Strange temperature phenomeneon.


 
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Rob O

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Hello all. Noticed something strange last night on my cook. As a newbie I wasn't sure if it was expected or whether I'd somenhow managed to defy the laws of time, space and physics.

I was about 2 1/2 hours into a cook of a 5 lb rolled turkey breast. I was using a a Weber wireless thermometer and it registered 150 degrees.

The WSM was cookinng right where I wanted it at 235.

At this point I put a 4 lb salmon fillet on the top rack right next to the turkey roll. It also had a Weber wireless probe in it. The salmon registered 59 degrees.

The lid temperature on the WSM dropped to 205 but got back up to 230 in about 10 minutes.

Here's where it gets strange: For the next hour or so the turkey breast continued to cool until *both* the salmon and the turkey breast reached 143 degrees.

My lid temperature was pretty much stable between 225 and 235.

Can anyone explain what was going on? I son't want to jump to conclusions but is it possible the salmon was stealing heat from the turkey breast, even while the overall WSM temperature was higher than both of them?


BTW, I'm counting on you guys to help out. I have a room full of NY Giants fans in my living room and I'm an EAGLES fan. I've been bragging about this site to all of them. And as if my ribs that they're choking down aren't good enough they're making me prove it.

Probably has somethign to do with my brother who hasn't shown up with the cheesesteaks and hoagies yet.
 
Rob...of course it does! Whe something cooler goes in to the cooker it is act as a heat sink! It has also been known to make a fire burn out quicker due to it needing to keep up a hotter burn to bring the new meat up to temp!!
 
Thanks Greg. Your note arrived at the same time as my brother with the cheesesteaks and just before Terrell Owens scored his second TD as an Eagle.

BTW, WTG Browns today.

So let me see if I've got this straight. The salmon stole temperature from the turkey even though the overall ambient temperature was higher than both?

Seems like something only the IRS could have dreamed up.

Gonna need to run this by my wife. She was an engineer.


Thanks again.
 
Greg thanks man.

BTW, your message showed up at the same time my brother showed up with the hoagies and cheesesteaks and just before Terrell Owens caught his second TD as an Eagle. The Giants fans are in awe.

So let me
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ROB O:
... the salmon stole temperature from the turkey even though the overall ambient temperature was higher than both?... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hi Rob, I think perhaps the salmon didn't so much steal heat from the turkey as the salmon gobbled up the heat that was keeping the turkey at that temp. So it cooled.

Another thing that could have done it is temp probe placement. If I've put a probe really close to cold meat (and beneath the bulk of mass of meat), since cold falls while heat rises I seen radical rapid +/- grate temp changes, like 15 degrees in 2 minutes.
 
You're using two wireless remotes? Are they different frequencys? Could they both actually be monitoring the same meat? Just some thoughts!

Nick P.
 
Nick,

You posed an interesting question. These wireless thermometers are not so terribly sophisticated and there aren't very many silicone manufacturers. Perhaps they could end up transmitting the same message to the receivers. Hmmm... I'm hatching an experiment in what's left of my feeble little brain. Any suggestions to a product that stands a chance of conflicting with my ET-73? They aren't that expensive and I don't object to having a little more technology at hand.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nick P.:
You're using two wireless remotes? Are they different frequencys? Could they both actually be monitoring the same meat? Just some thoughts!

Nick P. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I routinely use an ET-73 to monitor pit and a meat temp and a weber remote to monitor the other meat temp and have never had a problem.

Mike
 
Hi Rob
Sounds like an opportunity for an experiment.
In other words, is this repeatable ?

It would be interesting to see what the temp is just above the cooking grate between the two items.
 
I use a GURU to monitor pit & meat, both being wired. I also have a ET-73, but with the GURU there isn't much need for it. Good luck...can't wait to see the results.

Nick P.
 
Hi guys. Thanks to all for responding.

Regarding some of the questions:

I'm not at all sophisticated with my thermometers. I have 1 Weber transmitter but I have two probes. Nothing fancy here. I switch the probes to the transmitter by hand.

I never considered using two Weber thermometers for the same frequency interference issues Nick P, et. al., raised above.

Regarding placement of the meats the salmon and the turkey breast were next to eachother on the same grid rack.

For what it's worth, my wife the mechanical engineer and her engineer college roomate confirmed what Greg R wrote. They're pretty certain the salmon was causing the turkey to cool even though the ambient temp was higher.

Still doesn't seem right to me but what the heck. They paid a lot of money for those degrees.
 
Hmmmm, we've used multiple ET-73s during contests, but you just "start up" each of the transmitters/receivers together and they sync up OK without interfering with each other. I can't speak for other brands of probes though...your turkey receiver picking up your fish transmitter? Sounds fishy!
icon_wink.gif


P.S. Another thought, sometimes when a probe has been in meat awhile (happens to me with pork butts), you need to "re-seat" the meat probe, otherwise later into the smoke the meat will give a false read.
 
John,

HI. I'm even less sophisticated than that. I only have one transmitter. I have two probes.

Example: Probe 1 is attached to piece of meat 1. Probe 2 is attached to piece of meat 2. If my transmitter is attached to piece of meat 1 and I want to measure the temp in piece of meat 2 I unplug the transmitter from probe 1 whichi is in piece of meat 1 and plug it into probe 2 which is in piece of meat 2.


Seems funny now but when I came up with this idea it was well before I'd found this forum. I thought this was incredibly hi-tech. My wife and neighbors gave me all kinds of grief about going to ridiculous extremes with my grilling. (I didn't even have my WSM yet.)

Wait till I add a guru and or ET73. That'll really floor 'em . Oh well. If they don't like it they can cook for themselves.......
 
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