One thing that many of us with Pitminders have found is that the dial setting doesn't reflect the actual temperature. It's very accurate, but it often requires an offset. For example, if you set it at 225, the temp may actually settle at 250 or 210 or some other temperature. If you have a thermometer that you trust, you can place the probes next to each other. If your thermometer is a dial type, you can put it through the lid and dangle the Pitminder probe at the same position. The difference in reading between the thermometer and the Pitminder dial gives you your offset. The offset seems to be linear, so once you know what it is, you just compensate.