Thermometers for a UDS

You'd be better off getting a Maverick so you can get the temp right in the centre.

Matt

Built right, your temps from center to edge won't vary by much. I have a River Country thermometer with a 2.5" stem and have compared its reading to that of a Maverick and an oven thermometer at different parts of the grate. It is never more than 5 degrees different. Usually just 2 or so.

A long stem in the side means you have to remove the thermometer every time you want to take out the fire basket.

I have a thermometer with a 2.5 stem and a maverick there are only 3 or four degrees difference in the center to the short stem thermometer.

you guys are lucky. my river county therm. and 12" therm. are about 40 deg. off until I get 3-4 hrs. in the cook, then they get with in 10 deg.

I think either way will work just fine. I have a turkey fryer thermometer in mine because I already had one and very inexpensive. I used a drill press to drill a hole in the center of a bolt (slightly larger than the stem of the thermometer). The bolt is fastened to the side of the UDS just below the second rack. It is easy to pull out the thermometer to remove the fire basket.

What style of exhaust do you have, one larger opening, or smaller ones spread out across the lid?

A larger opening will create a small hot spot underneath it since it is the focus point of all the exiting hot air. If yours is this way, I would try to find a thermometer length that would put it half way between your opening and the side so that you can get an average reading of the pit temperature better, just a thought.

If you have nice spread out holes, it will be very even across the board and I would just put a short stem one to make it easier to get your charcoal basket out.

I do the spread out holes, so I am not sure what the temperature difference would be if you had just one larger exhaust, it may be very small. I am just working off theory here.

I had a 3" river country 2.5" stem thermometer and like others mentioned the thermometer was off in some instances (maverick running through weber grommet used to compare temps) - but not always. Additionally I had built an ash catcher for my coal basket that had to be wrestled out with the thermometer in place. So to solve this in my stainless uds I bought a stainless reducer with a female 1/2" NPT thread which matches the river country as well as a new Tel Tru 3" dial with a 4" stem. So the bushing and nut stays installed at all times and the thermometer can be easily removed without any tools in a matter of seconds. I used similar although larger reducers for my intakes but they can be secured much better than the closed pipe nipples that I used on my first builds.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003H05EQU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Stainless Steel 316 Cast Pipe Fitting, Hex Bushing, MSS SP-114, 3/4" X 1/2" NPT Male X Female: Industrial Pipe Fittings: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JE-ydSplL.@@AMEPARAM@@51JE-ydSplL[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GXF6RA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Stainless Steel 316 Cast Pipe Fitting, Hex Locknut, MSS SP-114, 3/4" NPT Female: Industrial Pipe Fittings: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hfPlhY4AL.@@AMEPARAM@@51hfPlhY4AL[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L4IISK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: Tel-Tru BQ300 Barbecue Thermometer, 3 inch black dial with zones, 4 inch stem, 100/500 degrees F: Kitchen & Dining@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pTM5TgLtL.@@AMEPARAM@@51pTM5TgLtL[/ame]

I got a Bayou Classic in mine. It's short, maybe 4 inches long. I haven't checked it against anything else. It can't be too far off. I compare my cook times and temps to the thousands I've read about here. I know that's not very scientific, I guess you could call it redneck reasoning.:grin:

I have a 3" Old Country and it seems to work okay. It's mounted in the front of my UDS just below my top rack and I keep the exhaust in the back. I will be buying a Maverick so that I can keep the lid closed more towards the end of cooks.