Performer Thermometer Upgrade?


 
R

RMassony

New member
Has anyone upgraded the stock dome therm on their performer? Perhaps with a nice Tel Tru like what Chris did to his WSM? I’d like to do it but not sure what thermometer would work and couldn’t find anything in searching the forums.

Thanks!
 
Do you have the older Performer with the slide in thermometer like the Genesis uses, or do you have the fixed on that has a bezel and sits directly on the lid?

I know Tel Tru makes a thermometer just like the original Weber removable one. Costs quite a bit, but they are a high quality company. They also offer a variety of 2" to 5" dome thermometers.

Barbecue Pit, Smoke, and Grill Thermometers | Tel-Tru Manufacturing Co.

Barbecue Grand Champions eliminate the guesswork and use only the best thermometers. Tel-Tru Barbecue Thermometers. Order Online Today.
www.teltru.com
 
I have the newer model with the thermometer set into a bezel on the lid. I'm OK with not using the bezel.

I'm thinking this guy might be a good choice:

Tel Tru BQ225

BQ225 Grill Thermometer with 2" dial

Best grilling thermometer on the market!
www.teltru.com

Not sure if I'd need to expand the hole for the current therm.

This one is beautiful but maybe too big:

Tel Tru BQ300

Tel-Tru - Barbecue Thermometer, Black Dial BQ300, 3 inch dial and 2-1/2 inch stem

Barbecue Thermometer, Black Dial BQ300, 3 inch dial and 2-1/2 inch stem
www.teltru.com
 
If I were going to upgrade the temp gauge, I would change the location entirely. When I cook indirect I put the vent over the meat, so the heat is drawn over the meat. But that puts the temp gauge directly over the coals.

But me, I don't use that dome temp gauge. And on my old Kettle, I had a Tel Tru in the lid at grate level under the vent, but rarely used it. Digital probe works well on a Kettle.
 
Thanks, this is helpful. I realize the dome isn't the best place to measure temperature, but I think it's helpful at a glance (and on cooks where I don't want to break out the probes). I think I'll probably end up with the BQ225.
 
RMassony said:
Thanks, this is helpful. I realize the dome isn't the best place to measure temperature, but I think it's helpful at a glance (and on cooks where I don't want to break out the probes). I think I'll probably end up with the BQ225.
Click to expand...

I use my lid thermometer for most cooks. The one on my 26" is amazingly accurate. I had to check it a few times in boiling water to be sure but it's very close to the grate temp somehow.

Can you report back on how you like the BQ225? And pictures please!
 
RMassony said:
Thanks, this is helpful. I realize the dome isn't the best place to measure temperature, but I think it's helpful at a glance (and on cooks where I don't want to break out the probes). I think I'll probably end up with the BQ225.
Click to expand...

Its not misplaced because its in the dome, its misplaced because its worthless on indirect cooks.

Weber says to get proper air flow, the Kettle should be positioned into the wind, so that smoke coming out of the vent flows over the handle.

And its not best to have the vent over the coals on an indirect cook. Heat/smoke should flow from the coals, over the meat , out the vent, and over the handle.

So that leaves the temp gauge directly over the coals and the meat on the other side of the Kettle. Evidently, Weber does not think its wrong, because they won't correct it, but I've read this complaint for years.

And if the temp gauge is moved to the vent side of the lid, then really, the only place is halfway between the vent and grate level.
 
I've ordered one BQ225 direct from Tel Tru. They say lead times are extended due to COVID19, so I'll try to be patient waiting for it. I'll be sure to post pics once I've done the installation.

One question in the interim--I removed the thermometers from both my Performer and my WSM to see what I'm dealing with, and they appear to use the same bezel and hole configuration (though the therms have different faces). The BQ225 should fit in the hole and rest on top of the bezel, but if I wanted to discard the bezel and go with the big dog (BQ300), I'm not sure how I would expand the hole given that there's also an alignment hole right next to it that accepts the tab on the back of the bezel. I worry that if I drilled out the existing hole and directly inserted the larger therm, there would still be this ugly/leaky alignment hole. Has anyone dealt with this issue before? Were you able to expand the hole in such a way to cover both holes? Or should the second smaller hole just be taped shut? Or left open?

Thanks everyone for all your help!
 
Since grilling with my Weber Performer Deluxe since last January I have calculated there is around a 50F hotter difference from the Weber Temperature Gauge(WTG) and the cooking grill where the meat sits. So, if the WTG reads 450F I calculate that my meat/chicken is grilling at around 400F more or less and this system works-for-me.
 
My main complaint with the Weber therm is that the face is too small. I'm looking forward to having something more legible.

At the end of the day, of course, I don't really need to do anything to the grill. I've had the Performer for almost 10 years and every time I cook on it I marvel at how user friendly and fun it is to use. But of course it's fun to tinker and refine.
 
I would probably just save my money and invest in a Thermoworks Smoke or Signals. It will be more accurate for smoking and give you meat probes to work with. The stock lid thermometer is good enough to tell you if you are burning too hot or cold for average grilling. If you need to be able to measure really hot temps for something like pizza cooks Thermoworks also has IR thermometers that work well.
 
I put a Tel Tru on my Kettle in 2005. Its still there, but only because I've got no way to fill the hole. It was rarely used.

When I grill, I don't need to know the cooker temp. All I need to know is that its hot and most of the time, I have the lid off.

And a Mav or Thermoworks digital works so much better for an indirect cook.

I could put a digital probe as close as possible to the stem of the Tel Tru, and get a different reading.

20180119_183142.jpg

And I've had one on my WSM since 2003 , and the readings have always been different from my digital probe

20190228_155843.jpg20190228_155754.jpg
 
Just ordered this one for my C&B performer that has the thermometer built into the handle. I was outside the other day and the stock therm was reading 150 🥵 and I hadn't grilled on that grill in days

Tel-Tru - Weber Genesis Gold B/C Grill Replacement Themometer

Weber Genesis Gold B/C Grill Replacement Themometer
www.teltru.com

Little pricey, but didn't want to go with a junk Weber one.

Figured I'd leave the discussion in this thread since it's also about a Performer/kettle therm. Might be useful for those searching in the future
 
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