how far off does the top thermometer run?

[Neil Hyneman]

I have a maverick 2 in 1 thermometer. on today's smoke, the oven thermometer end is a few inches under the Weber thermometer and it is reading over 20° hotter. Normally I had that on the bottom rack under whatever I'm cooking on top. But the 2 thermometers have not registered so far apart. I'm just curious as to what's going on here.

 

[Russ Harris]

That sounds about right. The lid therm tends to read anywhere from 25 to as much as 50 degrees cooler than a Maverick or other stand alone thermometer.

 

[Neil Hyneman]

Thanks, I didn't realize they were that far off. I've been cooking at a higher temp than I realized but that explains why the loin got done sooner than I expected.

 

[mwhuffman]

Mine runs almost 50 degrees cooler than my Maverick ET-732. Since I got the Maverick, I don't even pay attention to the built-in thermometer.

 

[B Harper]

I think I've about decided the temp doesn't need to be that accurate for backyard cooking. Just get the temp in the ballpark and cook until done. I almost bought a Maverick with my WSM, but decided to wait. So far I've only used the lid thermometer and everything has turned out great. I run the lid over 300 for chicken and ~250 for ribs and butts. I check the ribs with the bend test and use my pen thermometer for butts and chicken.

 

[Dave Russell]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by B Harper:
I think I've about decided the temp doesn't need to be that accurate for backyard cooking. Just get the temp in the ballpark and cook until done. I almost bought a Maverick with my WSM, but decided to wait. So far I've only used the lid thermometer and everything has turned out great. I run the lid over 300 for chicken and ~250 for ribs and butts. I check the ribs with the bend test and use my pen thermometer for butts and chicken. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kudos for keeping it simple and straightforward.

 

[Jim H.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by B Harper:
I think I've about decided the temp doesn't need to be that accurate for backyard cooking. Just get the temp in the ballpark and cook until done. I almost bought a Maverick with my WSM, but decided to wait. So far I've only used the lid thermometer and everything has turned out great. I run the lid over 300 for chicken and ~250 for ribs and butts. I check the ribs with the bend test and use my pen thermometer for butts and chicken. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dave said it best - simple and straightforward is the best way to cook.

I try to keep my WSM within a certain range, usually 25° either way from my target temp. That way, I am not constantly chasing temps up & down and that allows me to do other things. Once you learn how to adjust your vents to keep your cooker within a range, regardless of conditions, then you have a true "set it and forget it" cooker.

 

[Mike_L (Big Mike)]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mwhuffman:
Mine runs almost 50 degrees cooler than my Maverick ET-732. Since I got the Maverick, I don't even pay attention to the built-in thermometer. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mine runs the same.

 

[Tibor Roczo]

This is a topic worth reading for a new WSM owner. When I first trid to cook on my WSM, I had a temp difference of 50-70 degrees at first. Obviously I thought the lid temp gauge was deffective, but once I checked it out and compared to my Mav-73, and then to my DigiQ it ran almost identical temps, when there was no meat on the grates. Once I put up the meat, the lit temp dropped down about 50-70 degrees at first, and then slowly came back to a closer range...usually about 20-30 degrees difference still remained....the question was, why? I do monitor the temps below the top grate with my ATC & Mav, and at the lid.

My only explanation to this temp difference is the temps of the meat being around 40-45 degrees, and once the heat from below raises, it pushes up all the lower temps against the lid gauge, so the lid temp naturally stay lower. the energy from below is greater than the cold temps radiating out of the meat, so all the action is one directionall....from the bottom up. Maybe there is a different explanation...but I can't think of any....

Anyway, its not a big deal....say, if I want to cook a couple of baby backs, then my temps are around 260-270 range at below the top grate, and the lid temps are around 230-240 degrees for the most part. Ribs are done in about 5 hrs on my WSM... If I use higher temps Then the ribs are done in about 3.5 hrs....