Anyone else have a problem with Tel-Tru Thermometers "Sticking" ?


 
S

Steve Pearson

New member
Over the past year I have had problems with multiple Tel-Tru BQ300 (2.5" stem) thermometers and I'm curious to learn if anyone else has had similar problems. Before describing the problem, let me just say that I've worked with the customer service people from Tel-Tru they have been truly phenomenal in trying to get to the bottom of this. The purpose of this note is to try and gather information on similar experiences so that I can forward the info on to Tel Tru for research and/or QA purposes.

OK...here goes.

I use a Tel Tru BQ300 (2.5) on each of the (3) WSMs I own. The thermometers are mounted opposite the vent holes on the lid. Right out of the box and for the first few uses the thermometers work just fine, they register within (+ or -) 10 degrees of the temp registered on a Thermo Pen inserted through the vent hole. After multiple uses the Tel Tru thermometers all begin "sticking" at approx. 200 degrees (+ or - 10 degrees). In multiple tests, Using both a Thermo Pen and a Maverick Pro Temp, I have registered temps at the vent hole of 320+ degrees while the Tel Tru's continue to register a meager 200 degrees. Occasionally, after a gentle "tap" or two on the face, the Tel Tru's will climb 10-20 degrees only to stick again a good 50 or 60 degrees below what is registered on the Thermo Pen or the Maverick.

In an attempt to determine if the mount was the issue, I removed all the Tel Tru's from the lids, cleaned the probes and tested them in boiling water. In each instance the thermometers again "stuck" at 200 degrees while both the Thermo Pen and the Maverick both registered 215 degrees in the same test.

As I said, the folks at Tel Tru have been positively great in trying to get to the bottom of this. Most recently they suggested that the length of the probes (2.5) might be the problem and all three of my thermometers were replaced with new thermometers with 4" probes. I have not yet had an opportunity to test this theory as it's been too cold in my neck of the woods to get out and fire up the smokers.

So, I'm curious, has anyone else had any similar experiences with the Tel Tru BQ300 (2.5") ?

Thanks,

Steve Pearson
The Rolling Bones BBQ team
 
I find mounted therms consistently problematic which is why I never install therms. Nor do I bother with those that are factory installed. I temp at a lid vent myself, the spot I prefer to use anyway. I don't know what your specific problem is with those therms though.

We have members here in Finland, Norway, Sweden and the reaches of Canada that cook year round outside. No reason to wait till spring to use your cooker if you'd like.

Welcome to the board.
 
nearly all these thermometers are just bimetal spirals with a range, generally +/- 10 to 20 degrees. you're not getting anything better from one brand to another.

They can have a certain amount of ruggedness built into the housing and glass over another brand. They just give you an approximate idea, but it really doesn't have to be more accurate than what they are.

If you want accurate, you have to use actual thermocouples mounted and have them plugged into a digital meter.

Yes.. the can get knocked around, some of the smoke and such can start to bind them up.
 
Well i do have an appreciation for those that do hardcore grilling and smoking. They can really pull out some amazing discoveries and information.

But at the same time, i wouldn't want someone to become discouraged because of what they read in a cook book or a forum and feel that they are going to screw up a dinner. fortunately it is a very forgiving process.

So if you dive into and go head long, have at it. But i still do all my smoking with the lid thermometer (an idea of the range) -as long as i'm close, that's fine. For every 10 degrees too hot, it seems like at some point i'll fall 10 degress too low.

the main thing is the internal meat temperture. having a digital probe snaked thru a hole in the lid is great for that.
 
Other than when concerned with hitting a safe internal (or cooking something to, say, med-rare) is internal temp all that important. I do agree that chasing some specific cooktemp to the number is wholly unnecessary.
 
Now that I have a WSM to examine, I found that my OEM thermometer in a pan of water matched within 1F degree to my thermapen from 100F to 205F. I am pretty sure that any perceived inaccuracy with the factory thermometer is due to the fact that the probe is screwed directly to the lid, and the lid, being exposed to the outside air, is never going to be as hot as the air inside. This is consistent with my observations that the lid thermometer always reads lower than my top-grate digital thermometer.

If you are mounting the Tel-Tru directly to the lid with a good thermally-conductive (e.g., metal) path to the probe, you will probably experience the same phenomenon. So I would not expect to see the same reading on an accurate thermometer mounted to the lid as on a thermometer held through the vent hole.

Of course, with an internal temp of 320+F, I wouldn't expect the thermometer to stop at 200F (unless maybe it was a below 0F day with a lot of wind.) The mechanical thermometer stopping at 200F in boiling water could be explained by normal error.
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
I find mounted therms consistently problematic which is why I never install therms. Nor do I bother with those that are factory installed. I temp at a lid vent myself, the spot I prefer to use anyway. I don't know what your specific problem is with those therms though.

We have members here in Finland, Norway, Sweden and the reaches of Canada that cook year round outside. No reason to wait till spring to use your cooker if you'd like.

Welcome to the board.
Click to expand...

Different folks...different strokes. Personally I find a (quality) probe thermometer mounted (properly) in the lid to be a convenient and effective method of monitoring my smoker temps (I use this in conjunction with a wired digital-probe thermometer for monitoring internal product temps)...

As an update on the Tel-Tru problem, the folks in the Tech and/or QA department eventually came to the conclusion that the problem (thermometers sticking at 200 degrees) had -something- to do with the length of the probe (I was using the 2.5" probe)...<shrugs - makes no sense to me either>...They gave a me a whole line of technical mumbo-jumbo, none of which made any sense to me and recommended I go to the same thermometer but with a 4" probe. Since converting all 3 WSM's (1-18.5, 2-22's)over to the 4" probe I have had -zero- problems. I've compared temps in a variety of conditions using a Thermo-pen inserted in the vent hole for comparison and temps are always plus/minus 2 or 3 degrees. Despite my problems with the orginal (2.5") thermometers, I highly recommend tell Tel-Tru for quality and customer service.

P.S. Having lived in Minnesota for almost 20 years, I've BBQ'd and Grilled in temps as low as -40...These days I no longer find any entertainment value in freezing my butt off <wink>
 
If it starts sticking and frees with a tap, I would think it's a mechanical problem. Maybe they had a bad batch of 2.5" probe thermometers.

I have an older 18.5" WSM, and I installed a cheap Charbroil thermometer from HD in the lid. I check grate temps periodically to make sure it's still working, and it always reads within 10 degrees. I use it exclusively to monitor my pit temp. After all, it's barbecue; temps just have to be in the ballpark.
 
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