Temp gauge

Ryan , hello and welcome to the Bunch .

First , the stock Therm. is not worth a Penny. Do a boil test and record the readings of each therm. you have , and use those readings as your standard. Pretend the readings are at 180*F , add 32 to that and call it your 212*F. Same if too high , temp. reads 230*F , subtract 18 from that for use.

 Some may be re-calibrated with a 'nut' on the back of the dial . Using this (and it's @ sea level , so compensate for altitude ) and recording in your "BBQ Log" , you'll have temp. where they should be.  

Have fun and . . .

I am running one of these on both my electric and propane smokers, it has a screw on the end to calibrate. I use my Maverick to tweak them and now both hold and read rock solid.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinkmann-Temperature-Gauge-812-7229-S/203016476