So I have been using my 18.5 wsm for a while now and i always went by what the temp guage on the wsm dome says and seemed to always have pretty good results. That being said i recently bought a maverick et-732 and have used it a couple times and now i have a dilema on my hands. The maverick seems to read about thirty degrees hotter (give or take 5-10) at the grate then the dome temp....that seems backwards to me shouldnt the dome be the hottest? What to do, what to do....I have been just kinda splitting the difference and letting her buck. Any advice from the experts?
Which temp should I follow?
- Thread starter AdamKing
- Start date
I use the bi-metal therm in the dome for a general idea only....a hood ornament really (especially the OEM Weber gauges).
The Maverick is measuring grate temp and internal meat temp more accurately.
You can do a rough check of the therms using boiling water as your constant.
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Monty House
TVWBB Pro
I now have a Tel-Tru thermometer just below my top grate, and, yes, it consistently runs 30-35 degrees hotter there than the dome gauge.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Very good advice!
But the dilemma is that you want to use the maverick probe to monitor temp remotely, right?
As to Joe's point, the reason some folks call the dome gauge a hood ornament is that it's out of the stream of circulation, and is a relatively cool spot in the smoker until the meat gets hot. To the opposite extreme, one can hang a probe in the vent, which IS in the stream of circulation. However, you'll find that it's a lot hotter here in the first stage of the cook than at the grate, and this is where you get those LONG cook times that folks have posted about that supposedly were cooking at 225-250. (Realize that temps in the cooker DO eventually even out, at least mostly, after the meat gets hot, so that the vent, grate, and dome gauge aren't that much different...unless it's sunny or windy. You can guess that those factors have the most affect if measuring temp by the gauge.)
So what about measuring temp at the grate? If only it was that easy...well, it is, as long as most of your meat loads are about the same, because the closer the probe is to meat, the cooler the temp, and the closer it is to the perimeter of the cooker, the hotter the temp. From what I understand, Harry Soo's answer is to have the probe tip just a couple of inches from the cooker wall at the grate, but then you wonder if that's the hot side, or the cool side of the grate, since the charcoal ring is rarely even in temp from one side to the other. All you have to do is spin the cooker around on the base to find that out. This is why a lot of folks hang the probe in the vent or just set the vents to their favorite settings and say to heck with it and go to bed, compensating the next morning and cooking accordingly per their schedule.
Chris has some great info here:
http://virtualweberbullet.com/measuretemp.html
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Robert McGee
TVWBB Gold Member
I hang my BBQ probe under the top grate (Maverick 732) and use my meat probe whenever possible. The main thing here is to be consistent in your probe placement then let the results guide your next cook, and so on...
I want grate temperature and the Maverick gives it to me consistently. If your cook is too slow for your needs, just raise the temperature. Conversely, if you want to do a longer cook, just adjust the temperature accordingly. You can produce a great product whichever you use. However, the Maverick has the distinct advantage of remote monitoring and, frankly, I wouldn't be without it.
As a possible matter of interest, I do Butts and Ribs at 275 degrees at the grate. Chickens I run at 325-350 degrees at the grate. It is my policy to crisp up the chicken after it is cooked by direct (lift the barrel and lay the chicken loaded grate over the coals). This requires close monitoring (only takes a minute or so a side) to avoid burning. It is sure worth it, tho'. Others have completely removed the water pan and do the chicken on the top grate with no deflector.
FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53
I want grate temperature and the Maverick gives it to me consistently. If your cook is too slow for your needs, just raise the temperature. Conversely, if you want to do a longer cook, just adjust the temperature accordingly. You can produce a great product whichever you use. However, the Maverick has the distinct advantage of remote monitoring and, frankly, I wouldn't be without it.
As a possible matter of interest, I do Butts and Ribs at 275 degrees at the grate. Chickens I run at 325-350 degrees at the grate. It is my policy to crisp up the chicken after it is cooked by direct (lift the barrel and lay the chicken loaded grate over the coals). This requires close monitoring (only takes a minute or so a side) to avoid burning. It is sure worth it, tho'. Others have completely removed the water pan and do the chicken on the top grate with no deflector.
FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53
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J Hasselberger
TVWBB Pro
When I first got my WSM 10 years ago, they didn't have dome thermometers. I used a candy thermometer hung in the vent and had pretty good success at temp control right off the bat. Then I installed a Weber dome thermometer. It took me 3 or 4 overdone cooks to realize that I was cooking at 280-300+ instead of the 240 that I was reading at the dome. I went back to the candy thermometer and a Maverick at the grate to try and establish a consistent relationship between the readings. Dave Russell is right -- sun and wind swing the dome temp wildly; the probe on the grate is influenced by its position and the meat load; the vent temp is pretty reliable (although also influenced somewhat by sun and wind). Whatever thermometer you use, the temp you read will be a guideline rather than hard data. Once again, experience is the best teacher.
Larry D.
TVWBB Emerald Member
I'll echo what others have said: consistency is the key. Pick the approach that you like (grate, dome thermometer, through the vent, whatever) and stick with it. Once you are getting the results you want, it really doesn't matter how you're doing it, if you can do it every time. Personally I monitor temperature at the top grate, mostly because that's how I started doing it when I was cooking with a Brinkmann (you want to talk about a useless built-in thermometer...) and I have stuck with it for many years. The same goes for how you fire up the WSM. There are quite a few variations on the Minion Method, but as long as you do it the same way every time (no matter which way that is) you should be okay.
Enrico Brandizzi
TVWBB Honor Circle
Imo T changes a lot from lid to top grate if or if not there is water in the water pan! Keep in mind!
Andy in MA
TVWBB Fan
I belive the grate temperature would be more accurate than the dome - depending on where the probe is place. If the probe is on the edge of the grate, it will read significantly hotter, as the heat in the WSM raise up along the walls of the cooker (assuming you're using a pan/heat sink). Like many, for ribs I like to run the cooker at about 275, as opposed to the traditional 225-250 range. Maybe you've been doing the same (Dome says 240, grate is actualy 270) and exepericince what many others have found?
I'm sure i will still definetly have a difference in temps but i think my probe placement could have been an issue both times i have used the maverick i was on the outer edge of the grate. Im gonna try something a little different the next cook, 12LB packer brisket for memorial day (wheels are already turning in my head about that bad boy and its only monday). Thanks for the advice all
Chris E
TVWBB Pro
I like maverick so I can use the remote and set alarms and use the meat probe. For my kettles they both have the same thermometer setup under the handle so I use those, again for consistency. I always put my thermo probe dangling in the wsm top vent Unless turkey or something is up there. Then I stick it in a small potato on top grate. I did put temp gauges on top/bottom racks for info some times but always record the top vent as my "temp" in the log for consistency. Now that I know bottom grate runs 20 degrees cooler I take that into account for placement of meat during the cook but use the top temp for reference. e.g. Put larger butts on top rack and smaller ones on bottom. For Ribs or lots of chickens I rotate them partway. I do think the dome thermo is short to it is "tempered" by the lid --reads colder when snow/cold or hotter when sunny on lid. Dont put probe on edge of racks in WSM for sure. Don't put probe right next to, directly under or touching the meat. Temp will be off as meat mass heats and cools. Lots of thermodynamics at work here but the answer is simple:
Use the same temp probe location (and thermometer if possible) for any given setup of equipment, ribs, butts, turkey fish etc and use your cook logs to determine the correct indicated temp for best taste/texture. Record probe location in log too. Know your target temp before you light the fire and catch it on the way up to stabilize "near" your target. Relax and don't fight the smoker for 5 or 10 degree up/down if it is stable. Beer helps with that. Good luck and welcome to the obsession.
Use the same temp probe location (and thermometer if possible) for any given setup of equipment, ribs, butts, turkey fish etc and use your cook logs to determine the correct indicated temp for best taste/texture. Record probe location in log too. Know your target temp before you light the fire and catch it on the way up to stabilize "near" your target. Relax and don't fight the smoker for 5 or 10 degree up/down if it is stable. Beer helps with that. Good luck and welcome to the obsession.
Frank H
TVWBB Gold Member
agree 100%.....I always go by the built in therm and I have liked my results. I see no need to second guess myself. Much more relaxing this way.
Bob Sample
TVWBB Diamond Member
Throw all the thermometers away and learn how your cooker cooks.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Why not?! Just be aware that if you go by the hand over the vent method, for the same temp, it will feel hotter if using water in the pan.
