Short background: Scored a Weber kettle OTG 2003. Finally got it cleaned up and ready for a trial heat. Loaded charcoal chimney with 55 K briquettes and set it over a lit soda can alcohol stove. Had hot coals in about 20 minutes with no newspaper ashes. Poured the coals in and spread them to opposite sides in equal amounts to create an indirect heat. I then connected my smoker temp probe to the ET-73 and turned both the transmitter and receiver units on. I hung the transmitter on a piece of boot lace from one of the handles to get it away from the grill. Temps jumped very very quickly. All looked good . . . then it happened.
I brought the receiver in next to the computer so I could take an occasional glance. After reading and posting I looked up and the display showed "HHH".
I pressed the smoker temp button and got a reading of 176*. ??????? I then went to the grill and looked at the transmitter and it displayed "HHH".
I didn't remember anything about HHH but thought it might mean "High" but I had not set any temp limits, high or low. I then looked up the user manual from the Maverick web page and did a search in the PDF. Sure enough, it states that the units will display "HHH" if the temperature exceeds 410*. It further states that this can damage the probe wires.
I don't know yet if I ruined my new ET-73, but I'm disappointed to know that I cannot use it to read temps in the Weber kettle. Everything I've read about temps on a charcoal grill say that low heat is 250*-350*, medium heat is 350*-450* and high heat is 450*-550* and higher. This means that the Maverick is useful only for low heat cooks.
The question: What do you Weber grill users choose for a thermometer? My OTG does NOT have one built in. I will buy one to drop into one of the air vent holes in the top, but I need to know what constitutes good value for money. There are tons of thermometers out there and many of them are crap - including some of the expensive ones. Can someone please recommend a good thermometer for the Weber grill - preferably one that doesn't require me to become a felon to afford it.
Thanks for listening.
I brought the receiver in next to the computer so I could take an occasional glance. After reading and posting I looked up and the display showed "HHH".
I pressed the smoker temp button and got a reading of 176*. ??????? I then went to the grill and looked at the transmitter and it displayed "HHH".
I didn't remember anything about HHH but thought it might mean "High" but I had not set any temp limits, high or low. I then looked up the user manual from the Maverick web page and did a search in the PDF. Sure enough, it states that the units will display "HHH" if the temperature exceeds 410*. It further states that this can damage the probe wires.
I don't know yet if I ruined my new ET-73, but I'm disappointed to know that I cannot use it to read temps in the Weber kettle. Everything I've read about temps on a charcoal grill say that low heat is 250*-350*, medium heat is 350*-450* and high heat is 450*-550* and higher. This means that the Maverick is useful only for low heat cooks.
The question: What do you Weber grill users choose for a thermometer? My OTG does NOT have one built in. I will buy one to drop into one of the air vent holes in the top, but I need to know what constitutes good value for money. There are tons of thermometers out there and many of them are crap - including some of the expensive ones. Can someone please recommend a good thermometer for the Weber grill - preferably one that doesn't require me to become a felon to afford it.
Thanks for listening.