1. Where can I buy the Thermapen?
You can buy it right here online. There are a couple other authorized distributors that you can find online (watch out for counterfeit Thermapen look-alikes). There are also a few retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada that stock the Thermapen.
2. Why don’t more retail outlets carry it?
Most retailers want to more than double their money. The big name chains want the most. If a product costs them $4, they want to charge you $10. The Thermapen is already priced at “Trade Pricing”. Meaning, this is the price we sell it to commercial food service users and health departments. And, we offer it to the general public at the same price. Big retail chains would have to charge you much, much more and they’d still be mad that we would take your order at a lower price. The retailers that do carry the Thermapen are not making their normal mark-up so thank them if you buy there!
3. Where can I buy replacement batteries?
The Thermapen battery is actually fairly common though you may have never seen it before. You’ll find it in garage door openers and cameras. Radio Shack has it and so does Wal-Mart. (Some clerks may not have seen it before so be persistent!) Ask for an MN21, 12-volt battery. Make sure they don’t give you a 1.5-volt look-alike. You can also order a spare battery from us.
All the following are reported as equivalents to the MN21:
23A, A23, VA23GA, MS21, MN21, GP23A, LRV08, L1028, RVO8, 23-A, MS-21, MN-21, 23A, A23, LRV08, L1028, RVO8, MS21, MN21, E23A, K23A, V23GA, GP23A, 8LR932, 8LR23, VR22, 8F10R, EL12, E23A, K23A, V23GA, 8LR932, 8LR23, VR22, CA20, A-23
4. How long should the battery last?
The Thermapen battery is rated for 100 hours of use. With normal household use, it should last over a year. Of course, if you use it every day that may vary. Commercial users often order a spare with their Thermapen.
5. Will the Thermapen tell me when my meat is done?
Not exactly. Instead it (very quickly) tells you the actual temperature and you decide if that is “done”. We can give you the USDA guidelines for food safety but you should consult your favorite cookbooks, TV shows and recipes for advice not only on safe temperatures but the best cooking temperatures for flavor and texture. Also remember that individual preference is very important.
6. Is the Super-Fast tip prone to easily break?
No. In October 2005, Cook’s Illustrated reported that they thought the tip was too easily bent or broken and that they recommended the Standard Tip Version. The reduced-tip Super-Fast version of the Thermapen was originally introduced in 2000. Although very few were ever bent during use (fewer than 1 out of 200), we felt the tip needed to be more robust in commercial applications. In 2005, we introduced an improved version that is not likely to be easily bent or broken and yet is just as fast as the first Super-Fast tip. Go here for more details. Since then Cook’s has again rated the Super-Fast version their “Test Kitchen Winner”.
7. Other digital cooking thermometers are cheaper. Why pay more for a Thermapen?
In use there’s a big difference. Don’t take our word for it. Check our Reviews page to read the many reasons written by others. Cheaper thermometers are limited by the technology that they use. These can be mass produced for just a few dollars. On the other hand, the Thermapen is hand-assembled and hand-tested and uses a professional thermocouple circuit design. This design costs more to make than the cheap thermometers.
8. Why is the Thermapen so much faster than other cooking thermometers?
The main reason is the professional thermocouple technology that we use instead of mass-produced thermistor technology. Thermocouples are recommended by the USDA for measurement of cooked meat products and thin portions. Go here to see what a thermocouple means in performance vs. a thermistor. We also use a reduced-diameter needle tip on the probe. Comparable professional meters cost $140 to $300 for the electronics and a similar probe!
9. Why don't you have a left-handed Thermapen?
Interesting question. My wife Suzette is left-handed and she’s always thought the opposite. She prefers to use her dominant hand to wield the roasting pan, grasp the food with tongs, stir, or whatever else she’s doing in combination with the one-handed temperature measurement. Thus, in her opinion, it’s best to hold the Thermapen in her right hand while she uses her dominant hand for the other tasks.
Don’t buy that? While the Thermapen isn’t quite as ambidextrously switchable as a screwdriver or a hammer, it’s pretty close. It can easily be gripped in a number of ways. I hold my Thermapen in both my left hand and right hand depending on what I’m doing. Still I empathize with anybody who’s left-handed and wishes the Thermapen were reversed. So, if our engineers can figure out a no-cost way to do that in the next Thermapen, we’ll consider doing it. Meanwhile, switch-hit. –Randy
