Tappecue Touch and Airprobe2 Bundle Review

The Airprobe2 is a refinement of the original Tappecue Airprobe that improves the accuracy considerably. Not only is the temperature accuracy excellent, but the unit can also be used inside a pressure cooker or an air fryer. It’s the only product of this type to make that claim.

The Tappecue Touch display unit has been reviewed here. This review focuses on the new Airprobe2 probes.

The probes are charged by placing them into the base unit, which is powered by a single AAA battery (not supplied). The base unit’s condition, as well as the charge status of the probe, is indicated by an LED, so it’s easy to determine the readiness of each probe. A fully-charged probe will operate from four to 10 hours, depending on conditions. If you’re cooking a brisket or a pork butt, you might have to swap out a depleted probe with a fresh one. It takes five to 10 minutes to fully charge a run down probe.

Unlike some other wireless probes, the Airprobe2 does not have to be inserted all the way up to the handle. This gives the user some leeway in how far to insert the probe, allowing the tip to be placed much closer to the center of the food.

The probes are color coded and correspond to the four colors shown on the Tappecue Touch display. Each probe sends two temperatures: the probe tip and the ambient temp. With four probes, you could measure eight temperatures independently.

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To test the accuracy of the probe’s ambient temperature sensor, I wrapped the shaft of the probe in a thick cotton sock that had been soaked in water. I squeezed out just enough water so that the sock did not drip. Using a wired thermometer of known accuracy as a reference, I put its grate probe next to the Airprobe2 handle on the center rack of a convection oven and adjusted the temperature to approximately 225°F. I waited until all the readings on both thermometers stabilized and took the readings. The reference thermometer read 222° while the Airprobe2 read 223°, a difference of 1°. I repeated the test at 326° at which point the Airprobe2 read 325°, again a difference of 1°. These are excellent results.

To test the food sensor, I prepared an ice water bath, another bath of 131°F in an Instant Pot, and a large pot of simmering water at 200°. The ice water reading was 32°. The Instant Pot bath at 131° was read by the Airprobe2 at 130°, off by 1°. The water simmering at 200° yielded a temperature from the Airprobe2 of 199°, off by 1°. These are also excellent results.

The transmit range of the probe is limited, especially if it is placed in a sealed cooker. Best practice is to place the display unit close to the cooker. It receives the Bluetooth signal from the probe and relays it via a Wi-Fi link to the cloud. An app installed on a smart phone communicates with the cloud and displays the temp info, alarms, and graphs of temp vs. time. You can bypass the link to the cloud if no internet is available. You can set temp alarms and ranges in the app, which is easy to use. When the food temp limit is reached, a robotic voice intones, “Check your meat.” Somebody had a sense of humor!

In the event of a loss of communication between the probe and the display, the temperature display goes blank within seconds, alerting the user to the problem, however, there is no immediate audible alarm from either the display or the app. The temperature graphs do not update automatically: You have to tap the refresh icon each time you want to see updated data. When communication is lost, the temps display as zero in the app. The temp graph also shows zero, but there is no other visual clue, nor is there an audible alarm. This is a problem that needs to be rectified.

The Tappecue Touch display unit works with conventional wired probes as well as the Airprobe2. The bundle reviewed here has two Airprobe2s. See the earlier Tappecue Touch review to learn about the available wired probes.

This is the first wireless “smart” thermometer that I’ve tested that performs well. Accuracy is usually a problem, particularly with the ambient probes. Tappecue seems to have solved the problem. It would be nice if a fully charged probe would run for a longer period, but these run times will probably meet most people’s requirements.

Warranty is one year. Customer support is available via e-mail or an online chat found on the company’s website. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. The only glitch I found was the lack of an alarm to indicate loss of communication. All in all, a nice wireless thermometer that exhibits excellent accuracy.