My Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer Review

I purchased the Alpha Grillers instant-read meat thermometer about a month ago because it had thousands of positive reviews. I will be the first to admit it is very hard to choose a thermometer with so many on the market garnering so many positive reviews.

It seems like half of them boast of being ultra-fast with a lifetime warranty. Are they really ultra-fast? And what does the lifetime warranty mean exactly? Will they replace it with no questions asked? Do you need to register the thermometer to be covered by the warranty? These are all important things to consider before handing over your hard-earned money.

The Alpha Grillers Instant Read Thermometer makes those same claims as well as being rated IP 67 Waterproof. Those are some bold claims. Are they legit? That’s what we’re here to find out.

In this review of the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Thermometer, I put it to the test against other thermometers in the same price range as well as some more expensive thermometers.

When I review a thermometer I look at these things: its features, accuracy, usability, durability, and its price relative to the other thermometers. How did the Alpha Grillers thermometer do? Read on to find out.

May 2020 Update: I am currently downgrading the Alpha Grillers thermometer as well as its twin, the Kizen Instant-Read Meat Thermometer. Why? They have raised the price of both to where they no longer present a value. I feel you can get better value with the ThermoPro TP03H thermometer.

Similarities of the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer to Other Thermometers

Before I get too far into this review I must mention something important. You may have noticed that there are a few other meat thermometers on the market that look similar to the Alpha Grillers model. You would be correct.

Allow me to show you a few of the more popular models:

There are probably a few others out there as well. So, what does the fact that there are a lot of similar meat thermometers from different companies mean for us, the consumer?

It is actually a good thing. Competition is good. The companies that will stand behind their products and have good customer service will win in the end. As far as the other thermometers shown above, only the Kizen model has a lifetime warranty like the Alpha Grillers instant-read thermometer. The GDEALER and Smak thermometers only have a three-year warranty in case something goes wrong.

With so many similar models, how do you choose the right one? The difference is in the details. I am currently ranking the Alpha Grillers instant-read thermometer the best of all of these models, with the Kizen model not far behind. Why? The details.

Comparing the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Thermometer to the Thermapen MK4 and the Thermoworks Signals in a sous vide water bath

Features of the Alpha Grillers Thermometer

Here are some of the important features of this thermometer:

• Waterproof, rated IP 67
• Has a calibration function
• 2 to 4 second response time
• Temperature range of 0 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit
• backlit display illuminates for 5 seconds when the button is pushed
• temperature hold button that will hold the temperature reading until pressed again
• probe length of 4 1/2 inches
• lifetime warranty

I will now discuss the most important features of the Alpha Grillers meat thermometer, its speed, accuracy and waterproof body.

The Speed and Accuracy of the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer

I tested the Alpha Grillers thermometer in a water bath set to around 134 degrees Fahrenheit. I then compared the temperature readings of it to other thermometers like the Thermoworks Thermapen MK4 and the Kizen Instant read meat thermometer.

The Alpha Grillers model performed pretty well in comparison.

As you can see it registered pretty accurately the same temperature as the thermometer I used as a guide, the Thermoworks Signals thermometer in the background. Here it is up against its twin, the Kizen Instant Read Thermometer.

They both performed the same, registering right around the 134.1 degree Fahrenheit mark in only a few seconds.

Usability

The Alpha Grillers thermometer is easy to use but doesn’t have a rotating display like the Thermapen, Lavatools Javelin Pro Duo or the Thermopro TP 19. Not a huge deal but if you are a left-handed person it is nice to have when you want to take temperatures from the other side.

The backlit display will stay illuminated for 5 seconds which is helpful, although it would be nice if it stayed lit a little longer in low-light situations. Again, not a huge deal.

It also doesn’t feature an antimicrobial coating like the Thermapen, Javelin, and Thermopro TP 19 have. In those thermometers, the polymer of the plastic thermometer body is impregnated with a silver-based solution that makes the surface inhospitable for bacterial growth. Again a nice feature to have, but not necessary.

I really like how the calibration function works on this thermometer. It is pretty straight-forward and you don’t need to open up the thermometer like in other models. You simply hold down the calibration button for 5 seconds. Then you can adjust the temperature either up or down accordingly with the hold and the light buttons acting as up/down buttons.

Durability: The Waterproof body of the Alpha Grillers Thermometer

To test the waterproof capabilities of the Alpha Grillers instant-read thermometer I submerged it in ice water. Trying to get a good photo I had to do multiple takes so the thermometer was submerged for over a minute in freezing water. I pulled it out and dried it off and it still functions normally. Not bad.

Submerging the Alpha Grillers meat thermometer in ice water

Other than the waterproof capabilities of the body, this model has a body that I would say isn’t flimsy but also not particularly sturdy either. I would rank it behind, you guessed it, the Thermapen, the Javelin Pro and the ThermoPro TP 19 in terms of body construction.

Although I haven’t dropped the Alpha Grillers model, I did drop the Kizen model, which did survive the fall.

The Price Relative to the Competition

The Alpha Grillers Instant read thermometer lies in the $15 to $20 price range. There are a lot of thermometers in that price range, the Kizen being one of those models. However, after observing the market for the last 6 months I have noticed that the Alpha Grillers model is consistently a few dollars cheaper.

The thermometers that I rank ahead of this one are more expensive. The Thermapen is usually 5 times the price. The Javelin Pro Duo is usually 3 times the price. The ThermoPro TP-19 Instant Read Thermometer is actually only a double frappuccino more.

This leads me to my verdict on this thermometer. But first, a sweet photo that is clearly not photo-shopped.

Is the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer Worth Your Money?

I mentioned earlier that I am ranking the Alpha Grillers model ahead of the similar Kizen, SMAK, and GDEALER models because of the details. These details are that Alpha Grillers has a lifetime warranty, which eliminates the SMAK and GDEALER models from the discussion.

What sets the Alpha Grillers thermometer apart from the Kizen model is that it is a few dollars cheaper and their customer service is better. What do I mean by better customer service? Their customer service representative is way more active on Amazon in dealing with questions and problems that people have.

Their website is also easier to use with more FAQs than the Kizen site.

I am recommending the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Thermometers as a good dependable thermometer in this price range. If you can afford to spend a little more the ThermoPro TP-19 is a better thermometer with a sturdier body with a few more features.

The Lavatools Javelin Pro DUO and the Thermapen are also great but more expensive. You can check out my review of the Javelin Pro here.

That’s all folks, and remember, any thermometer is better than the poke test.