Temperatures all over the place!


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Larry Evers

TVWBB Fan
Stogie, my spares on Sunday were excellent! There's no way I could have gone 9 hours tho. I did go 6; 3 w/o foil and 3 with. Everyone raved. I personally thought they were a little too falling off the bone done. They were not mushy! Maybe 5 hours w/o foil and 1 hr. with??? Has anyone tried the foil method with less time in the foil???

Problem: I installed a dome temp. guage. The face on the guage says, "The Grill Care Company." I got it at Home Depot. I also used a Polder, basic unit, and ran the probe thru a small potato so that 3-4 inches was sticking out. I placed the probe/potato as close to the center as possible. While the Polder stayed fairly constant with an average reading of 241, the dome guage was all over the place. At four times during the cook the Polder read 225 while at the same time the dome guage read 245, 252, 258 and 262. I've tested the dome guage and it seems to be accurate. I'm assuming the Polder is. Is it possible that the distance between the two probes and the nature of the dome guage would have readings like that? For those of you who do use a grill level guage, what sort of set up do you use?
Maybe I'm thinking too much- "just cook the damn thing, Larry!"
 
Larry,

I put Brinkman thermometers in the lids of both my WSMs. Their stems are probably two inches above the grate. When I tested them with a Polder in the center of the top grate reading 225, the dial thermos showed 240-245. Their short stems (maybe two inches) are exposed to more radiant heat coming around the water pan and channeled up the side than the “calmer” and more stable area nearer the center of the grate.

This difference across the grate isn’t significant in my book, unless the food crowds the edges of the grates. IMO, the variances in temps around the edge aren’t extreme and well within the tolerable range. Don’t worry about the fluctuations. This isn’t rocket science and a few degrees one way or another isn’t going to make any difference. This might be a case of having too much information available. Would the spares have tasted any better if you hadn’t known the temps at the dome?

I loaded one WSM up yesterday with some thick-cut bacon from Sam’s and smoked for about 2 hours at 275 over apple and peach. The ends at the edge of the grate started crisping up quicker than the ends at the center but flipping the strips end for end did a good job of evening things out. Shrinkage was minimal with the finished bacon probably 80% of its original size. Can’t wait to get home and whip up a couple more BLTs for supper tonight!

Sounds like you’re off to a good start. Keep playing with your food!

Ken
 
Well that sounds like good advice to me. Makes total since. It's the science teacher in me that looks at guages as gods and cooking as science experiments not to be deviated. Thanks!
Larry
 
I'm not sure that the potato trick works that well. I think that, until it has reached the same internal temp as the cooker, the moist potato acts as a heat sink for the aluminum probe and produces articifically low results.

Likewise, I think Polder probes inserted through the side of the cooker may read a bit high, as they are subject to the flow of hot air up the sides of the cooker.

I have drilled oversize holes in the side of my cooker. I insert a brass tube through the hole. Then, the polder probe goes through the brass tube, extending about an inch further than the end of the tube. This seems to give a pretty stable accurate reading six inches in from the side of the cooker. The reading at this point seems to be pretty much the same as a reading taken with with a probe inserted in a cork and placed on the center of the grate: certainly close enough to not worry about.

I usually insert the side probe about two inches beneath the cooking grate, so that it doesn't interfere with the food.

I also tend not to fret too much about temperatures. As long as its somewhere between 225 and 260, I leave it alone. If the temps fall below 225, I'll open the vents a tad and let it start rising. I'll go close 'em a bit when it hits 250. By allowing the temps to swing a bit, I make a lot fewer trips out to the cooker. (Thanks to remote thermometers!)
 
Yeah, I've just got to learn not to be concerned too much with temp. For some reason I didn't think all but the very end of the polder was where the temp. reading was coming from. As you guys all said it's not science. As I said, "just cook the damn thing."
Larry
 
Since it was my first cook on the WSM, I don't know if this was the best approach or not. I dropped the bent end of the poulder down the 100% open dome vent to read temp. Didn't seem to matter if it touched the side of the vent.

I got a pretty constant temp, but consider the outside temp was around 100 deg here in Houston with only a light breeze when I was lucky.

sonnyJ
 
Just a FYI for Larry and Sonny.

It kinda sounds like there may be some confusion on the Polder thermo. Maybe this will help.

The active portion of the probe is within the last inch or so of the probe. So, if you pierce the side of a small potato and pass the probe tip through the potato until it extends beyond by an
inch or two, you should be fine. Having the curved portion of the probe touch the side of the vent hole should have no affect at all.

I am not sure that the potato itself will act as a heat sink, but Webb may have a valid point there. However, if the probe tip extends beyond the potato, by at least two inches, the heat sink factor should be minimal. You might want to cut a flat onto the bottom of the potato to keep it from wanting to roll.
 
Larry,
Unless I'm reading this wrong you had a spread of 17 degrees or a deviation of 8.5 either side of nominal. For a cheap thermometer and a smoker which will fluctuate a little at best this is not something to get worried about. That unit I would suspect is only built to plus or minus 10 degrees. If you want a quality dial thermometer buy an Ashcroft or a Trend they are instruments of quality not inexpensive mass produced good enough stuff for the mass merchandisers.
Just my $0.02
 
I thought I was getting a good one! I bought it right after I bought the WSM. I may get a good one or not worry about it. The more I read, the more I don't worry about it.

By-the-way, I don't have a clue why I have two posts at the same time. Oh well, who cares?
Larry
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top