Newbie temp questions.

[smoking reef]

So I have a char broil pro side box smoker with a POS thermometer I just replaced with a nice one I tested on boiling water and seemed to be spot on. My question is with the thermometer being halfway up the half barrel lid I'm getting readings of 280 while at the rack is 220. Is that right should there be that much of a differential in 6 inches in height. Will lowering my smoke stack via dryer duck down to the grate keep a more uniform and constant heat throughout? Or is my Weber instant read thermometer I'm sneaking under the lid at the grate not reading the right temp? I tried cooking ribs last weekend keeping the rack temp up to 230 which made the gauge on the lid read more around 300 and they came out like rubber with the 3 2 1 method 2 hours being in apple juice wrap and never got the meat to pull back exposing bone. I'm lost you know how us new guys are.

 

[noboundaries]

Go buy a cheap oven thermometer at the grocery store.  Below is a picture.  They cost like $5.  Put in on the rack in several places to get an idea of the actual grate temps.  Temps vary across a horizontal smoker.  Heck, temps vary in an oven. 

Dropping the exhaust will help with temps, but can interrupt air flow.  Just make sure you still have good flow through. 

Can there be a big difference between the door therm and the grate.  Yep, especially if the door therm is also a POS.  My Weber therm started with a 15-30F difference, and eventually grew to an 80F difference.  A River Country replacement fixed that issue.  Now my grate and lid match perfectly. 

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• noboundaries
• Apr 28, 2017

 

[Rings Я Us]

Yes.. oven thermometers are good ballpark temps.. 5 of those all side by side new ,will show to be about the same readings. I bought 3 once to check a new oven that had a bad thermocouple. They all showed my oven was off by 25° ... but they get old and need to be replaced once a year. This one is about 3° colder than my digital at 350.. lol 2 years old almost.

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• Rings Я Us
• Sep 15, 2017

 

[smoking reef]

Well with that being said do I need to get the temp I want at the rack or on the gauge on the lid? Or those of you familiar with this style grill should I do all the upgrades that are out there for my grill and see what happens. I know these are common sense questions really but I'm not a 100% die hard smoker just occasional backyard warrior so don't want 500 tied up in a grill just to get my grill "right" in the eyes of a pro, just good enough to make pretty good food. Thanks guys I'll leave those high dollar grills to you pros who know how to use them.

 

[gmc2003]

Like mentioned above get an oven therm. You want to go by the grate temp, As far as the vent tube extension - most do that mode to get more smoke on the meat. I wouldn't make any modes to the grill until you start using it and see which ones are needed. Some people go whole hog wild with modifications that aren't needed, but tinkering is what their into.

Chris 

 

[smoking reef]

Tinkering and rigging is my specialty haha but I also live with if it sing broke don't fix it. I just see all these guys with horizontal side box grills going strictly off their lid thermometers and cooking 250 on the nose and getting good food out of it. 250 my grate is only 190ish so it takes me longer. I also don't want to keep opening the lid to check temp I guess the wireless grate thermometers is what I need