Temp Control


 
K

Ken Lindner

New member
All,
I'm a fairly new owner of a 22.5" WSM, I just recently received as a gift the Blue Therm Duo with 2 K probes as a gift from my wife. This is made by the same company who makes Thermapen (own one of these too). I recently smoked a 6.5 pork butt on my WSM and the ambient temperature probe (not the one I used in the meat itself) actually is registering a higher temperature than shown on the factory dome thermometer of my WSM.
Every bit of research I've done says the actual temperature of the top grill is usually 15-20 degrees lower than the dome thermometer temp, but this actually registered about 10-15 degrees higher. Anyone had experience with this?

Thanks to all in advance,

Ken
 
The dome temp will always be off.... Once you think you have it figured out it will read something and make you scratch your head. Go with your probe temp. The goal of BBQing is to get a steady low temp over several hours to cook your food. The key word being steady. Don't get caught up in the temp having to be exactly what your target temp is. As long as it is close and steady you will have good results. If I am shooting for 250 sometimes the cooker wants to settle in at 270 and not go down. Instead of fighting it just go with the 270 and try to keep it consistent.

Bottom line dome temp is worthless
 
Maybe i'm just lucky but i find that my dome temp and maverick are usually in the same ball park. My WSM is brand new so maybe the newer dome therms are better?

I know my maverick is accurate because i have tested in boiling and ice water and both readings were accurate.
I know that people feel the dome reads higher to heat rising and "hovering" under the dome, but i feel that theory negates the fact the grate is closer to the fire. Hold one hand 3 inches above the grate and one 9 inches above the grate for a few seconds and you will see what i mean. Obviously you cant do that with the lid on but i think that there is some offset that is often overlooked.
 
The dome gauge on my WSM 22" consistently reads about 20 degrees below my Maverick probe between the grates.
 
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Thanks to everyone for their feedback and advice. Happy 4th to everyone!!

This was the reason for my question, cut and pasted from the temp control section of tvwbb.com

Difference Between Temperature At Lid Versus Cooking Surface
As discussed in greater detail on the Measuring Temperature In The WSM page, the temperature measured at the lid is 12-15°F higher than the actual temperature at the top cooking grate. If you're targeting 225°F at the top grate, look for 237-240°F on the lid thermometer.
 
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Since heat is only 'generated' by the lit coals at the bottom of the WSM, any place above that will have a lower temperature.
The further up one measures, the lower the temperature.

One must be careful not to place their thermometer so close to the meat that it artificially shows a lower temperature than actually exists.
This is one of the reasons why that experiment showed a higher lid temperature. The temperature probe was placed at grate level between the 2 chickens.
 
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I'm amazed at how easy temp control is on my 22" WSM. I load it with KBB, toss in 8-10 lit coals, put it all together with all vents wide open, and close the vents to about 1/8 open when it hits about 175. It coasts right up to 250, and barely budges from there for hours.
 
I find the same thing. My dome lid typically reads lower than both my Igrill2 and my DX2.
 
DBWallis said:
The dome gauge on my WSM 22" consistently reads about 20 degrees below my Maverick probe between the grates.
Click to expand...

Same here, I have two pit probes, one on the DigiQ and another on the ET 732. The dome gage is 20 degrees below both my pit probes.

CraigW
 
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