Author Topic: Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review  (Read 4130 times)

RG

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Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review
« on: January 10, 2016, 07:14:25 PM »
My ever so awesome wife bought me (us) a Tappecue for Christmas and I have used it twice now and I really like it. I had seen it in the past and thought about it but I do have to admit that I thought for the money it was just not worth it. $200.00 for a thermometer seemed steep, and in reality it is. In October I went to a little get together of members of another forum that I moderate and we had a raffle to raise money for Operation BBQ Relief and there were some great prizes raffled off, one of those being a Tappecue! Although I didn't win it (I won something better!) I did take a good look at it and the guy that actually won it made a post saying how much he liked it so my interest was piqued again.

My history of leave in thermometers for monitoring meats and pit temps was Maverick Et-73, Maverick ET-732 (big improvement over the 73) and most recently in the last 2 years I began using 733s. I never did buy a 735 (the Bluetooth model) as the reviews were not that great. I was happy with the 733, it works great and has great range. The downside of the Mavericks? Only 2 probes. This normally is not an issue but I always wanted more. My answer to that was that I have MANY Mavericks around here so I used them, lol. So, if I had the probe issue resolved so to speak, why go with the Tappecue? The answer is simple. I'm a nerd. I am a geek. I like gadgets and the Tappecue is a damn cool gadget!

It has Wi-Fi so that means you connect it to your home network's router and you create an account that you log into on Tappecue's server and then you download their app to your phone or tablet and you get to watch your progress from anywhere in the world! You don't think you'd use that? Guess again, you will because you CAN! You can also create a guest account so someone else, somewhere else in the world, can watch your cook too! Why is this important? Say you set your alarm for one of the probes to let you know if your pit temp drops below your warning level (fire is out in a wood/charcoal environment or power out in your SI) and you don't hear it go off, maybe the phone is not near you, maybe you're drunk. I don't know WHY you didn't hear it, you just didn't! The other person watching the cook heard it though and he's calling you to tell you so you don't ruin that $75.00 brisket!

That is cool.

Also, you can record your cooks progress and Tappecue will send the graph to your e-mail so you can import it into Excel and share the chart with people as if they even really cared, lol! It's downfall, power. Just like the SI smoker itself, if the power goes out, well, you're not really caring at that point about the Tappecue now are you?

Overall I give it a 9/10. The sole reason it's not a 10/10 is my cheapness. I think if they came in at somewhere around the $175.00 mark I'd be happier but in all honesty, with them hosting a server and tracking my cook and allowing me to monitor it from ANYWHERE, I'll give them a pass on that extra $25.00.

Get you one. I highly endorse it!!



« Last Edit: January 10, 2016, 08:35:06 PM by RG »
Jason from Conyers GA

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Re: Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2016, 08:09:53 PM »
This looks like a really cool device.

If I wouldn't have already taken the plunge n "The Meater", I would have definitely considered a Tappecue.
The Meater (wireless meat thermometers) - Kickstarter project
Gregg - Fargo, ND
Smokin-It #3 (purchased in 2014) that replaced a Masterbuilt XL (ugh) and a 10+ Year-Old Big Chief (still used for fish), and few others over the years, along with variety of Weber Gas/Charcoal Grills, Anova Sous Vide, etc. devices.

RG

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Re: Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2016, 08:14:19 PM »
I had looked into those as well but worry about the battery life and durability. Still a cool gadget. Let me know how you like it when you finally get your hands on it!
Jason from Conyers GA

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Re: Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2016, 09:27:03 PM »
Yeah, it is definitely more of a gamble than your unit that has a lot more track record.

They recently upgraded the battery on the units which is why production has been delayed. So hopefully the battery life should not be a problem. I haven't seen any numbers.  for the new batteries. But the old ones were supposed to last 48 hours or more between charges. But, we'll see. I am getting anxious for these to ship.
Gregg - Fargo, ND
Smokin-It #3 (purchased in 2014) that replaced a Masterbuilt XL (ugh) and a 10+ Year-Old Big Chief (still used for fish), and few others over the years, along with variety of Weber Gas/Charcoal Grills, Anova Sous Vide, etc. devices.

EFGM

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Re: Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2016, 05:51:52 PM »
Customer Service!
I don’t know how many of you have purchased a Tappecue, but I am blessed enough to have 2 of them. Now I have not kept up with the updates since purchasing my first one and the second one I purchased from a local gentleman and had not either used it or updated it either. I also had not converted over the the MAC OS since Tappecue made it available either.
In other words, I have done absolutely nothing except use the best accessory to Smoking I believe has come along. So on my last cook I had some issues, one of which was electrical I believe it somehow caused some way off readings on 3 of my probes. But one I felt was accurate enough to get me to my probing temp and was able to complete the cook successfully. Well, I knew then I was time to update to the Mac Os and update the versions, but I was lost as a lost confused person could be. I started to email but said what the heck I’ll just give them a call and I did. I have to tell you I was treated like I was the most important customer they had. Gina guided me through the whole process from start to finish on both Units and made sure she could see on her end that they were working properly and connected to my WIFI and reading temps. I just can’t tell you how impressed I was with TAPPECUES Service even when it has been several years since I purchased their units. What an AWESOME company and a wonderful person GINA is. If you don’t know about the Tappecue or have one I highly recommendyou research their unit out and see if it will meet your needs. I know it does mine. THANKS GINA and TAPPECUE!
Doug
Carrollton
A Briskitarian with Briskititus
#4D w/Big Red Upgrade: PG1000: Fireboard
 
"SMOKIN-IT CARES"

DivotMaker

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Re: Tappecue - A BBQ Junkie/Gadget Freak's Review
« Reply #5 on: June 16, 2016, 06:57:19 PM »
Nice review, Jason!  Thanks!
Tony from NW Arkansas
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