Different side of grate, different temp...


 
M

Michael Freeman

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I just bought another ET-73 and decided to use the new and old one in my smoke tonight. I'm currently doing an 11 lb packer brisket and I put each smoker probe attached to the grate on either side of the meat. I made sure the probes are still above the water pan and the WSM is not tilted. I'm using the bottom grate.

I've gotten as much as a 30 degree difference between the two temps. Before I put them on, they read the same temp, so I'm assuming they are correct. Slowly, one began to rise a little higher than the other. Currently, I'm an hour and a half into the cook and one probe (newer) reads 235 and the other (older) reads 214.

Is it normal for the grate to vary that much in temperature? I figured there would be a slight difference, but not as much as what I'm seeing. Anyway, figured I'd throw that out there.
 
Update: It's about nine hours into the cook and now the older probe is reading 20 degrees hotter than the new probe. So, they've pretty much switched places. Which means that it's not a case of one probe reading higher than the other. It just means that you can have a 20-30 degree swing between different sides of the grate. Just thought that was interesting.
 
Michael,

I would say yes, what you are describing is quite normal. The charcoal will not light completely evenly, no matter how careful you are at "placing" the lit at start up.

JimT
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JimT:

The charcoal will not light completely evenly, no matter how careful you are at "placing" the lit at start up.

JimT </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point. I was just thinking about my cook this weekend. I was comparing lid to grate temps at the door. I had just bought a new thermometer at the lid. I noticed that my temps were normal difference, then later on they were closer (almost the same). Now looking back, the charcoal added was closer to the door (I had also started it since it was cold and windy). At the time I didn't worry about it.
 
Michael,
You are going about this all wrong. You need 4 more therms so that the meat is completely surrounded by Mavericks. Only then can you get accurate readings. Ok, I'm just being a wise guy, sorry. Don't sweat the little things. Fires burn unevenly especially if one or two vents are closed. You sound like a very detail oriented person. That can play against you with the WSM. Relax and eat up.
 
LOL! man i've been doin it wrong! dang sometimes I just use my hand, i really blew it.

Michael thats cool thanks for sharing, it's amazing how much they differ. good cookin.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave/G:
Michael,
You are going about this all wrong. You need 4 more therms so that the meat is completely surrounded by Mavericks. Only then can you get accurate readings. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That got me to laughing! I guess being an accountant it makes me want to know all the details.

What I ended up doing is if one temp was getting way beyond the other, I'd just close down the vent on that side for a bit. That helped get them much closer together. Normally, I wouldn't use two probes, but since I had them I was just curious as to how it would be. It just surprised me that it would be such a big difference.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Michael Freeman:
That got me to laughing! I guess being an accountant it makes me want to know all the details.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ha, that got me laughing. I'm a CPA.
 
Was it windy?
What did you use in the water pan?

Wind and distance from the access door seem like 2 factors I'd expect to influence temp readings at the lower grate.

If you point the access door down-wind (6:00) and set the probes equal distances on the 2 sides (3:00, 9:00), I'd expect the temps to be closer than that.
 
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