🏆Premium Pack Instruments | PDT300 | Waterproof Pocket Digital Thermometer

Purchased in April 2013 and still works, seems to be very accurate and is used for pretty much everything from ice cream to candy making. This one was definitely worth the 20-bucks and has only had a battery replaced once. We have some other, less expensive ones, but this has been the go-to thermometer for years. The “waterproof” claim hasn’t been my experience and if the upper portion gets wet from dropping it something the display will come and go and it takes a little time to get it dry and working properly again. It gets a fair amount of home use and the battery has been replaced once. It’s a quick read and it really doesn’t take long to have it settle in on a temp. We make our own ice creams and heating is often required but the batch has to cool to a certain temp before you can go to the next step and this is excellent for that purpose. After this many years it deserves 5-stars for accuracy, durability and not dying an early death. We also use it to make yogurt and knowing the room temperature is part of the process and this worked well for that also. Unfortunately, that’s about it for the good news since it’s now starting to fall apart (face-plate peeling off), the buttons are hard to push and/or make contact and if it gets wet it’s hard to dry it out and get it functioning again (have to remove the battery to dry it off). We just replaced it with another PDT300 rather than taking a chance on something else just to save a few bucks.

This is a wonderful thermometer, I love it. It is fairly fast at reading the temperature of what I am baking with in a few seconds and I don't have to puncture the bread so deeply to get an accurate read. The thermometer turns on easily even when my fingers are hurting from arthritis. It switches over from celsius to fahrenheit with ease (just read the direction it is all in the on off switch, keeping it simple). It washes up easy and stores away with my other bread making items so it is easy to find. I love this little thermometer and definitely recommend it to anyone who uses a thermometer for cooking or baking.

I have had this thermometer for 6 years and it still works fine.I no longer get false readings as I did with other thermometers and complaints over over/under done food have disappered. I have had to replace the batteries a couple times which is very easy. This device is very easy to use, has very fast response, is accurate and leaves a very small hole where you take the reading. The plastic cover over the power butten is cracked but doesn't affect its operation. I would buy this thermometer again. A little off topic but if you are cooking meats etc.and want perfectly cooked food check out Sous Vide cooking/Anova. I now always have the perfect steak.

I have bought 70 or 80 of these thermometers over the past 5 years.I work at a mid-sized food processing plant, and this is our standard thermometer.So first, the good: It reads quickly, and accurately. The readings do fall within the range specified on the package. It is somewhat waterproof, and it is very easy to calibrate.The Bad: They really don't last super long, at least in an industrial setting. I go through about 10-20 a year, and I usually have 6 on the floor at a time. It is very rare that they last long enough to have the battery changed twice. The most common failure is that the dome over the power button cracks, allowing water to get inside of the housing. Once this happens, I pop out the battery, dry out the inside, and then send it home with an employee because it is worthless to my facility.A note on changing the battery. The cover is not threaded. You turn the cover counterclockwise until the slot is vertical, and then the cover can come off. I usually slap the thermometer into the palm of my hand a few times, and that dislodges the cover enough for me to get inside, and pop out the battery.Overall: I keep coming back to this thermometer because for the price, it is the best thing I can find. I could spend $200 on a thermometer that will last longer, but those can still be broken / lost / etc. by careless employees, and then I am out a huge chunk of change.Final thoughts: It is always a good idea to verify the reading of any thermometer you use. In my plant, we use 2 points. The first is using a 50% crushed ice to 50% water (by mass) slurry to calibrate the thermometer to 32°f. We then verify the thermometers by immersing the tips in boiling water, which is 212°f. If the thermometer won't calibrate and verify, it goes in the trash. (That accounts for about 10-15% of the failures I see, Physically breaking accounts for another 10%, and water infiltration accounts for the remainder.)