Up for Review is the Smartro ST54 Meat Thermometer

 “A great buy for the money”-Mike Epson (Editor of The Smart Consumer)

Up for review is the Smartro st54 meat thermometer. This is a thermometer made for both indoor and outdoor use, has two temperature probes and a digital LCD display.  The first thing I like to do when we’re feeling a product is to dive into the features and then look at the pros and cons.

Features and specs

• Dual thermometer probes

Each probe can be used at the same time and independently for separate temperatures. Instructions list that the probes can measure temperature up to 482 degrees Fahrenheit or 250 degrees Celsius.

• Probe wires

This is an important aspect to look at because not all wires are made the same and can withstand the same temperatures.  It is recommended that you avoid high heat situations above 482 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Warnings to pay attention to

-Both the probes and wires should avoid racks, elements and flame immersion.

-The probe and cable are not dishwasher safe. They must be hand washed using hot water and soap. Make sure to rinse and dry the probe thoroughly before storing it.

I’m a big barbecue guy, I like to smoke meat, I like to use gas grills and I have a special pizza oven.  It’s important to know the temperatures of your different grills both indoor and outdoor cooking can result in temperatures that exceed the recommendations of these probes.

– this means that you just need to be conscious of the temperatures you’re cooking with and limitations of the probe temperatures.

* generally these temperatures will not matter all that much because most people do not cook continuously at these high heats.  However, it does matter because these probes are made to leave in the grill and in the oven and we want to make sure that you’re not leaving them in above the temperatures that they are recommended for.

One great thing about having two probes to barbecue with is you can leave one probe in the meat and the other probe in the barbecue to monitor the barbecue temperature.

See Pricing on Amazon Here

Easy-to-Read LCD backlit display

This is easy enough to understand, it has a LCD display that it also has a backlight to make it easier to see.  The pros are obvious that the screen lights up and you can see it from across the room.  It is hard to capture great pictures of light, so here’s an example of how bright it is in the dark. (on the left)

However one of the issues that seem to come up often is that the light does turn off and you have to touch the screen to get the backlight to come back on. I think this makes perfect sense because this is a battery-operated unit. I could see if this was a plug-in unit or maybe even if it had rechargeable batteries but that’s not the case.  Being that this is a unit that is disposable battery-powered, you do not want a light stays on continuously or you will constantly be having the change the batteries. So where some people see this as a negative I actually see this as a positive. It doesn’t bother me at all to have to touch the screen to have the light come on again.

Timer Mode

Another easy to use Simple feature but I do have a complaint on this one.  The timer allows you to start at 0 and count up or set a timer to countdown from and those two things work perfectly.

However, my complaint is that I cannot use both the timer and the thermometer features at the same time.  The switch on the back allows you to change from timer or thermometer if I’m using the timer I need to switch to the thermometer then I lose the timer and it resets.

I mostly use my phone for a timer or Alexa anyway so if you ask me it wouldn’t matter if they got rid of the timer mode altogether, so this really doesn’t matter, just more of a pet peeve. 

Customer Service

If you need to contact them here is the Smartpro email for support support <support@smartro.co>

This is what’s listed on Amazon on the product page.

“The SMARTRO Smart Purchase】If you experience any issues during this time just contact the SMARTRO customer service team, we promise you a satisfied solution. Our SMARTRO support are always here to assist”

Lets find out if its true or not, will they respond quickly to help?

Email sent on February 6 in the morning.

So they responded the same day, that’s a good sign.

Wow, that was easy, it looks like they stand behind there warranty.

This part is super important if you want the 3 year warranty you have to register it so don’t forget to go here after you get it.

https://smartro.co/pages/warranty

Magnets and stand options

I know adding magnets to a product is simple and having a stand that folds out is nothing special but these two little features make a huge difference compared to the barbecue thermometer I was using before.

This is the old unit I was using by a Redi chek, the stand broke, no magnets and the screen is tiny.

I know you’re thinking so what it has magnets and a stand but check out all these awesome places I am able to attach this thing in my kitchen or on the barbecue.  I used to keep my old thermometer in the drawer. Now with the magnets, I can just leave it on the fridge on the back of the stove I even have metal trim I can leave it attached too. I probably won’t use the stand much but for me, the magnets are a big win.

 Temperature alarms

The unit will alarm at preset temperatures. This can be helpful if you’re not paying attention. It can be a pain if you cant figure out how to turn them off.

 There are a few things I like about the temperature alarms and there’s one thing I don’t like about it but can get used to.

*The following is the only issue I have with the Smartro thermometer 

6 different preset settings

There are six different preset temperature selections where all you have to do is just select the picture and the temperature is set to the correlating images. Unfortunately, those images and temperatures are wrong. They are not based on USDA recommend guidelines for cooking meat.

The presets are 

170 Beef Well Done 

160 Beef Medium 

145 Rare Beef / Fish 

160 Hamburger

170 Pork 

180 Chicken

And the last setting is for you to adjust to any temperature. This is probably the only setting I will really use.

There are a couple of things that I don’t understand here. If you know anything about recommended meat temperatures than you know that the numbers are being used for the presets are mixed up. In addition, I don’t understand why any preset numbers would repeat on more than one setting.

For me personally most of the time I would just select the last sitting and adjust the temperature to whatever temperature I’m using.

Pros-

-The Unit works fast and accurately allowing you to monitor multiple temperatures at once. 

-The temperature probes and cables are made to leave in the oven as long as you use them within the right temperature. 

The light makes it easy to see inside or outside.

 -I love the magnets and stand options that allow you to store this in many places that you would not be able to without magnets.

 -the look goes well with my stainless steel kitchen

Cons-

It really comes down to the wrong preset temperatures.   I don’t think the preset temperatures are useful and I will not be using them.

The real question is would I recommend buying this? The answer is yes if it meets your needs.

I would rate this as  “A great buy for the money”  

This is not a professional unit and you should not expect professional features, for the money is a great choice.

I believe for the features and look at this price under $30 it a great buy. It will be hard to find a comparable meat thermometer with dual probes that work as good as this one. I would use this one over my more expensive Redi chek any day.