Incorrect Pit Probe Temperature?


 
J

JakeBrown

TVWBB Member
Situation:
Heatermeter pit probe reading = 225°F
BGE pit thermometer reading = 165°F
Approximately 60°F off.

Configuration:
Preset=TX-1001X-OP
Resist=10000
Offset=0
I have the ThermoWorks TX-1003X-AP (thermistor).

Questions:
Is having a 60°F offset reasonable for the configuration?
Should I do something with the resistance?
Should I do something with the custom settings?
Options?
 
Yeah offset should be 0 or possibly 1, it's actually something I have on my list to remove because it is more commonly used incorrectly (to account for something else being way wrong). Check for shorts by removing all the probes and testing their voltages with a multimeter, should be 3.3V. Then put *just one* probe in and measure them all again and only one should not be 3.3V now. Move the probe to the different jacks and make sure that voltage is the same and moves to the appropriate jack each time.
 
JakeBrown said:
Situation:
Heatermeter pit probe reading = 225°F
BGE pit thermometer reading = 165°F
Approximately 60°F off.
Click to expand...

I would check both the probe and the dome thermometer with boiling water to see how much difference there is. My thermoworks probes are pretty much dead on 212.

Also the readings from the probe and dome thermo is the temperature at that location. So grate can be different to chamber, you could foil both together and see what the reading are then.

I have a 20f difference in my probes but it's consistent so i can adjust
 
UPDATE:
This was my first cook with my Heatermeter, so there were a lot of possible variables to troubleshoot with the difficulty of troubleshooting during the middle of a cook.
I troubleshooted by putting the probe in different ports, and those gave the same reading. I scrounged up some other thermometers, and started noticing similar readings to the Heatermeter. Still perplexed why BGE thermometer was giving a different reading, I found out by further reading that I mostly like broke the thermometer in a prior cook when my pit temperature went above the maximum thermometer temperature range. This is what easily happens when you are starting a fire, walk away, and come back to a raging pit fire....then close the lid to bring it down. I recommend removing thermometers before doing this, to save the thermometer and not damage it.

I also have some further learning to do regarding the pit fire. I didn't get the smoke I was expecting (which also made me think the Heatermeter probe was wrong). I suspect this is because I built my fire too small, therefore it only burnt a small section of what I loaded into the firebox. Next time I plan on getting a bigger fire going, burn more area, and hopefully don't get the pit out of control.
 
Ok, from what I could understand. The Thermoworks pit probe should be at the grate level or about a inch below. The BGE lid dial temperature is going to be at least 50* higher then what you see at the grate level, heat rises. If you are not sure about your Thermoworks probes, test them in boiling water, they should read 210-212(depending on your height from Sea level).
 
In my case the BGE thermometer was lower than the Thermoworks probe at the grate.
The meat I was smoking took 20 hours to cook, which is what I was expecting. So the Thermoworks probe is most likely correct.
 
John Bostwick said:
The BGE lid dial temperature is going to be at least 50* higher then what you see at the grate level, heat rises.
Click to expand...
I've done several tests with a probe at grate level and one in the dome, with nothing else in the egg. Sometimes the dome is hotter, sometimes the grate is hotter. They'll even swap during a cook. It is certainly never 50 degrees difference at BBQ temps. Also the temperature at the grate can vary wildly from one part to the other. Derail!

But yeah what John says, put the probe tip in boiling water to see what it reads. If it is off by more than a couple of degrees there, then we... well I'm not sure if that means the probe is bad or the HeaterMeter is bad. Do you have a multimeter? If you can get the resistance of the probe at 212F, we can compare that to one of mine to see if the probe is bad.
 
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