The Typhur Sync Gold Dual is the company’s latest entry into the rapidly evolving wireless thermometer market. It features a base unit that acts as both a signal relay and probe charger. (There is a four-probe version that has the same features as the Dual.) In addition to the boosting and charging functions, the base can also display and control the operation of the system, obviating a smart phone.
The Trouble With Wireless Thermometers
As I’ve mentioned in reviews of other wireless thermometers, there is a trade-off between the probe size, how long it will run on a charge, and how far its signal will reach. The thinner the probe, the better, but thinner means a smaller internal battery, and a smaller battery reduces the operating time. To get a longer operating time, you must reduce the transmitter power, but limited transmit power results in reduced range. It’s a real engineering feat to make this all work optimally.
Most wireless thermometers employ Bluetooth as a communications protocol, but its range is quite limited. It operates around 2.4 GHz, a frequency that is attenuated significantly by the metallic walls of a cooker. To get around this limitation, several manufacturers, including Typhur, have opted to use a lower frequency to transmit temperature data from the probe, allowing greater range with less transmit power and greater operating time per charge. The base unit receives this lower frequency signal and retransmits it via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi signal is picked up by one’s router and uploaded to the cloud where it can be received by a smart phone anywhere an internet connection is available.
Typhur’s temperature probes have six sensors: five in the business end of the probe and one in the handle. Having more sensors makes the placement of the probe in the food less critical. The internal circuitry looks at each sensor and selects the lowest temperature as the actual core temp. All the wireless probes to date require that you insert the probe far enough into the food that the sensitive internal electronics don’t overheat. The food acts as a heat sink, holding the probe to less than roughly 212°F. The size of the food, the length of the probe, and the sensor locations can create a quandary for the cook, particularly if the only temp sensor is right at the tip of the probe. Something to consider…
Using The App
Typhur’s app—Apple or Android—is easy to use. Pick the probe you want to program, choose either a manual or a smart prediction algorithm, set the temp you want, and hit go. The manual setting only requires a temperature, and you will be alerted when the food gets near that value. In the smart setting, you select a protein type, then the cut, and then a temp. The algorithm will factor all this information and make a guess about when the food will reach the desired temperature. You can then select which notifications you’ll receive as the cook progresses. This is one of the easiest apps I’ve used for this type of product. Nice work! Just one complaint: the font in the owner’s guide is impossibly small.
Testing The Typhur
The probes charge when inserted into the base unit, and the base has a USB-C port for charging. Typhur claims that a two minute charge will run a probe for two hours, and a fully-charged probe will run for 50 hours. The time to reach full charge is not specified. Throughout my Typhur Sync Gold Dual review, test results suggest that a fully charged probe will last a bit over 30 hours—plenty long enough. The probes are rated to IPX8, completely waterproof. The base is rated IPX2, so keep it dry. The shaft of the probe is limited to 221°F (105°C) and the handle will withstand 932°F (500°C).
For this Typhur Sync Gold Dual review, I tested the accuracy of the five sensors in the probe shaft by taking an average of the five readings at 135°F, 160°F, and 205°F. They were all within half a degree of the actual temp. You can access each sensor’s reading via the app. I couldn’t test the handle’s accuracy, but it’s not really important because proximity of the handle to the cooler food results in a misleading reading.
The probes and the base unit have a good-quality feel to them. Nothing is flimsy. The app is well-built and intuitive to use. One suggestion I would make is that the cook not be closed out automatically when the target temp is reached. Sometimes I like to continue cooking and it’s inconvenient when the app zeros out the temps and the graphs. A minor quibble…
Not much to complain about here. Quality build. Accurate results. A user-friendly app. Cloud accessibility. Recommended!
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