IRXL220 Large Dial Cooking Thermometer

I carry it in my new apron's third pocket. On the other side I put my digital surface thermometer. I don't keep either product in a drawer anymore. The advantage being, when I need one of them I remember to put on the apron and keep my clothes clean while cooking. I have been fully satisfied with the performance of this insturment. Readings are easy for my old eyes because the numbers are large and magnified. It gives an accurate reading in just a few seconds. The temperature range is great for cooking water based liquids (yes this includes your roast beef which is more then 90% water), which covers practically everything. It is not designed for Candy Making, as the syrup temperatures run above it's temperature scale. Good price, good quality, great features.

I bought this cooking thermometer to go with my new 11" Yogurt Maker by E-Ware (http://www.amazon.com/E-Ware-11-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B003RYUGP0/ref=cm_rdp_product). This thermometer is high quality, easy to read and very quick and accurate. The sheath acts as a handle for the thermometer which is handy when dealing with hot stuff. Because preparation of such things as yogurt requires accurate temperature readings so as not to spoil the pot, this thermometer can be depended on to deliver. The combination of the outstanding yogurt maker and this thermometer makes perfect yogurt time after time. Unlike digital models, it requires no batteries. It is a very good value.

For those that see the word OVEN and think you can _leave this in the food IN an oven_, you are mistaken! The lens is polycarbonate, not pyrex so it WILL melt. This is not that kind of probe. Open the door, insert, wait 20 or so seconds to see if the meat is at the right temp, then remove. If you need an oven proof probe, look for and Oven Proof Thermometer or similar. Insta-Read also seems to vex users, this is a bimetallic thermometer, it is quick, but it is not instant, NO bimetallic is instant. It is however far far FAR faster than a traditional alcohol or mercury capillary tube thermometer! If you really, genuinely need 'Instant', get a digital probe, and then keep button cell batteries on hand for when you discover the batteries have gone dead on Thanksgiving day. Anyway, this probe works pretty well. It is stoutly made, but not in China, instead, it's Vietnam. The dial is easy to read meaning I don't have to find my glasses to see what it's reading. The crystal/lens is polycarbonate so it's shatter resistant if you drop it on a hard floor. It comes from the factory reasonably well calibrated, mine was one degree cool. Calibration is very simple and the plastic protector sheath has the hex drive to adjust it. If you need an exactly calibrated probe, you will need to get a 'Certified' one, and you won't find one in the less than $10 range.

Well, it's a thermometer. So here's my simple thoughts based on a dozen uses - Seems to be accurate, I took temperatures with 3 different thermometers and this was consistent to my reference tool. I define "instant" read as within a second or so and this takes about 5-10 seconds depending on how far up the dial the needle has to go. I really do like the larger easier to read temperature scale - I wear glasses and I almost always take them off due to steam and heat from the stove fogging them up - I can still read this without glasses - and not burning my nose by having to get to close. The stem is adequate length not to burn if you like to hold it as I do - but I always wear an ov' glove when taking temps of candies and fudge, been burned once too many. Only problem I have had is that it doesn't want to go into the protective sheath very well, however could just be my specific sample.

Great lightweight temperature gauge. I have used small similar ones. They do not fall over as do heavier ones. With a magnified reading it was so easy too see if the poached chicken breast was done. Temp was still rising when photo taken. Will hand wash. I purchased three. One to give as gift. Nothing I didn’t like.

I've had this thermometer for a year now. Why, I don't know, as it's all but useless. First, the "insta-read" is anything but instant. It takes only a second or two less to reach a stable temperature than the old Taylors --if that. 6 seconds is the minimum and 10 is more likely. This is plenty of time to ruin a piece of fish. I've checked the CDN against the standard Taylor dial thermometers many, many times, with always the same results. Second, or maybe it should be first, it's wildly inaccurate, and inconsistently inaccurate at that. I've checked it against a very accurate scientific thermometer, using a large water bath, again and again, and on a good day the CDN will register 20 to 40 degrees high or low (the low end tends to be high and the high end low, but you can't predict by how much). You've watched food demonstrators touch the surface of the demo food with the tip for an instant? Forget it. It won't register at all unless you plunge it into the meat (there's a mark on the stem, not that it matters as it lies no matter what). There is supposed to be an adjustment you can make, but there are no instructions for doing so and the bolt on the back won't budge--

Calling all chicken people! This is what you want to buy for your wet and dry bulb temps if you are incubating chicks. I checked and it came perfectly calibrated. It was the 5th one I bought. All the others were a little cheaper pricewise, but a lot cheaper in quality. Had I believed any of the other 4 I would have killed my $200 worth of rare breed chicken eggs. Glad I got this one at last! Included a picture of the nice LARGE dial and handy calibration tool being used to check calibration. The tool has a slot at one end to slide the probe through so that you don't have to touch it with your hands which can throw off the temp and also get you burned if you aren't careful. It also has the built in wrench tool so that you can turn the adjustment nut should you find that you need to. Just look up your altitude adjusted boiling temp (mine is 210) and then fill a big pot with distilled water and put it on to boil. Then fill a tall glass with ice and distilled water. After 3 minutes, with the thermometer in the slot of the tool you carefully set the probe down into the water without touching it to the actual glass. It should read 32 degrees F. Make a note of what it DOES read. Take it out and let it come to room temp. Then do the same to the pot of water once it has reached a true boil. Avoid placing it directly into the path of bubbles as the steam can alter the test some. When the temp stops climbing and holds steady write that temp down. My temps were 34 and 208. So it was 2 degrees high at freeze and 2 degrees low at boil. That is OK. All that matters is that it is centered. It is set to the middle of the spectrum between freeze and boil. If it is off more one way or the other you will adjust it to get it centered.

I purchased this product because I needed a cooking thermometer. This is the best I have ever seen. The large print is so good that I can read the exact temperature without my glasses and I even have hard time seeing but with this product I don't need my glasses. I can even read it from a distance. It is great for checking the internal temperature of your food and you can check the temperature of water. So if your making pizza and need the water for the yeast to be 110 degrees, you can use this product to make sure the water is the right temperature so you don't kill the yeast. I would buy this product again and again. My grandpa even wants me to get him one because of how amazed he was with how quick and accurate it is. he can even read it from a distance.