Mounted the thermometer


 
A

Aaron Faletto

New member
Today I mounted the a Tel-Tru BQ300 on my WSM. Pics are below, doesn't it look great? Chris: great job on the instructions on how to do it! Your instructions were easy to follow, and the job really wasn't that hard. I used a 7/8" hole saw (simply because the Unibit was over three times the price) which worked pretty well. (One tip: if you don't buy the mounting kit (locknut, etc.) that is offered when you buy your thermometer, the locknut that fits a 1/2 NPT is in the conduit section of your local mega-hardware.) The hard part, honestly, was plucking up the courage to drill a hole in the lid! I chose to put it about 10" down from the handle, not directly opposite the lid vent. I figured it was a happy medium between having it potentially hit the food and getting an accurate grate temp reading. I also chose the 2.5" thermometer stem. No, I haven't cooked with it yet, but I'll report back when I have. One final thought: the Tel-Tru I bought really impressed me with its construction and heft. This is no ordinary kitchen thermometer, this is a piece of equipment. Not that those little ones they sell at the mega-hardware don't work, it's just that this one is substantial, and IMHO worth the extra money. If you are on the fence about installing a thermometer, I reccommend doing it. It's easy if you have a good drill and a little courage.

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Nice work and welcome to the board. I like the location; a little closer to the top grate. Let us know how it works out.
 
Nice job Aaron. I need to order my Tel-True with mounting kit and do the same, I’m just really nervous about drilling a hole in my precious little baby. I know..I know...just be a man and do it.
 
Toby- One hint that might give you a little more confidence: I used blue painter's masking tape to keep the bit from wandering. It worked great and left absolutely no residue. Oh, and my cordless Ryobi drill didn't have enough
"oomph" to do the job--I had to use my dad's old corded Skil. Make sure your drill is up to the task!
Good luck!
 
Hey Aaron, I ordered my Tell-Tru and mounting kit yesterday so I'll keep you posted on how the install goes once it arrives. I looked in the garage last night and I have a roll of blue painters tape I can use so thanks for that tip. Also, how’s the great Northwest? I was born and raised in Medina and went to Bellevue high, moved down to Southern California in 1983. I just couldn’t take the rain anymore.
 
Aaron,

Did you consider rotating the dial so that 235 mark is in the 12 o'clock position, so that you know from a distance if the needle is pointing at 12 o'clock your smoking? The 235 mark on the lid less ~10 degrees will give you the grate temperature of about 225. I am assuming that your 235 therm reading will give you 225 grate, but since you placed your therm lower on the lid, you might have a smaller temp difference between therm reading and grate temp. You would have to determine the discrepancy before you rotated your dial to the correct and preferred 12 o'clock position.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Aaron Faletto:
Today I mounted the a Tel-Tru BQ300 on my WSM. Pics are below, doesn't it look great? Chris: great job on the instructions on how to do it! Your instructions were easy to follow, and the job really wasn't that hard. I used a 7/8" hole saw (simply because the Unibit was over three times the price) which worked pretty well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Can someone please send the link to Chris's instructions thread? THX in advance.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeremy Laux:

Can someone please send the link to Chris's instructions thread? THX in advance. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Click me!

There's more to TVWB than just the forums.
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Aaron - looks great. I was just looking at the Tel-Tru website and drilled down to this exact model using their selector. Is the 2.5" probe adequate? Have you used it yet? Smoked 2 Pork Loin Rib roasts this weekend and the temp was all over the map! Its time to mount one and prevent the smoke buildup that comes from vent 'mounting'. I have 2 thermos i can barely read now. Let me know how this one turned out and if you'd recommend a different lid location or different thermo model.
 
I just got my Tel-Tru installed as well. Yeah, the hardest part was getting the courage to drill into my WSM. HA! I also did what Aaron suggested with the blue painter's masking tape. My only suggestion to anyone else who does this is to take - your - time when drilling. If you follow that advice, success should follow.

Getting ready to install wheels on it now.
 
If you want a unibit but don't want to pay $40 from Home Depot for 1, I purchased a set of 3 on eBay for less than $15 w/ shipping included. They're also listed on there as step bits.
 
I used normal masking tape, but did use a center punch to keep the bit on track. Lower speed, not too much pressure and the result was good. I also used a bit of oil, don't know if that really helped, but it made me feel better.
 
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