Finally found a grommet solution...

[francisrizzo]

...that works for me. Long time lurker, first time poster with (hopefully) a contribution to make.

BACKGROUND:
Got a vertical gas smoker almost 2 years ago and haven't fired up my grill since except for the occasional burgers. As I got further into the learning curve of the smoker, I wanted a more scientific approach to consistent results so I sealed the smoker doors with black silicone and I bought a Thermoworks Smoke. That thing is AWESOME! I didn't want to keep closing the door on the cables so I researched silicone grommets in the hope of drilling holes in the side of the smoker and running the Smoke cables through them, but that left big holes for the heat and smoke to escape (which is why I sealed the doors in the first place). Leave it to our fellow beer guys to have the answer.

SOLUTION:
Search @m@zon for "Homebrew guys fermentation grommets with stoppers." Food grade silicone grommets with plugs for the hole when not using them! 12 pairs of grommets and stoppers for $10, what a bargain... Now I can run the Smoke cables in at the same level of the rack I'm using in the smoker without worrying about cables laying against the cabinet or racks, and have extras in case one of the plugs disappears, shweeeet...

The best part about this solution is that the Smoke cable probes fit through the grommet perfectly and after I put a little notch in the plug lengthwise on the narrow half, I can put the plug in with the cable so I have remote temp monitoring and no smoke/heat escaping.

Sorry for the long message, hope it helps someone else searching for a solution to this "dilemma"...

 

[old sarge]

Nice mod. Thanks!

 

[SmokinAl]

Great idea!
Al

 

[ross77]

What size holes did you drill?

 

[SonnyE]

Here's the link:

Interesting find. Looks like they would keep the spiders out

 

[johnmeyer]

I can see from your picture that, for monitoring the enclosure temp, you simply press the probe in, up to its hilt, and leave it there. I like that. But, can this work for the probe that goes into the meat?

For the meat probe I don't see how you get a good seal around the wire. The probe (on one end) and the plug (on the other end) are a LOT fatter than the wire. If the grommet hole is big enough to permit the probe or plug to pass through, I would think it would leave a lot of space around the wire. Maybe this mod is only for the enclosure probe and if so, it is still a pretty neat mod.

 

[francisrizzo]

Ross77 - I used a step drill bit and I ended up at a 1/2" hole (which I then chamfered to prevent sharp edges from cutting into the grommet).

Johnmeyer - Sorry I wasn't more clear in the original description, but I put those particular pictures up to show that the probes pass through the grommet holes and that after the probe is through (i.e., with the wire sticking out) you can seal the hole with the "plugs/stoppers" that come with the grommets. To put it another way, I run both the meat temp probe and the air temp probe through the grommets and then seal the grommets with the plugs, which allows me to put the air temp probe in different places inside the smoker. I went so far as to cut a small "V" shaped notch in the length of the plug for the probe wire to fit in so the plug doesn't pinch the wire.
Hope this helps.