Temperature measuring advise.

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amron

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Original poster
Dec 30, 2022
4
0
Hi , this is my first post , so please correct me where I'm wrong. I'll try to learn.
I'm building a smoker. it's a vertical 20" dia. old water tank. I would like to ask for your advise how to measure the temperature in it. I've seen that there are thermometers with a long probe that could be installed on the wall with the probe sticking inside towards the center of the smoker, but it seems to me that this method is not very comfortable to use and in addition, it might be quite risky to use, because it will be very easy to brake the probe while loading/unloading the smoker. I'm sure that your experience has found a better solution.
Thanx and a happy new year.
 
I have a couple of vertical drum smokers and I mounted a long-stem thermometer about 1.5" below my cooking grate, and it reaches to the center of the cooker. I like it because even though there is some convection action in a drum, the center zone can be 40° higher than the temp at the edge.
 
Hi , this is my first post , so please correct me where I'm wrong. I'll try to learn.
I'm building a smoker. it's a vertical 20" dia. old water tank. I would like to ask for your advise how to measure the temperature in it. I've seen that there are thermometers with a long probe that could be installed on the wall with the probe sticking inside towards the center of the smoker, but it seems to me that this method is not very comfortable to use and in addition, it might be quite risky to use, because it will be very easy to brake the probe while loading/unloading the smoker. I'm sure that your experience has found a better solution.
Thanx and a happy new year.
Hi Amron and welcome to the forum! Stop by the roll call and introduce yourself if you get the chance!
Good luck with your smoker build! Start a thread and post up pictures of your project!
 
Many will use a Tel Tru gauge and also an additional therm wired/wifi/bluetooth for grate and meat temp. These will allow you to monitor temps from inside your house. Thermopro or Inkbird are good brands for the additional therm.
 
Is this a hot water heater that is glass lined? If it is I wouldnt use it as the glass will pop off of it as it heats and cools, you might get the wrong seasonings
 
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I agree with BigW.
Many will use a Tel Tru gauge and also an additional therm wired/wifi/bluetooth for grate and meat temp. These will allow you to monitor temps from inside your house. Thermopro or Inkbird are good brands for the additional therm.
 
I don't even look at dome/lid gauges anymore. My Webers have them, but they measure temps at the dome/lid. My pellet grill doesn't have a lid gauge, and I'm not going to worry about installing one. I want to know the grate temp where my food is sitting. I have a Thermoworks smoke that has a grate probe, and a meat probe. Like other setups like mine, The Smoke has alarms for grate and meat temps. It also has a wireless sensor that I can carry inside to monitor what going on. Welcome to SMF btw!
 
The only therm I really use any more is the insta read. My 26 and WSM both have factory lid therms and I only use them to tell me if my smokers getting hotter or cooling down. I have a pretty good idea of the temp their running by the way I set them up, and if I'm off by a few degrees here or there I'm not sweating it.

Chris
 
I agree - "I have a pretty good idea of the temp their running by the way I set them up, and if I'm off by a few degrees here or there I'm not sweating it."

I can set up my Webber by the vents and charcoal placement and be fairly close. My first addition to my Webber was a Tel-Tru probe in the lid.

I do enjoy my "electronics" but could get by without them.
 
Hello and thank you all for your replies. as I've mentioned, I was thinking about a thermometer like the "tel tru" which I believe is a brand name. since my drum is one of 20" dia, I figured that the best one will be with about 10" stem. from what I've seen on the web, they're with shorter stems. I've seen on Aliexpress units with 12" and 6" stems. I will adopt "thirdeye"'s suggestion to install it right under the grate. attached a picture - as per "tbern"'s request. as you can see, it's the begging of the process, so it's not too late to have your remarks and make alterations according to them.
 

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