New Fridge - Angry Spouce

[Dereku]

id drive that ol dodge lol. plus the curved top fridge would look sweet on my front porch next to the plastic baby pool.

All about the inflatable pools. Insulate the ice better for beer.

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[Brett Fields]

Need pics! Where did you install it (assuming Grumpaw is not your neighbor and posted an actual picture)

I redid my battery situation:

Now the fridge sits like this:

Attached to the drivers side bed wall is the DC to DC charging system and compressor.
As is, it just clears the tonneau cover. With the Dometic slider, it sits too tall. id have had to take one size smaller.

 

[deleriumtremor]

My wife has been tolerant of my vehicle obsession.... until last night. I spent the day at OK4WD in New Jersey having a winch installed. She'd known that was coming for a while.
What she didn't know until last night was that I also bought a fridge. It wasn't pretty when she found out. I don't hide stuff from her so I just kept my head down and took the beating.
This morning she asked me to pick up butter and chicken thighs to cook for dinner. On the way out, she reminded me not to forget an insulated shopping bag. I said "Sweetie, I don't need an insulated bag". She said "why not? I said "I have a fridge."
There was a palpable pause, then all I heard was a grunting "Hmph". I said nothing more cuz it's never good to poke the bear.
...On the way to the market now.
?

So much wisdom embedded in such a short post...

 

[deleriumtremor]

I was think going digital electric, ya know, so it needs minimal to no supervision. Set it and forget.

Just a heads up on set it and forget it, at least if you were planning to do the Traeger route like this:

The probes they send you (sell) for meat temp have never been within 20 degrees of accurate. The probe that comes with the unit and sends the computer the temp, is always off as well. Today I am doing some ribs, I set the units internal target at 205F for a perfect 225F actual.

The bad news is the internal probes are never off in a linear way, at 205 I get 225 actual. If I am doing something at 450, I set it at 450. I have replaced 3 of the meat probes and 2 of the smoker internal temp probes.

I figure one of the sons is in charge of probe purchasing at Traeger…

Otherwise, a pretty good smoker, but set and forget? Not likely.

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Just a heads up on set it and forget it, at least if you were planning to do the Traeger route like this:

The probes they send you (sell) for meat temp have never been within 20 degrees of accurate. The probe that comes with the unit and sends the computer the temp, is always off as well. Today I am doing some ribs, I set the units internal target at 205F for a perfect 225F actual.

The bad news is the internal probes are never off in a linear way, at 205 I get 225 actual. If I am doing something at 450, I set it at 450. I have replaced 3 of the meat probes and 2 of the smoker internal temp probes.

I figure one of the sons is in charge of probe purchasing at Traeger…

Otherwise, a pretty good smoker, but set and forget? Not likely.

I have a Camp Chef and my probes definitely are not accurate. I use my handy manual digital probe. Not set it & forget it, but peace of mind knowing the correct temp. Did a Boston Butt & a chicken Friday night & they turned out great!

 

[deleriumtremor]

I have a Camp Chef and my probes definitely are not accurate. I use my handy manual digital probe. Not set it & forget it, but peace of mind knowing the correct temp. Did a Boston Butt & a chicken Friday night & they turned out great!

i bought a Thermopro TP20 (maybe $60 on Amazon). It has dual probes that are incredibly accurate. It comes with a rack holder for one probe, so I can get accurate rack level temps and the wireless display unit has alarms for high temp, etc. I set that in the kitchen and a glance tells me what the rack level temp is as well as what the meat probe says. The only way to smoke for sure.

I have the traeger app with it’s fancy Wi-Fi, too bad anything you care about on the iPhone app is worthless because they can’t seem to get an accurate probe out the door.

Trager is marketing heavy and manufacturing light.

 

[got3fords]

Trager is marketing heavy and manufacturing light.

I was leaning toward Masterbuilt. So many good reviews.

 

[deleriumtremor]

I was leaning toward Masterbuilt. So many good reviews.

I don't know about Masterbuilt. I think the key to set it and forget it with smokers is the thermostats. If they are accurate, you really set it and forget it.

Good luck. My ribs are just about done. Got to go...

 

[Brett Fields]

Guys, you gotta get over the probe thing.

Pit probe: As long as you use the same probe all the time, you'll have a consistant feel for the performance of your gear. It doesn't matter exactly what the number is. You'll know if you wanna go a little lower & slower, or a little hotter & faster.

Meat Probe: Same deal. You only need to know roughly where you are. "Done " isn't a number, its a feel.
Brisket: If you push the probe in and it feels like a rubber eraser, not done. If it feels like butter, Done.
Pork Shoulder: Same(ish) as brisket.
Ribs: Looking for "Pull Back" and a good bend test. No probe.

Keep smokin' everyone!

P.S. - Not for nuthin', but now I can run all that gear off my 200 AHs of lithium in the back of my Ranger.
...All weekend long!

 

[Brett Fields]

So much wisdom embedded in such a short post...

That's 30 years of marriage in a single paragraph. Just sayin.

 

[deleriumtremor]

That's 30 years of marriage in a single paragraph. Just sayin.

I totally get it.


Our daughter just turned 39.

 

[DonB]

That's kinda how I see it playing out if I buy a smoker. Pissed off wife until she tastes that first smoked salmon or wings.

Smoke your own pork belly for bacon. That's where nirvana is.

 

[Brett Fields]

Update for Xmas 2022

We've run out of fridge space while preparing food for the holiday. My wife prepared two 5 quart containers of a fresh fruit compote for a dessert she's making. The first one ended up getting stored in the Dometic CFX3 fridge in the truck. The other one went in to the shed. Temps have been from 8 degrees up in to the low 20's. When I went to grab both containers to assemble the deserts, the one from the shed was frozen solid. The container from the truck's fridge was viscous, but not frozen.
I found this interesting. Not only does it keep the cold in in the summer, it keeps the cold out in the winter.

Yet again, if anyone asks me if they should get a fridge or not... this is a no-brainer for me. It's my most used vehicle accessory. I wouldn't have thought it, but there you have it.

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