Lid temps versus top grate temps


 
Jason Smart

Jason Smart

TVWBB Member
What kind of temps differences should I expect if any between these two areas?...This is my 4th smoke on the WSM and second using a digital thermo like the ET732.

My ET732 probe is mounted on the grate directly below the Weber lid thermo. Both have been boiling water tested and were accurate within 1-2 degrees. My ET732 is showing 235...my Lid thermo is showing 215. Is that about right?....

I guess I'm wondering which gauge I should use when I want to cook at 225 on the WSM. I have always cooked by lid temp on an offset stickburner at 225 but the WSM is a much smaller space
 
Honestly to make things easier ignore the lid temp. I have a Maverick 732 and have always dropped it in the top vent. Makes it easier. I did the lamp repair kit mod for my probe that goes in the meat. If you concern yourself with both you'll go nuts.
 
Agreed...I only want to be concerned about one...but with a 20-25 degree difference, which one is the right one.
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I too have the lamp grommet mod and run both my probes through it.
 
The dome thermometer reads about 50F lower than a probe placed at the grill level.
A thermometer placed in the top vent reads in between those two (25F hotter then the dome and 25F lower then the grate).

Bob
 
I've run into the same situation myself, I stuck both the lid therm and my probe in the same pot of boiling water and they both read the same temp. But real world results differed around 20 degrees with the lid reading the lower temp. The difference has been consistent from day one, and I rely on the remote thermometer anyway, too hard to see the lid temp from the house!
 
I've seen otherwise logical, well mannered men come to fist-to-cuffs discussing this can of worms ...and let's no get started on water vs no water in the pan. Like you, I've found my lid therm to be spot on when tested which leads me to believe the variation is simply due to location.

The following is my opinion based on experience: it doesn't matter. Smoker temp is simply a ref point to maintain consistency. Pick one and go with it. If I'm outside with the smoker, I like to use the lid. If inside with a remote I use grate. But once the decision is made I stick with it - one or the other - for the entire cook. Remember, for years the WSM didn't even have a therm in the lid.

More unsolicited opinion: Some folks use High Hot while others use Low and Slow. I think time, technique, and internal temp is the key to get you in the ballpark then a probe test to ensure doneness. Regardless, the results depend on so many factors (wood, rub, marinade, injection, mop, spritz, sauce, etc) and conditions (wind, rain, air temp, etc) that 25* in the lid vs the grate between friends is negligable.
 
Well the 225-230 at the grate produced a very nice rib using the 3-2-1 method so I guess grate temp it is....
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