Temperature variance from side to side

[busmania]

I have a loaded yoder Wichita. I’ve used it about 6 times. The dome thermometers were tested in boiling water and within 5 degrees of each other. However, when cooking, the thermometer on the right, which is located at about grate level will be at 275 while he left, mounted towards the top left side is about 75 degrees less. This is pretty consistent. I am using the Yoder convection plate. I even tried using my own 1/4” by 3” wide baffles instead of the convection plate and had no luck. I also tried using a water pan on top of the lower grate which helped a little.

My questions. Is this just normal for a wood offset smoker? I’m thinking of adding some fire bricks too. Do I put them in the cooking chamber below convection plate, in fire box or both? Any other upgrades I can make?

Lastly, my wireless thermometers read way hotter than the temps in the installed thermometers. Like 50-100 degrees hotter at grate temp versus the thermometers that came with the smoker. Is this normal? Should I use grate thermometers or ditch them and go by the installed thermometers (which read way lower)?

Thanks!

 

[Smokin Okie]

I have an Old Country Brazos. I don't use tuning plates. And the hot spot in the cooking chamber can vary with how much air flow I allow, by opening or closing the firebox door. Wide open, and the heat moves to the stack end. Close the door and open the damper, and the heat is higher on the firebox end. I've found that airflow makes a big diff.

But I can't offer much on the Yoder, I have no experience with that smoker.

I put far more faith into my Maverick, then my TelTru bi-metal dial thermometers, though TelTru is suppose to be the best. My TelTru's always read 20 to 30* cooler than my Maverick remote.

And what's really odd, I have a Teltru in the lid of my 18" WSM. Its located down on cooking grate level. At the start of a cook it will read 25 to 50 degree cooler than my Mav, but by the end of a cook it will be in agreement with my Mav remote.

I did a test of a Vortex in my Weber Kettle, as to how hot it gets around the outside of the cooking grate. I have a TelTru in the lid of my Kettle, at grate level. And the Mav remote in this pic is not 2 inches from the TelTru. There's a 25* difference.