Stuart,
Im having the same issue. I'll send you an email...
Please let us know when your problem is resolved. I can tell you proves are moisture sensitive where the cable enters the probe and don’t react well to water. My probe is still fine after 7 years. Not too shabby!
What type of sensor is used on your probe (RTD sensor PT1000, PT100, NTC, Thermocouple? I would like to repair mine and have extra probes laying around.
The meat probe is a thermister and the temperature probe on the unit is a K type Thermocouple.
stuart posted:We have certainly taken these comments to heart. We have tested many probes including the ones Polder and Thermoworks use without any better success than our current probe. We are currently testing a probe that we have had some success with and look forward to being able to use it. We should have testing done in the next few weeks.
We really appreciate all our customers feedback and work diligently to improve our products.
Stuart
so, will this new probe work with the old AQ's? i paid top dollar for my AQ because i understood it to be to best and that the cookshack family would take care of me. i cannot imagine i was the only one who thought the original probe was cobbed up from available parts, particularly the jack! so when it failed two years later and i called to see about a replacement i was shocked at the (then) price of $89! unbelievable! so now it would appear that it is too late to upgrade the unit without big bucks, how disappointing... so much for admitting a screwup and doing the right thing. i know of many reputable companies that stand by their products and hope that someday cookshack will be one of them. i continue to use and enjoy my smoker (without the temp probe) but no longer do i recommend it to my friends who ask!
zxreed posted:oldsarge posted:I believe this is the probe for the Amerique. I would check with CS and see if the female connector on the controller is part of a package or if this is just for the probe. Everything gets updated at some point in time for reasons known to management, such as having run it's life cycle. The new Amerique has an elongated wood box and heating element; not like what I got back in 2012. No idea why the change but it is what it is. Any way, here is the probe:
Thanks oldsarge for posting the link for me. It doesn't rate very well considering all 6 reviews say about the same thing, it fails. How long have you had your AQ and what has been your experience with the new probe?
Sorry I missed your question. I bought the AQ in April 2012. The meat probe plugs into the controller via RCA type plug. So far no problems. I do not was the probe. I wipe it down. Thermoworks sells probe wipes and they work very well. The controller itself has been trouble free. Nothing will last forever and when it dies, I expect to spend money for the repair/parts. This company, any company would go out of business if they warranted anything and everything for life, especially electronics.
The controller and probes are warranted for only 1 year. I personally think that is fair. IF CS manufactured the components, then I would expect a 2 or 3 year warranty from them. But since they source the controller and probe, they can only warranty the item for what the OEM warrants it for. It is like that with a lot of companies. Not all but a lot. CS makes a great smoker and for anyone who wants something other than one of the competing look-a-likes, that is Made in the USA I will recommend CS.
old sarge: you make several good points and for the most part i agree. not sure what probe you got but mine really did look like it was put together at the last minute with just parts available. i find it hard to believe that cookshack could not source a probe that was more reliable, you can just look on Amazon and find countless probes. and i DO understand warranty issues and do NOT expect things to last forever, but... this is just a temp probe cobbed onto a standard jack, not a professional piece of work. clearly from the number of complaints posted here and i am sure made to cookshack this is not a routine EOL issue. if you are in business (and i was before i retired) and make a bad design decision you suck it up and do what needs to be done! btw, i maintain all my equipment and even built a roof over my barbeque area on my deck to cover my AQ, grill, cooler, et al. i enjoy my AQ but am still disappointed at what "appears" to be the lack of corporate/company responsibility towards its customers. if someone finds a reasonably priced solution please post it here but until then CookShack has been dropped from MY "will recommend" list.
with great sorrow
ken
Ken,
If you will send me your address and picture of the plug end of your probe I will send you a new probe we are testing.
Thanks,
Stuart
That would be great! I look forward to testing out the new probe. I've
attached a photo of the plug end of the old probe, and have included my
address below.
Thanks again,
Ken Songer
1 Cove, Rd
Orange, MA 01364
attached a photo of the plug end of the old probe, and have included my
address below.
Thanks again,
Ken Songer
1 Cove, Rd
Orange, MA 01364
Attachments
Images (1)
I would like to chime in again on my situation since I started this thread. I was in contact with Stuart and he has done more than I would have expected related to my issue. I still have never had a problem with any other part of my AQ except the casters going bad but that is a wearable item as much as I was wheeling mine out and back in.
I agree with Old Sarge's statement that items can't be warrantied forever. My biggest problem was the incorrect information that was given to me on two occasions. As I said Stuart has resolved my issue to my satisfaction and then some.
I still kick around the idea of a gravity fed Charcoal or a smoker that can use 100% wood or the Charcoal but the AQ isn't going to be leaving my lineup at this point. I have also ordered a Kamado Joe Big Joe III to see how I like it compared to my BGE.
Doug
hi, have any luck sending that replacement temp probe out yet?
ken
ken
Ken
I suggest you contact Stuart direct via email rather than through the forum.
Dave
I am new to the world of Cookshack, just picked up a used unit ( model 66 ) and did some light cleaning and a test smoke for 4 hrs. yesterday . Hope to try some ribs and a couple chickens today. The temp probe was missing from my unit so this thread caught my eye. I am not real keen on throwing 100 bucks down for a temp probe unless it would be the last one i would ever need to buy. I hope the new design is available soon and affordable. The current price point seems excessive considering the only people that need it are product owners who love and use the CS units.
Many do not use the built in probe, haven't used mine in years. I might be wrong but I think it was mostly to have the smoker automatically go into the hold mode (140 degrees) when the meat hit the selected done temperature. I usually use an aftermarket thermometer down the smoke hole. Just my opinion.
I agree that the only real advantage of the CS probe on the SM066 is the ability to trip the smoker over to 140 degree "holding" when the set temp is reached. However, it has been repeated here that the SM066 is so well thermally insulated that it takes a long time for the smoker temp to decrease so that even if the set temp reduces to 140, your product will continue to cook maybe longer than you want. This is a question only each user can decide - are you not going to be around when the set temp is reached (e.g., in bed for an overnight cook or at work), enough times to care? Are you willing to take the extra cooking until the smoker actually gets down in temp to 140? I haven't had to answer these yet but I will when (not if) my probe dies. I've actually used this feature only once, on brisket, when the extra cook time really didn't matter.
Good points. I used a little weber i-grill probe I had for my first smoke today.
Once your meat reaches your set temp, the element should cycle off and stay off until the temp drops to 140 +- a degree or so. It might cycle on periodically as the temp drops but I have not witnessed it doing that.
Ken, We are still waiting on the vendor to get those but just as soon as they come in we will fill the back orders.