Temp Box Reading vs. Grate Temp vs. Air

stevrons

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Hello follow smokers. I wanted to ask if you guys found your "actual temp" reading at control box was close or way off from actual temps you measured on the grill grates and/or actual temps in air above grill grates ? And if so what adjustments did you have to make ?

Frankly the fact these temps might be different has not even occurred to me since we started grilling (about 6-7 cooks in) until just now. Most of our cooks have been great.

Also we're only using RecTec meat probes so far, anyone getting away with strictly that? I see lot of folks here investing in other brand probes and I see the suggested products.


Thanks so much!
 
I use the RT probes but don't trust them for long cooks or expensive cuts of meat. I have had some issues with them not reading accurately. Early on, I bought a Thermoworks Smoke X. It has 4 probes, all with alarms, and it has a remote receiver that I can keep near me so that I can monitor temperatures from longer distances than the RT probes. For overnight cooks it gives me peace of mind in the case of a fire or sudden drop or spike in temp. There are lots of options out there.
https://www.thermoworks.com/smokex
 
I use the Recteq meat probes exclusively and have had great succes with them. I did have to calibrate them though. Since I have calibrated them they have been spot on. Moving forward, I will ocassionally test them to verify accuracy and make any necessary adjustments. Calibrating them is easy and you can find several tutorials on youtube.
 
I don't know what a temp box is. If you're talking the RT's displayed grill temp vs what the actual temp is "above" the grate, I did run a butt cook last week with my Thermopro sensor abut an inch above the grate and about 2" from the 340's oven temp probe. What I noticed was that the Thermopro showed the temp changing pretty much all the time, to some degree, while he RT's reading stayed at 225. I did not take note of how much it varied but it was not enough to bother me, it bounced above and below the set temp by maybe 10 or 15 degrees. If you really want to know I could do it again tomorrow and let you know exactly. It's possible the meat being only an inch or so away may have effected the temp.

After having a charcoal smoker, having the temp go a little above and below doesn't bother me as long as it averages the set temp more or less, which it did.

I had checked the temp of the grate, left, center, and right, when I 1st got the smoker but haven't looked since. As shipped, the RT's probe showed about 5 degrees different then what I got in the center, on the grate. I adjusted the grill for it. The right side was something like 10 degrees higher, on the grate. This is a 340.
 
If you have a reliable digital thermometer, put that in the middle of your grill slightly above grates. Set temp to about 250° or whatever. If temp reads higher than controller temp, slightly lower the auger feed rate. When get close, you can dial in a little closer with offset calibration. RT has videos on both, very helpful. I would check your RT probes in ice Water also. I had 1 that needed to be calibrated.
 
If you're familiar with the expression "TMI" you know it means too much information. Between the on board controller and a plethora of aftermarket digital temp measuring equipment we can get "accurate" temp info at a moments notice.................though there are caveats to that. Despite what some might believe, temperature in any space is not a static measurement where location A and location B are going to be the same. That's why some people get different numbers depending on where the measuring sensor is located. That doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem, air movement is dynamic, variations are normal.

How many people here check the indoor oven of their house for temp variations both location and over time. It's not uncommon for the typical household oven to have 60 degree swings, -/+ 30 each way from set point. Yet in our outdoor cookers we expect that to not happen? It becomes a matter of experience; set your expectations realistically and you won't stress out so much if there is, say, a 10 degree variance up or down. Just like the cooking in your indoor oven, the food outdoors won't really care. Now, a steady downward or upward temp cycle that goes beyond, say, 20 degrees, and continues to raise or lower, then that's worth reacting to. Live and learn..,.,,
 

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