Another newbie question: Stoker temperature probe placement


 
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Eric Simon

TVWBB Fan
Please excuse another newbie question...

Where on the top grate do you place your smoker temperature probe?

Today I am smoking two racks of spare ribs (both on the top grate). I put the probe right in the middle of the grate, laying the ribs just on either side of the probe. I thought that would allow me to measure the temperature right at the meat. But after an hour, I noticed that the temp was reading very low, so I moved the probe to the outside of the grate, a few inches from the meat. The temperature then jumped way up, making me suspect a false reading earlier by having the probe too close to the meat.

Where do you put your smoker probe on the grate?

Thanks!
 
I know I've got better pics but this is all I could find quickly. Click on it and it will launch to the original picture and you can zoom in from there.

 
Thanks again, Larry. It looks like your probe is near the outside of the grate, pointing horizontally toward the meat. How close does it get to the meat? Do you find that you need to leave some width of buffer between the food and the probe?

Where does your probe wire go? It looks like it is going down into the smoker (through the grate). I've been running mine out through the top vent, which makes it a bit awkward to take the top off/on.

Do you notice a large discrepancy between the temperature reading on your Stoker probe and on the WSM lid? My WSM thermometer is consistently 40-50F below my probe reading. For now, I'm trusting the probe.
 
The probe placement is really a balance. On one hand you don't want it to close to cold meat for exactly the reason you pointed out. On the other hand you don't want it to close to the edge because you'll get high readings from the hotter edges of the cooker due to heat rising. So, I try to get my probe placement somewhere in between. If you look closely at the picture I have the rubber covering on the probe resting exactly in the hole of the probe holder, so you're almost seeing the entire probe in the picture. Also, the piece of ribs near the end of the probe is a much smaller piece so I'm really not that close to it.

I have Guru or Stoker eyelets I run my probe wires through.

I have the old 18" WSM so no discrepancy at all
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If you've tested/calibrated your probe and you're confident it's right, stick with that.

Hope that helps.
 
Again, Larry, I truly appreciate it.

When you're as green as I am, each answer poses new questions. :)

Stoker eyelets? Do tell. Did you drill a hole in the cooker?

What's the best method for testing/calibrating the probe? I have not done that and it seems worthwhile. I could try dipping into boiling water to see if it reads 220. Anything beyond that?

Thanks again!
 
I am glad you are getting all of this great info from the group for another newby like yourself. I just ordered a stoker yesterday and can't wait to try it out.
 
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