Weber Lid Thermometer.

[GammaRei]

Hey Y'all,

I have a question about the Weber lid thermometers. A friend of mine was making kebabs yesterday, I was over at his place and noticed that his lid thermometer was reading 550f. Yet the fire was not as hot as a 500+ degree fire would normally be. We messed with the dampers for a bit, then I mentioned to him that the thermometer might be a little wonky.

He used a candy thermometer to measure the temperature on the inside of the grill. We were right the temp on the inside was about 350f. I know heat rises, and the thermo on the lid is directly above all the heat and would read hotter than a temp taken at grill level.

We talked about getting a replacement thermo for his grill. Are there any aftermarket lid thermometers that anyone would recommend?

- G

 

[Gnarlbecue]

Lots of people use Tel-Trus and swear by em.

The problem is not really the therm on the Weber, but it's placement right above the fire on the newer kettles.

Before 2014, Weber placed the therm 90° off from the exhaust vent, which is a lot more useful for getting an average reading.

The new thermometer placement is one of my biggest pet peeves about the newer kettles.

It's almost like Weber doesn't know how most people use their equipment.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

I’ve personally have never seen an accurate thermometer on a Weber.

Not any of the many kettles I’ve owned, or the WSM.

 

[SmokerKing]

analog thermos suck, especially if they're placed in the wrong location

 

[Gnarlbecue]

For a cheap option you could get an oven thermometer and place it right next to your food when cooking indirect with the lid down and the exhaust above the food.

This will give you an idea of the air temp where the food actually is. Then look at the discrepancy between the two therms and subtract the difference to inform your next cooks. This makes the lid thermometer somewhat more useful as a rough guide.

Most of us will suggest investing in a wired ambient probe for more accurate readings.

Once I got that data, I rarely use probes anymore because I now know that my lid thermometer reads almost exactly 50° hotter than where the food sits, which is an easy subtraction.

Check out Thermoworks ambient probes, or there are many other options.

 

[GammaRei]

Lots of people use Tel-Trus and swear by em.

The problem is not really the therm on the Weber, but it's placement right above the fire on the newer kettles.

Before 2014, Weber placed the therm 90° off from the exhaust vent, which is a lot more useful for getting an average reading.

The new thermometer placement is one of my biggest pet peeves about the newer kettles.

It's almost like Weber doesn't know how most people use their equipment.

My 26" Kettle has the thermo placed in this 90 degree configuration. I dont really have too much deviation from the grill temp on the lid thermo. It has been fairly accurate. The one that my friend has on his 22" is just plain inaccurate its off by 100+ degrees.

Thank you for telling me about Tel-Tru. My thermometer on my weber is still good. But I may just replace it with one of these for the heck of it.

I’ve personally have never seen an accurate thermometer on a Weber.

Not any of the many kettles I’ve owned, or the WSM.

Damn. Mine is ok, its got some deviation from the grill temp. But it has served me well. I have never seen a thermo this inaccurate before. Yet it makes sense on why my friend was always complaining about his temps on his grill.

For a cheap option you could get an oven thermometer and place it right next to your food when cooking indirect with the lid down and the exhaust above the food.

This will give you an idea of the air temp where the food actually is. Then look at the discrepancy between the two therms and subtract the difference to inform your next cooks. This makes the lid thermometer somewhat more useful as a rough guide.

Most of us will suggest investing in a wired ambient probe for more accurate readings.

Once I got that data, I rarely use probes anymore because I now know that my lid thermometer reads almost exactly 50° hotter than where the food sits, which is an easy subtraction.

Check out Thermoworks ambient probes, or there are many other options.

I have the weberIq blue tooth thermometer. I have been trying to get my friend to buy one but he hasn't as of yet. I may be able to get him to do so now since he is pretty much grilling on a wing and a prayer.

Thanks for all of the ideas yall~!

- G

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

It's almost like Weber doesn't know how most people use their equipment.

It seems that I'm the only one who puts the thermo over the meat being cooked. Who really cares what the temp is right over the coals.

I guess some folks just don't trust the efficiency of the kettle design where the heat hits the lid and comes back down, effectively roasting the meat on the other side. And that's why I put the therm as far from the fire as possible.

Works for me :thumb:

 

[Smoke Dawg]

I use the lid thermo for guidance only. Is it going up or down. Heat gun for better information

 

[GammaRei]

It seems that I'm the only one who puts the thermo over the meat being cooked. Who really cares what the temp is right over the coals.

I guess some folks just don't trust the efficiency of the kettle design where the heat hits the lid and comes back down, effectively roasting the meat on the other side. And that's why I put the therm as far from the fire as possible.

Works for me :thumb:

Holy crap that's genius. . . .

I use the lid thermo for guidance only. Is it going up or down. Heat gun for better information

I dunno, its my friends grill that has the issue. Also messing with his 22" Kettle, I don't think that I could ever go back to a 22". I guess I have become used to the larger 26" kettle.

- G

 

[snadamo]

I drilled a hole in my lid on vent side as close to the lip as possible…aka as close to the meat and as away from the fire as I could. Definitely helps

 

[Gnarlbecue]

It seems that I'm the only one who puts the thermo over the meat being cooked. Who really cares what the temp is right over the coals.

I guess some folks just don't trust the efficiency of the kettle design where the heat hits the lid and comes back down, effectively roasting the meat on the other side. And that's why I put the therm as far from the fire as possible.

Works for me :thumb:

On the newer Webers, that would put your exhaust right over the fire, altering the airflow and disrupting that glorious convection.

I have tried that on my friends newer Weber, and it works to give you a fairly accurate reading of the cook side, at the expense of different airflow. I suppose I could learn to cook that way, but my results were different than I'm used to.

 

[Gnarlbecue]

I drilled a hole in my lid on vent side as close to the lip as possible…aka as close to the meat and as away from the fire as I could. Definitely helps

Nice!

I wish Weber would place the therm like that as standard, so we don't have to void our warranties to get a useful reading.

I have told them as much a couple times over the years.

I want to get a 26"er eventually, but I just can't stand the current placement of the thermometer. It's so poorly thought out. Grr.

 

[Itsdone]

I can't Imagine still using analog thermometer in any smoker in this day and age. In my 20's i remember adding lump charcoal and wood chunks/splits to a Brickman smoker all night. Me and my uncle split wood and drank till we passed out. By shear luck, the pork butts were perfectly done the following morning. We wrapped them, and served them later that afternoon.

 

[blackdogbbq21]

I use tel tru analog thermometers on all my smoker and grills and they work the best for me. On my weber kettle i put a thermometer at grate height on the lid. I tried digital remote thermometers and i just felt like it was too distracting for me.

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

On my newer version of the WSM, I have checked the the factory thermometer against a digital thermometer that was inserted in gasket that is about 3.5 inches below the top cooking grate. The difference was not enough for me to be concerned. On my older WSMs, I insert the probe through the top vent and let it hang down to a point where it is not contacting the meat on the grill, but close to the top of the grate. The temperature reading is not exact, but it is close enough for who it is for. But my experience may be an exception to the rule.



I use this same method for monitoring temperature for the kettle. Except for grilling steaks, I use the indirect method for cooking on the kettle. I don't do this very often as I am familiar with how hot the fire is by placing my hand over the top vent. If the temp seems too hot or too cold, I will use the digital thermometer method I mentioned earlier to give me a better idea of what the cooking temperature is. Of course you will want the probe to hang over the cooking area and not the coals.


Lager,


Juggy

 

[Newglide]

I drilled a hole in my lid on vent side as close to the lip as possible…aka as close to the meat and as away from the fire as I could. Definitely helps

This is exactly what I did.

 

[snadamo]

I will say it’s much easier to drill a hole in your 15 year old lol than a new one though!