Smoker thermometer 50° F off

[BXMurphy]

Just another warning about equipment thermometers being inaccurate.

I'm smoking two racks of ribs and it's taking six hours. Not too unusual except that at 275° F, I expected 3-4 hours. These are my first ribs on my new smoker so, you know, what do I know, right?

It's coming up on 11:00 p.m. and I'm getting impatient. I want to get to bed. An hour earlier, I threw an oven thermometer in there. I just checked. It's reading 225°. Man, thats the temp I set the smoker to when I started!

From here, on, I'm smoking with an independent thermometer at grill level! I'll buy a clip-on probe to read remotely, though. Sheesh!

Live and learn. And remember, kiddies, smart smokers smoke smartly! Or something like that...

Murph

 

[SmokinAl]

Ha Ha, great story!
At least you found out on the first cook!
Next smoke take some photo’s so we all can see that new rig!
Al

 

[chopsaw]

I threw an oven thermometer in there. I just checked. It's reading 225°

So how do you know the oven therm is right ?
If you doing these on your SmokeFire , the convection effect in it will cause different readings . It's all an average of high and low temps .
We do need a pic of the ribs though .

 

[sandyut]

What is brand of the smoker with the bad thermometer? If its a dial you cant do much besides painting it black or filling the hole. I think some pellet grills allow you to calibrate the thermometer and probes.

My WSM was ridiculously off. I sent an email to Weber, they sent another that still considerably off, just not as far off as the original. I went straight to a Thermoworks DOT with an air probe.

 

[gmc2003]

I've given up on the built in lid therms. I only use them to tell if the temp is rising or dropping. I rely on a small stand up oven therm that sits on the grate near the meat. Once that therm tells me I'm at my desired temp then I look at the lid therm to see what it's reading and judge from there. For most smokes I'm not to fussy about the actual temp. I just want to be in the ballpark.

Chris

 

[Bearcarver]

Yup---Murph !!
Can't trust Therms, unless you check them out.
My Mavericks were easy to check. A pot of boiling water reading 212° at my 300' ASL.
Then I always put them a few inches from the meat I'm watching. That's close enough to be accurate on the Smoker Temp, but far enough away to not be affected by the cold meat in the beginning of the Smoke.

Bear

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Yep! Just about all built in thermometers and meat probes are junk. Never trust them.

 

[BXMurphy]

So how do you know the oven therm is right ?
If you doing these on your SmokeFire , the convection effect in it will cause different readings . It's all an average of high and low temps .
We do need a pic of the ribs though .

A man with one watch knows exactly what time it is. A man with two watches is never quite sure...

Murph

 

[BurntWeenie]

As a scientist I always calibrate my instruments

 

[BXMurphy]

What is brand of the smoker with the bad thermometer? If its a dial you cant do much besides painting it black or filling the hole. I think some pellet grills allow you to calibrate the thermometer and probes.

My WSM was ridiculously off. I sent an email to Weber, they sent another that still considerably off, just not as far off as the original. I went straight to a Thermoworks DOT with an air probe.

I'm reading almost everywhere that they are all trash such that I don't want to take away from my SmokeFire too much. I knew this could be an issue but when the stall (I thought) lasted like two hours and I noticed I could move the dial on internal temperature when I adjusted the smoker higher, it began to dawn on me.

I've read that it's key to keep the probes clean - which I didn't. I'll try that but will never trust it again.

I should add that I not yet much of a cook. So, that doesn't help.

Mrs. Murphy said the ribs are a dehydrated mess. I'll cut 'em open to see if there is a smoke ring and dry them for dog treats or maybe a stew. Hmmm...

Murph

 

[BXMurphy]

As a scientist I always calibrate my instruments

Right? Good point! ('Course.. my father always said that I had a good point but that if I wore a hat.. nobody would notice!)

Yuk yuk!

Murph

 

[BXMurphy]

Yep! Just about all built in thermometers and meat probes are junk. Never trust them.

Wait... what? Meat probes, too?!? <gulp>

 

[Sven Svensson]

Always good to boil your probes (and consider altitude when doing it). And it's good to have one guaranteed good thermometer like a ThermaPen to check the cheap ones against. Glad you caught it.

 

[BXMurphy]

Yup---Murph !!
Can't trust Therms, unless you check them out.
My Mavericks were easy to check. A pot of boiling water reading 212° at my 300' ASL.
Then I always put them a few inches from the meat I'm watching. That's close enough to be accurate on the Smoker Temp, but far enough away to not be affected by the cold meat in the beginning of the Smoke.

Bear

Hmph. Good idea. I'm going to have to mull this one over.. I'm about 100' ASL. What are you doing, putting probes in water inside the smoker or just checking them out the counter or stovetop and doing a mental calibration?

Murph

 

[BurntWeenie]

Thermapens are NIST calibrate which in my is worth not burning a waygu brisket

 

[BigW.]

Hmph. Good idea. I'm going to have to mull this one over.. I'm about 100' ASL. What are you doing, putting probes in water inside the smoker or just checking them out the counter or stovetop and doing a mental calibration?

Murph

Do a stove top test to see if the probes are accurate. Then when you use them, you trust the probes. You can ignore smoker thermometer and use tested accurate probe. You can can choose Thermapen, Inkbird or many others.

 

[BXMurphy]

I have an Alpha Grillers thermometer coming tomorrow. Will that work? Test it, right?

Limited-time deal: Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer for Grill and Cooking. Best Waterproof Ultra Fast Thermometer with Backlight & Calibration. Digital Food Probe for Kitchen, Outdoor Grilling and BBQ!

 

[chopsaw]

A man with one watch knows exactly what time it is. A man with two watches is never quite sure...

A guy came up to me one time and asked if I had a watch , I said yes .
He asked what time it was , I said I don't know it's at home .
So sometimes even a guy with one watch doesn't know .

Just give yourself some time to learn that SmokeFire . Took me 4 or five cooks to be comfortable with it . The convection effect really threw me off at first .
I was coming off the smoker to early in my case . Cooked to a safe temp , just not quite there .

 

[SmokyMose]

I'm having a hard time trusting ANY thermometers anymore. I just use them to get a ballpark idea and then rely on sight, feel and gut....

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Wait... what? Meat probes, too?!? <gulp>

I am afraid so. The meat probe in my electric smoker is 10° under actual. Yet the chamber probe is dead on. It is always a good idea to keep all of your probes clean as well.