I must have a faulty WSM 18.5...


 
I think this is the deal..

You mention moisture in your Weber thermometer. The boiling pt for water at your altitude is 195F, so if there is moisture in there, it may limit the reading, boiling inside the lid at the probe, condensing outside at the glass... and simply refluxing at the bubble point.

Also, you might replace water with a clay saucer. Your boiling water pan is also going to be 15 deg colder than at sea level, though maybe a bit higher than 195F as fat falls in
 
John, why didn't I think of that? Weber therms are cra...! I love all my Webers but the therms????

I just put my temp probe in the top vent. it rests over the cooking grate about 1/2inch. I see that you have a cork or something in the top vent, no need to do that. It will restrict exhaust and prevent you from closing the top vent if you really need to bring temps down. If you like corks just drill a hole in one and shape so it will fit inside the grate or buy one of these.

http://www.thebbqguru.com/prod...Guru-Probe-Tree.html

I have 2 cause I always misplace everything. Many here just hang em in the wind.

Mark
 
If you are going to use an elctronic thermo to monitor temp, you can run the probe lead under the dome and slide the probe through a potato to keep it out of contact with the grate. This will give you the actual cooking temp at grate level. The temp at the dome will be higher than the temp at the grate.
Also, you can pull out the stock Weber thermo, enlarge the hole with a Uni-bit, and install a Tel-Tru thermo that can be calibrated and you'll have more accurate readings.
 
I've been temping at the grate since I got the new Maverick and it always shows hotter, 35-40 degree temp than the Weber Lid therm, and they both pass the boil test. If I temp at one spot it will be the grate from now on, My WSM is 4 months old.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">you can run the probe lead under the dome and slide the probe through a potato to keep it out of contact with the grate. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What a great idea!
 
Also, I might add if you use a bigger charcoal grate and place it above the vents you will have better air control. I have been running like that for 2 years on my 22.5" and it runs better.
 
John...I just brought an identical 18.5 WSM about a few weeks ago and I had the exact same problem as you have. But there is a solution to your problem, as I discovered it on mine.

Here's the solution....fire up the cooker, but don't put any meat on yet....put a Mawerick digital probe below the top grate, and watch the temps increase both on the Mawerick & the lid temp gague. Without any meat both the Maverick and the lid gague had shown remarkable similarities...I think mine was off about 2-3 degrees from the Mawerick. Stabilize the temps around 220-225 degrees, and once the temps are stable put on the meat. Mine shows 60-70 degrees difference between the lid gague and the Mawerick. The Mawerick which is placed below the top grate stays steady at 225, the lid probe drops to 160 degrees. But they both were 225 before the meat went on, so the problem is the lid gague is influenced by the cold temps leaving the meat...my lid gague stays between 30-60 dgrees lower than the Mawerickfor the first 2-3 hrs of cooking then it evens out. I noticed it right away, but I knew that when the cooker was empty they both worked pretty close, so I just disregard the lid temps gague altogether and I only watch the Mawerick, which has no buffer other than the water pan filled with sand....

I don't think is anything wrong with your WSM, it shows exactly the same temp difference as mine does...
 
A lot of others along with myself have noted in other threads that the lid thermometer measures temperatures which are about 25* or more BELOW what the grate temp is. As Tibor indirectly said, it's not an indication of a problem, it's an indication of a temperature difference. Probably, lid contact with the external air keeps the area near the lid thermometer at a little cooler temp than in the depths of the cooker.

Many have also stated that the presence of cooking meat on the grate will show grate temps that change over the life of the cook. Again, normal (especially at the beginning of the cook).

So, John, I doubt you ever really had a problem. It's just a fact of the WSM that should be noted and otherwise just keep on cooking.
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Some use a Maverick or other probe (as do I), some don't use another thermometer or even the lid thermo (or ignore it), and some only use an instant read to check or confirm doneness. I've gotten so that I use it if I feel like it or don't for simplicity. (Today I didn't, but I was just smoking a turkey breast and some small meatloaves. I almost always probe on big cuts).

You CAN trust the lid thermo -- just be aware that the grate temp may be a little higher. The WSM works -- monitoring your meat temp and monitoring for big shifts in your cooker temp can be helpful and comforting.

Rich
 
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