Major Temp Reading Differences!

Hi folks,

Been struggling with temp in my Smoke Hollow gasser. I knew not to trust the old analog. So I've been running your basic $15, digital Taylor with the probe hanging an inch or so below the top rack and the meat either above or below. Generally below.

I understand that this can cause a temp inaccuracy, but we're talking major differences here. The two thermometers are a good 90F off from each other.

A few weeks back I pulled the analog and tested both units in a boiling pan of water. The digital was right about 212F (@ 900' MSL.) The analog was 209.

Put 'em back in the pit. The analog won't climb. The digital sure does.

Thing is...

The last 2 cooks have gone WAY over estimated time per pound.

The Christmas roast is 1. Then Sunday I did a 3.5# chuckie. Should be about 3.5 hours, right?

With a crutch at around 162F it took 6 hours to get to pulling temp.

I had cranked 'er up and once I got past the stall, she flew up to 212 in no time flat

I think a foil earlier would certainly have helped.

On the flip side...

The analog doesn't ever show much past 250 with the valve running wide open. Well… the Thanksgiving Turkey was the best of all time and timed about right while cooking at around 325 according to the Taylor.

The Smoke Hollow should be capable of 350 or so. The real trick is achieving low temps. On warm days, it’s tough to keep it to 225 on Low. Based on everything I’ve read, the Taylor jives.

The analog is located in a reasonable spot, I should think. Not as good as the Taylor probe, but not bad. It’s your standard front door mounting about a third of the way from the top.


Any thoughts?

Thanks for the input, guys!

Update:

OK. Since my analog was calibrated to 212 in boiling water, I decided to see how things would go if I relied on it.

At first it seemed to go OK. I cued up about 8 pounds of dinosaur bones.

With the gas valve on high, it would have trouble reaching 250. This seemed at odds with what my smoker is supposed to be capable of. I chalked it up to cooler weather, though by no means frigid.

The smoke went pretty well and the time seemed about right. However, looking back, I can't be sure. I hit one helluva' stall that I wasn't expecting. So I foiled 'em and the IT began to climb quickly.

Then I added beef stock.

They weren't probe tender at 210, so I wanted to take them to 215. They seemed to stall again at 212. Well... guess what boils out of beef stock at 212.

Lesson learned.

Still. The time to 212 didn't seem to terribly far off of expectations for a pit temp of 250F.

So yesterday I did some St Louis-cut spares plus the tips.

The plan was to smoke with 3 hours'-worth of pellets in the A-MAZE-N AMNTS, check and then maybe foil or just run 'em to completion without foil since there would no longer be a smoke element.

I checked them at 3 hours... on the nose.

212 deg. F. Verified with 3 different, calibrated, digital thermometers.

Overcooked.

So was the Taylor right all along?

I did some more checking and it seems that some guys have used their Taylor digitals to monitor the pit with success. I'm not sure why mine would read high.

The probe for it is actually in a pretty good spot that is right inline with the analog. I simply have 2 hose clamps hanging from the top rack holding the probe. So the probe sits about an inch below the top rack.

I do have a Wal-mart wireless thermometer. I hadn't thought to try it's probe in this same position. I'll try that next for the heckuvit.

Unless the Wally probe delivers some kind of miracle, Daddy will be asking for an ET732 for his upcoming birthday.

Thoughts?

Bludawg said:

...225 aint magic IMO it is TOO LOW adj your cook to what the pit gives you you'll enjoy the process much more.

Click to expand...

I hear ya'. I'm not married to it. Much of what I've cooked has been at 250-275.

Problem is...

Was it really 250-275???

Bludawg said:

Does it really matter??? I lay my hand on the pit; over three seconds add heat. Ouch! take a little away. Scientific I know.

Click to expand...

My analog and my digital can be as much as 100F apart.

My spares were overcooked in 3 hours.

If my digital is correct, I may have been cooking at around 350. I would think spares overcooked in 3 hours is a little more indicative of 350 than 250.

Shagdog said:

Really it's just a number. And time per lb is just a guesstimate anyway. On the bright side, at least you're cooking till it's done instead of pulling it 2 hours early because it should be done.. Best advice I can give is to just accept whatever temp your pit likes to run at, and then cook stuff till it's done. I cooked on a pit with a busted thermometer for 5 years. 250, 275, what's the real difference? Your food will just get done a little quicker.. Besides, despite my best guesses, I couldn't tell ya the last time I had food finish on time. Once you stop worrying about hitting a certain temp and just let er rip, you'll find BBQ much more relaxing.

Click to expand...

You're probably right, but the better handle you have on temp, the better chance you have of coming in close to dinnertime. I like to shoot for a little early and then keep the cue warm in the oven or faux cambro.

Also, my pit is a gasser. It likes to run at whatever setting I rotate the valve to.

Funny thing is, this may be the only cook I ever did where I didn't run a meat thermometer out of the gate. I figured there would be no need for at least that first 3 hours.

Wrong.

So yeah. Until I get a little better handle on pit temp, I will benefit from monitoring the IT from the word "go."

Toast said:

I do temps for a living and can say that it is not the actual degree you should read but the number of rise or fall degrees you should read when using two or more thermostats at different levels on the pit. You'll get used to how your particular pit cooks. You are 900 AMSL. That means water boils @ 210.4*F at your location.

You can either learn the temp swings on your existing thermometers or go with the inexpensive Maverick ET-732 which is really a good unit for the $$. Also, consider a Thermapen or the like.

Good Luck!

Click to expand...

210.4 at standard barometric pressure. Yes. :wink:

Yeah. I think the 732 is the best way to remove measuring device errors from the equation.

Thanks!

Update:

After more trials, I'm pretty sure I've discovered the issue.

I read some time ago that corded meat probes can often read a little high. It's believed that the hotter air affects the exterior portion of the probe and, over time, the heat is transferred inside.

This lead me to consider my plight here. See the built-in dial is on the front door. I was running the probe through the exhaust vent in back of the unit and hanging it below a grate.

Well... the tubular burner at the bottom runs front to back. And it's holes don't start until a good third of the way back. So the holes (and thus the flame) are weighted toward the rear of the unit.

The water pan, which I filled with sand long ago, has gaps between it and the walls of the pit on all 4 sides. I believe the heat was running right up the back of the pit and affecting that probe differently than the one on the door.

It was awhile back, but as I recall, one confirmation was when I noticed some burnt or overcooked meat on the backs of the grates, while the rest of the meat was just right.

Since then I have slid the sand pan back a little, leaving less of a gap in back and more in the front. My built-in thermometer tests out to be within about 7*F of grate temp. Good enough for the girls I go with!

So I've been using the built-in thermometer and all recipes work as they should.

The lesson here is... go with your gut.

I never understood how a thermometer that reads ~33 in ice water and ~212 in boiling water... could be so far off once returned to the door of the pit.

So don't discount your basic bimetal thermometer just out of hand. Test it. If it works, trust it. A pit temp thermometer is not supposed to be an instant read, Thermapen. It's just for pit temp.

Cheers