2" River Country Professional Series Adjustable Grill & Smoker Review

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I have a barrel type smoker/grill with a side firebox. The thermometer that came with the smoker is not very accurate and positioned far above the grate where the cooking takes place. I bought two 2" RC BBQ Smoker thermometers because the price is reasonable and I like the colored temperature zones, I can tell what the temps is at a glance from a distance. I added them on the lower edge of the lid of the smoker near the grate level, one near each end. Mounting was simple and all mounting hardware was included. The stems that protrude into the smoker is very short so does not interfere with cooking space. These gauges are very accurate. When I first got them I did the boiling water calibration and they are dead-on. Now I have the confidence with my smoker knowing exactly what temperature I am cooking at.

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I've got 2 Weber charcoal grills a large one, and a smaller "Smokey Joe" grill. Neither of them have a thermometer, so I decided to buy one of these thermometers for the larger grill. It's very accurate, and it definitely pulls the temperature from the probe, not from the metal surface of the grill lid. I tested this by gripping the probe tightly in my hand, which caused the needle to move to just below 100 degrees. However, when I gripped the meter housing in the same way, it did not move at all. I am highly confident that the temperature displayed on the thermometer is the temperature of the air inside the grill.

Installation is a breeze: Drill a 3/8" hole in whatever surface you want to mount this to, put the probe through the hole, and tighten the nut and washer down with a wrench or pliers.

The face appears to be some sort of plastic, probably to help keep it from fogging up. When I used my grill in the rain, it did get a little condensation inside, but not enough to obstruct the view.

I will definitely be buying a second one of these for my smaller grill.

Update, 5/4/2010:

I ended up buying a second one of these thermometers for my other grill. It works exactly like the first one, which I am very happy about. I mentioned before that I thought the face seemed like some sort of plastic, but now i am pretty sure it is glass, although I'll never know for sure unless I break one apart. Any ways, the reason for the update in the review is that the second one I bought is slightly different than the first one, in a good way! Mechanically and structurally, they are identical, however the printing on the gauge face was different on the new one. The first gauge was the same as the photo shown here on the product page, marked as "Smoke" from 100-225, "Barbecue" from 225-375, and everything after 375 is just empty white space. After using it several times, I kept thinking "I wish it said "Grill" for the temperatures above 375. Well, on the second thermometer I received, it actually DOES say grill in the 375-550 section. It's not that big of a deal, but I just thought I would post an update of my review to reflect the differences in the 2 thermometers that I bought from the same product page.

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I installed this Thermometer on my Weber One-Touch Gold Grill. It works well and is very visible. It really helps me to keep the grill on the correct temp.

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I purchased this item to install on my 36" Weber kettle for smoking and BBQing. I calibrated it as I was boiling water for my morning coffee before work. It was only off by a few degrees and I had it adjusted in a snap. Install was a breeze with sharp bits and cordless drill set to the lowest speed working up in 3 steps to the largest diameter bit. If one would like to use the washer and hex nut provided, I would recommend drilling a hole 1/32" to 1/16" larger than the 1/2" hole suggested by River Country. I did not do this as the thermometer body threaded securely into the 1/2" hole without the nut and washer. As I expand and/or upgrade I will definitely be keeping these thermometers in mind.

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I installed this in my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Everything you need is included and the thermometer works great. Colored dial makes it easy to see from a distance.