Temperature Control for WSM


 
E

Eddie G

New member
Hi Folks, I've been using my WSM for about a year but still consider myself new to the WSM. I have noticed in my last two cooks it is difficult to get the temperature over 210 on the thermometer on the lid (it had been easily getting to 250-275). Have any of you noticed this on your WSM's? The water pan is in the right place. Vents are wide open. I've not changed the charcoal or wood that I use. Thoughts?
 
Welcome Eddie! I agree with Enrico...never trust a lid thermometer on anything. Get a good Maverick thermometer that will give you the grate temp, and the meat temp at the same time. Even though my WSM thermometer is right on the mark with my Maverick and Auber sometimes, other times it shows 50* cooler. But, even that is not that bad. I had an offset stick burner that was about 100* off...and an expensive Weber Genesis 330 that was about 120* off. So, I would never trust a lid thermometer on anything.
 
Or if you're just checking pit temps get a turkey fryer therm and clip it into the top vent. That usually reads 12-15 deg higher than grate temps.
Built in lid termos are usually good as hood ornaments, not necessarily a faulty piece but they do read in a different location.

Tim
 
My thermometer is off too. But I use a wireless one called Maverick and it works great. It's nice to sit on the couch and watch the temperature on it. You can get a decent one under $50.
 
You could also have gotten a bad bag of coal. Or said bag could have absorbed some moisture.

All vents wide open should get the lid thermo above 210, even if is out of wack I doubt it could be "that" far out.
 
Awesome guys! Thanks!! Yes, I'm learning that the temp where the meat is will be different than what the lid thermometer reads. I like the adapter on the side of the cooker that came with my WSM that enables me to put a meat and grill temp probe into the cooker. I will definitely look into the Maverick device. Very helpful guys, thanks! -Eddie
 
i dunno... my lid therm on my 2012 22" WSM is pretty damn accurate. off by only -6 degrees... something i can live with.

well, considering BBQ is not a science.



more like an adventure.

to me.
 
When you put a lot of cold meat into the cooker, the temp will drop initially and can take a while to come back up. Maybe that's part of what you're experiencing?
 
Bottom line is to find a way to get accurate temps when first starting out. Once you figure out how your WSM runs in your backyard (naturally), then pit temps are second nature because you already know that x amount of lit and unlit will get you to the right temp, and that will finish your cook in a certain time.

Tim
 
as others have said lid thermo is terrible to use as any sort of pit temp guide, if you test temps inside your WSM while cooking in multiple areas like i have you'll notice that the lid temp will be correct ONLY if the cooker is empty (within 10 degrees or so) but the moment you load it with food its going to be low often way way low. the best place in my experience so far using mine is to place a temp probe somewhere along the side but at least an inch or more away from the side as well as the meat your cooking at the grate level or under the grate at least an inch to two inches from the food (you can do this by sticking a normal meat probe into the probe grommet using it to hold it in position . DO NOT stick it it very close to any meat (your temps will be low till it gets up to near pit temp) very close to the sides (gets hotter/colder there depending on wind its just a bad place for an indication) or in the middle of any grate esp the bottom one on this one (its always low in the middle due to the pan water or no water doesn't matter)

Hope that helps!

edit: even if i do 275 deg cooks which is probably my most common temp i run on my 14.5 if i load it up pretty well its not uncommon for my lid temp to say something along the lines of 200-225F the bottom line is the lid thermometer is just in the worst possible position to be useful but i could easily see how larger cookers esp the 22 wsm can on most cooks be pretty accurate, on the 18.5 and 14.5 its no so, they are too easily covered with food between the thermometer and the fuel which will always cause temperature drop as the meat your cooking is absorbing lots of energy from the air before the air gets to it.
 
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Thanks Mickey. Used the maverick 732 model and found a 45 degree difference. Maverick read 253 while the lid thermometer read 210. I really like the digital thermometer. - Eddie
 
When I first got my WSM, I relied completely on the dome thermometer. Guess what? The food came out great. I eventually got a Pitmater IQ. Food was great. Then I took it off and went back to the dome lid. Still great. Don't obsess over the accuracy. Weber knows what they're doing. The key is to have a very accurate handheld thermometer to check actual meat temps. For that I use a Thermapen. One further note. Your dome temp will soar in direct sunlight. Position the lid so the dome thermometer is facing away from the sun.
 
The majority of the answers to your question have been to advise you to get better accuracy with your thermometer, which it sounds like you have done. That being said, if you still run into low temperatures, I would make sure you prime your WSM with more lit coals. I find that I can dial into different temperatures better when I start the right amount of coals.

For example, I use the chimney starter (if you don't have one, get one). I use the minion method, if I want a sub 250 f cook I start about 10-15 coals in the chimney. If I want at 250 -300 f cook, I start 1/2 a chimney. If I want a 325-375 f cook, I start a full chimney.

I then adjust the vents accordingly, let temps stabilize then put on the meat.
 
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