Temperature accuracy

[tpack]

I did a little test after reading a few post about temperature accuracy on the controls vs. the real temperature on the grill grates. I took a calibrated remote temperature sensor and placed in the middle of my RT 590. I set it on extreme smoke /180 degrees and let it run for 1.5 hours. At first it got up to 190ish and finally settled in pretty close to 180 degrees. Then ,the longer it ran the higher the temp went, ever so slowly. It was right at 200 degrees when I quit the test. I had adjusted the feed rate almost as low as it will go a while back also. I was using REC TEQ pellets. What gets me is the temperature control readout never read over 180 degrees after it got up to temp, even though my temperature readout on my sensor updated every 30 seconds and adjusted with the actual temp +or-. I also calibrated the temperature readout on my smoker last year when I received it with the same remote temperature sensor as I used today . It makes one wonder about the "algorithm" on these smoker that they are always talking about. I use extreme smoke a lot and had thought for a while that is was running hotter than it was when it was new. This confirms my suspicions.

Side note(to be fair)....... Things I have altered since purchasing. Foil on my drip pan.

HIGH TEMP SILICONE RUBBER SEALANT on smoke vents.​

Fireblack® Hi Temp BBQ smoker Gasket​

 

[Treborwd22]

I'm always amazed when people compare temperature differences in their smoker expecting each probe to read exactly the same. These tests are always done by placing the secondary probe near the middle of the smoker near the grates. This method is always going to produce different temperature readings compared to the primary probe. For a more accurate test try placing your secondary probe in the same location/orientation as the primary probe. I'm betting the readings will be a lot similar. Me personally I'm fine with a little temp swing. When I look at all my options I'll take 10 to 20 degree fluctuations with my pellet smoker vs tending to my stick burner any day. Sometimes it's best to not over analyze things or you take all the fun out it.

 

[Lager1829]

Me personally I'm fine with a little temp swing. When I look at all my options I'll take 10 to 20 degree fluctuations with my pellet smoker vs tending to my stick burner any day. Sometimes it's best to not over analyze things or you take all the fun out it.

This^^^^^

 

[jamorgan3777]

I would push back a little on not getting too tied to temperature accuracy. I totally agree that the grate level and the internal probe level are totally different. I actually wonder why RT puts the probe up on the top of the grill where its hottest. That tends to create lower than desired temps at the grate level. I compensated for this by adjusting the offset in the program. however, this is not linear. By that I mean that I have my grill pretty set in the 225 to 325 range, but its still out when I dial in to 375+ I even thought about moving the probe down to help get a realistic temp but have not tried that.

 

[zueth]

This^^^^^

Yes, this!