Temp differences..


 
Bill S.

Bill S.

TVWBB Pro
Anyone else run into this issue? And is the Lid thermometer removable so I can check the accuracy? It always been off (lower) compared to my digital in the beginning, but tends to catch up and be relatively close after a while...but this is not even close.
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That's about right. You are measuring temps at two different locations.
My first WSM ( 08) didn't have a weber installed one so I didn't have to deal with that.
 
timothy said:
That's about right. You are measuring temps at two different locations.
My first WSM ( 08) didn't have a weber installed one so I didn't have to deal with that.
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Don't drive yourself nuts. Stick with one or the other and just go with it.:wsm:
 
timothy said:
That's about right. You are measuring temps at two different locations.
My first WSM ( 08) didn't have a weber installed one so I didn't have to deal with that.
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Yea my first one 04' I think it was didn't have it either. And I figured when I got this one I couldn't rely on it, so I got the digital before I used it the first time.
 
If you've ever been on a road and seen something off in the distance that appears to be shimmering, it's because of the heat coming off the pavement. We tend to think of heat as a homogenous, all one temperature sort of thing, when it is actually a swirling vortex of varying temperatures. The best thing to do is to find one location to measure temperature and use that for a reference.
 
Bill.....I was as shocked as you when I first got a digital probe and measure at the grate level only to find out it can be up to 50 degrees difference. I was always fidgeting with WSM dampers to bump OR drop temps. Plus, the Weber mounted t-stat is "slower" to respond to temp changes. The cooks that kinda stood out to me were the Hot & Fast chicken and I thought I wasn't getting the high temps most people do for the potentially crispy skin.
Thinking about it now, I was getting decent food results.....my temps just weren't as accurate as I thought they were.
As Tim said......Don't sweat it too much!
 
I’m with Timothy, two locations, two different temperatures.
I just don’t get too worried anymore, it will all be fine in the end. Barbecue is a master class in patience, just wait and you will be rewarded.
 
Having food in there or not, having water in the pan or not, can effect how that thing reads. It seems like it's more accurate with water in the pan. You can definitely do a boiling water test. They are easy to take out. Even though I don't really use that gauge it bothers me when it WAY off. I've been through two of them that just locked up and would read around 200. They aren't a very high quality gauge.
 
I don't have a lid thermometer on the WSM, but the difference between the grate temp, and the dome temp, on my 22" kettles is ~ 70 degrees. I always measure temps at the grate.
 
I honestly wish Weber wouldn’t even put a temp gauge on their grills - unless they somehow changed the location. The dome temp is always off from the grate temp and folks that don’t really care about temps are going to have wonky/overcooked food anyway.
 
timothy said:
Don't drive yourself nuts. Stick with one or the other and just go with it.:wsm:
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I totally agree on the Performer I go by the dome therm been cooking on it for years so I know if the dome says 350-375 I am good to cook a turkey breast or wings or whatever.

My UDS I have a fixed 12" therm mounted about an inch under the grate very accurate but I also have my Maverick that basically hang the probe 2 or 3 inches above the grate to the side as I like to be watching sports and monitor the temps inside. Generally I have to add about 55 degrees to the Maverick so if I was outside that fixed therm might say 275 with the Maverick reading around 220 inside.
 
I did an experiment a while back. I had a new spare Weber temp gauge and I put it through the top vent to mimic the position of the installed temp gauge. The spare gauge was reading +/-40 degs higher than the permanent one. Hmm. Could gunk be causing an issue? I removed the permanent gauge and cleaned it up. Re-installed it and after about 10 minutes they were within 10 degs of each other.
Maybe the gunk has good insulation properties??
Having said that, they were both reading +/-25 degs lower than my Mav set up. In my opinion the stock temp gauge isn't very accurate, but you're in the ballpark. Do a boiling water test and use that reading as a benchmark...oh and clean the temp gauge stem once in a while??
I'm good with between 225-275 and open another beer.
 
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Yep, temperature is much different at the great than at the top.

Now imagine they're being a 10-20 lb block of 40° meat beneath the dome thermometer as well. Yeah, it's like a big ice cube.

Like everyone says pick one or the other and use it. The truth is it really doesn't matter except for how long it takes to cook your meat. Temperatures between 220 and 300 all cook about the same, The hotter temperatures are just much shorter.

I place my probe on the great about 2 in from the meat and that's just how I do it. Occasionally a cook will seem to be really slow and it probably has to do with the probe on that particular cook
 
MartinB said:
Yep, temperature is much different at the great than at the top.

Now imagine they're being a 10-20 lb block of 40° meat beneath the dome thermometer as well. Yeah, it's like a big ice cube.

Like everyone says pick one or the other and use it. The truth is it really doesn't matter except for how long it takes to cook your meat. Temperatures between 220 and 300 all cook about the same, The hotter temperatures are just much shorter.

I place my probe on the great about 2 in from the meat and that's just how I do it. Occasionally a cook will seem to be really slow and it probably has to do with the probe on that particular cook
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Very good points, Martin. The dome gauge may be inaccurate by a few dozen degrees. But at least on my WSM, it is very consistent. As long as the needle is in that Smoke zone, I don't get too worried about overcooking .
 
I normally shoot for a range and like to keep it stable, I don't smoke much on it but low-med temps to grill stuff most of the time, smoking temps I use electronics to keep track of temps where I don't have to hover over it,
 
I get the different elevation different temp thing.
That makes sense.
What I don’t get is seeing people hanging meat like ribs in a drum or a WSM and not having it cooked differently at opposite ends.
You’d think it would matter but i have never seen it mentioned in all the vids I’ve seen.
If you can get a 50-70 degree temp difference at 6-8 inches a rack of ribs should at least double that.
It’s gots ta be majic I tell ya :).
 
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