YOU ARE HERE >> AmazingRibs » Ratings & Reviews » Ratings Reviews And Buying Guides » Best Thermometers For Food And Cooking » How to Buy the Best In-Food/In-Cooker Thermometer » iCelsius Wireless BBQ Review
In Spring 2014 iCelsius introduced this revolutionary new remote device.
It can be used to monitor food, a grill, a smoker, an oven, room temperature, a wine cellar, an aquarium, and even body temperature.
Smaller and thinner than a deck of cards, the device is brain-dead simple to operate. In “direct mode” it speaks to an iOS or Android app on your smartphone or tablet via wifi, not BlueTooth although I am told a BlueTooth v ersion is coming. Wifi is a much stronger signal and has much greater range. I tested the range at about 100 yards line of site and about 25 yards with a brick house in the way.
In “remote mode” you can monitor it on your computer through a browser or with the app on a smartphone or tablet from across the city or anywhere in the world. In order to use the remote mode you must have a gmail account.
There are six probes already on the market and more coming. There is even a probe that meters humidity, but it won’t work on your smoker yet.
There are ports on the side for a USB cable to charge it, and a port thermistor probes. There is a battery indicator light and two buttons, on/off, and a mode button. The mode button toggles between green and blue.
Green is direct mode and blue is remote mode.
Alas, in direct mode the battery lasts only about six hours so you will need to plug the USB cable into a charger or a power supply (AC to USB power adapters are cheap). In remote mode the battery life is longer because you can set the frequency of the data transmissions. In direct mode the unit is constantly transmitting.
The device ships with your choice of probes. One of the options is for two probes on one cable so you can monitor both your cooker and your meat, or two pieces of meat, or one piece of meat in two locations. The cables are 5′ long. We have noticed that some multiple probe thermometers from other manufacturers can give you false readings when you put both probes in the same piece of meat because electrical charges run through the watery meat and the probes short each other out. iCelsius has solved this issue by using a single chip set for both probes, and polling each probe one at a time so the two aren’t sending signals at the same time. The dual probe unit sells for $14 more than the single probe pushing it just north of $100. If you can afford it, go for it.
The transmitter is not waterproof, so I slip it into a plastic zipper bag to protect it. Read my comments on the software and the probes for the iCelsius above. In general I like them very much and I am optimistic that some of the quirks will disappear in future releases.
Manufacturer:
Published On: 6/5/2014 Last Modified: 1/28/2021
All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.
Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.
When you make rubs at home we recommend you add salt first then the herbs and spices because salt penetrates deep and the other stuff remains on the surface. So thick cuts need more salt. We put salt in these bottled rubs because all commercial rubs have salt and consumers expect it. You can still use these as a dry brine, just sprinkle the rub on well in advance to give the salt time to penetrate. For very thick cuts of meat, we recommend adding a bit more salt. Salt appears first in the ingredients list because the law says the order is by weight, not volume, and salt is a heavy rock.
Sprinkle on one tablespoon per pound of meat two hours or more before cooking if you can. Called “dry brining,” the salt gets wet, ionizes, becomes a brine, and slowly penetrates deep, enhancing flavor and juiciness while building a nice crusty “bark” on the surface. Sprinkle some on at the table too!
Are they hot? No! You can always add hot pepper flakes or Chipotle powder (my fave) in advance or at the table. But we left them mild so you can serve them to kids and Aunt Matilda
From TBoneJack, the unofficial Poet Laureate of The Pitmaster Club:
AmazingRibs is where you go,
To get the best advice,
You’ll find out how, to smoke a cow,
And it will turn out nice.
Smokers, gadgets, recipes,
Charcoal, gas, or wood?
The how, the why, and what to try,
When things arn’t going good.
Selection, prep, and cook techniques,
Marinades and such,
Rubs and brines and temps and times,
And how to use the Crutch.
Brisket secrets are revealed,
For moist and tender meat,
The point, the flat, the rendered fat,
The proper mix of heat.
I found out how to smoke spare ribs,
Great bark and taste and worth,
I want some more, I’ll have them for,
My last meal on this Earth.
Memphis Dust did suit them well,
I served them without sauce,
Not 3-2-1, not overdone,
No precious flavor loss.
Jambo, Lang, or Meadow Creek,
It’s hard to make the call,
Almost a crime, so little time,
I’d like to try them all.
I’m not ashamed, I’m not alone,
‘Cause many have this lot,
But I’ll admit, here in the Pit,
My wife said Not! Not! Not!
Weber, Brinkman, PBC,
No need for budget breach,
They cook great food, just ask me dude,
‘Cause I have one of each.
Obsessed I am, I know it’s true,
They call it MCS,
I saw the doc, he was in shock,
He too is in this mess.
Myron Mixon, Johnny Trigg,
Cool Smoke’s Tuffy Stone,
Harry Soo, Chris Lilly too,
And Moe who cooks alone.
They’re all good, I like them fine,
I’m sure they cook good Q,
They’ve earned the right, I see the light,
I’ll give them their fair due,
But I have learned, thru many cooks,
This web site is da bomb,
For what to do, browse over to,
AmazingRibs dot com.
Tired of seeing popup ads?
No need to throw a fit,
Don’t you know, just spend some dough,
And join us in the Pit.
And if you travel, don’t despair,
No further should you look,
The answer’s clear, put down your beer,
And order Meathead’s book.
High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
Post comments and questions below
1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.
3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.
4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.
5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
Moderators