would be a pecan. :D
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LOL!
Quote from: viper125 on February 24, 2012, 01:28:17 PM
Well seems to work. Some times even a blind squirrel finds an acorn! LOL
Have you had a problem with it loosing sync. My buddy just told me he can be 40 feet line of site and loose connection. No obstructions. I think he got a dam Lemon. Lol. That's on tip of his bad probe.
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Well I found I replace battery about every time I use it. I am removing from receiver now when done, Seems its the worse. But as battery's wear down so does the range. Best to use rechargeables I found. I shoot threw 3 walls at about 75 to 100 ft.