In today’s product review, we will be comparing two products from Thermapen, Thermapen mk4 vs classic. Choosing the perfect thermometer for your kitchen can be a crucial decision.
Here is a detailed description of two products that are among the top-rated thermometers on the market.
However, cooking needs and style may vary from person to person. Hence, it is important to do careful research on the features offered before heading out to buy any thermometer. This review intends to list all the major and minor details of both products and all the specifics you need to know.
Before heading to the review, let us give a brief introduction about Thermapen, which is the producer of the Thermapen MK4 and Thermapen classic.
What Makes Thermapen a Great Choice for Kitchen Thermometers?
The high-performance Thermapen is a specialized and expert tool which has emerged as one of the top cooking thermometers for daily use. With its increased popularity among chefs, food bloggers, food lovers, and food competitions, the Thermapen thermometer has become a vital piece of equipment in any professional or home kitchen.
Originating in England, the Thermapen is designed to produce quick and precise results. Many Chinese companies have tried to duplicate the product and through mass production have shocked the market with slow and subpar products.
Despite all the competition in the field of thermometers, Thermapen proves to be more accurate while being pragmatic at the same time.
Besides providing high performance and accuracy, the Thermapen will also inform you about cooking temperature variations throughout the preparation process. It’s a perfect choice for the food lovers and professionals who crave for perfection and precision in cooking.
With a weight of a mere 120 grams, the model also comes with a display size of 39 x 25 mm. A Thermapen is the perfect equipment for checking the temperature of all cooked and chilled food items including fish, meat, cakes, bread, candies, deep fried items, and casseroles.
To guarantee perfect cooking of food, taking an internal temperature reading with a quick and accurate thermometer is the only way.
The Thermapen integrates high-grade construction along with circuitry and a smart thermocouple sensor. More traditional Houseware kitchen thermometers are installed with inexpensive sensor and circuitry systems, cutting costs significantly but remaining very slow and less accurate.
Technological advances of Thermapen
The Thermapen uses an intelligent thermocouple sensor which is very sensitive to changing temperature. Cheaper electronic kitchenware thermometers come with a thermistor sensor which is made of semiconductor material. Hence, they take longer to change the temperature.
Further, the thermistor is quite large when compared to finely wired thermocouples. The larger the sensor, the slower it responds.
A thermistor is more vulnerable to disruption from physical shock which consequently leads to less accurate readings. Thermistors tend to drift especially after using them at extreme ends of the temperature range. Even short exposure to high temperature ranges changes the carbon compounds and alters the base resistance.
Alternatively, a thermocouple uses two wires made with different alloys. Their electrical performance is resistant to any alternation, unless exposed to extremely high temperature (over 2000 F). Even the voltage readings are very precise. It is recommended to measure the temperature at the junction of the thermocouple wire.
The software converts all the Voltage readings, compensates for different environmental influences and then shows the temperature.
Specifications and Features of Thermapen Thermometers
* The Thermapen Classic
Specification:
- High accuracy to ±0.7°F (±0.4°C)
- Water-resistant design
- °F to °C reconfigurable
- Auto on/off—no buttons!
- 1,500-hour battery life
- Simple and lightweight to use
Features:
- Includes a slim tip with stainless steel probe which measures accurately in just 2-3 seconds.
- Food penetration probe (Ø3.3 x 115 mm) that can conveniently fold back to 180° into the side of the instrument when not in use.
- Splash-proof
Ergonomic Rubber seal prevents water, food or dust damage.- The casing is integrated with Biomaster Antimicrobial Technology to reduce bacterial growth
- Completely configurable through switches in the battery compartment
- You can choose to disable auto-off mode, choose °C or °F scales and select 1° or 0.1° resolution as per need
- Turns off automatically after 10 minutes to save battery power
- Casing is washable
- Powered by two lithium coin cell batteries
* The Thermapen MK4
Specification:
- High accuracy to ±0.7°F (±0.4°C)
- Collapsible thermocouple probe
- Auto-rotating display
- Motion-sensed sleep & wake mode
- Smart backlight
- Waterproof to IP67
- 3,000-hour battery life (AAA Battery)
- Available in 10 colors
- Display temps in °C or °F
- Simple and lightweight to use
Features:
- Includes a slim tip with stainless steel probe which measures accurately in just 2-3 seconds.
- Food penetration probe (Ø3.3 x 115 mm) that can conveniently fold back to 180° into the side of the instrument when not in use.
- Automatic rotation display allows us to read in any position by adjusting the screen accordingly.
- Ergonomic Rubber seal prevents water, food or dust damage.
- The casing is integrated with Biomaster Antimicrobial Technology to reduce bacterial growth
Operable with both hands- The advanced sensors turn on the backlight when dark to enable reading even in complete darkness.
- Merely touching the sensor window can also turn on the display lights.
- Stays on if the probe is left open so that you don’t have to turn it on with messy hands.
- Turns on instantly upon picking up the MK4.
- Display positions can be set inside the battery compartment including disabling sleep mode, setting °C or °F, 1° or 0° resolution.
- Sleep mode is turned on as soon as it is put down which saves battery power.
- Waterproof to IP67
- High speed and accurate even with no buttons for operation
- Spontaneous, high-tech and accurate
Similarities and Differences Between Both Thermometers
Similarities:
- Readings shown in just 2-3 seconds
- High precision to ±0.7°F (±0.4°C)
- Foldaway stainless steel thermocouple probe
- Shows temperature in °C as well as °F
Differences:
- The classic thermapen shuts down automatically, so you need to close and reopen the probe to use it again. (However, the classic Thermapen’s default settings can be changed so that it remains turned on until the probe is closed).
- The Thermapen MK4 comes with advanced features to simplify use. It wakes up automatically as soon as it is picked up and sleeps when put down. This helps when you need to take readings of quickly rising temperature.
- The classic thermapen shows readings only in a particular direction whereas Mk4’s display is designed to rotate automatically. Irrespective of the movement of the probe or the hand from which you are holding the thermometer, the reading will need to be adjusted according to the user’s position.
The Mk4 model comes with a display backlight which enables viewing of the reading even in darkness whereas the classic thermapen doesn’t come with such a feature.- The Mk4 is powered by a single AAA battery with a battery life of 3000 hours whereas the classic comes with two lithium coin battery with half the battery life of the Mk4.
- The thermapen classic is only splash proof whereas the Mk4 is made waterproof.
Conclusion
As far as comparison between Thermapen Classic vs MK4, Thermapen MK4 mostly offers additional features and newer technologies to enhance your kitchen experience.
I think that the added technologies of the Thermapen MK4 have made it the best probe thermometer for every occasion, even deep into roasted meat, to take accurate and quick temperature readings.
Thermapen MK4 lives a long time with moderate care. It comes with 2 years warranty and is available in 10 varied colors. With its market reputation and reviews, the Thermapen MK4 is perfectly reliable and offers huge convenience for daily use.
You can completely rely on the reading it shows as Thermapen comes with a calibration certificate that provides actual test data from that unit in comparison to national standards. This justifies its use by all professionals.
The price of the Thermapen MK4 is considerably high. You can get 3 cheaper kitchen thermometers for the same price. Yet, I assure you that Thermapen is worth every penny. If you intend to do any meat cooking, deep frying or candy making, you can use this trusty Thermometer to prepare perfectly cooked delights.
