WSM Clay Pot Base Mod Question - Temp variances


 
MH Brown

MH Brown

TVWBB Fan
I did an awesome smoke this weekend (not many pics so I guess it wasn't that awesome!).


I tried doing the clay pot base mod and for the most part I was happy with it.


However I noticed something strange.


Most of the time the WSM therm and my ET-73 were dead on.


When I started losing temp on both and we adjusted the vents to allow more air, the grate level temp would skyrocket (300°+) which took a long time to even out.


What was strange was the lid therm (factory) stayed lower than 200°.


Once things were back to normal, both therms would be the same again.


I'm going to run my 2 WSMs side by side and do some testing with water pan vs. the clay pot and see if I get the same thing.


Anyone else noticed this?
 
I don't think it's the clay saucer. What you describe happens when your grate thermometer is too close to the side of the smoker. When you open the vents, the fire gets hotter before the overall temperature of the smoker. If your probe is close to the side, it gets direct heat moving around the sides of the water pan. I've had this problem with water and with an empty pan when my probe isn't in the right place.
 
Thanks Lew,

You're dead on. My probe for the ET-73 was only about an inch away from the sides.

Where do you usually have yours located? In the middle of the grate?
 
I would try to have it several inches from the side. Once you establish how the grate thermometer temps correlate to the lid thermometer, just use the lid thermometer and do the math. For instance, with the clay saucer, I know my lid thermometer is 25 degrees hotter than the upper grate and 25-35 degrees hotter than the bottom. It fluctuates some, but it's close enough for barbecue!
 
Measuring at the grate seems like a logical choice. It's right near the meat, after all. What could be better?

It just didn't seem to work well. I never found a spot that would give consistent results. Switched to measuring at the lid and never looked back.
 
I'll move it to the middle for the next smoke and see what I get.

For home use, I'll stick with the lid temp, but for comp, I'd like to have something a little more consistent.

What I am struggling with is getting to the bottom rack to spritz effectively with this probe attached to the grate. That's why I have teammates I guess.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Lew:
I would try to have it several inches from the side. Once you establish how the grate thermometer temps correlate to the lid thermometer, just use the lid thermometer and do the math. For instance, with the clay saucer, I know my lid thermometer is 25 degrees hotter than the upper grate and 25-35 degrees hotter than the bottom. It fluctuates some, but it's close enough for barbecue! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I notice the same with mine too.
 
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