Dome temp vs. Grill temp?

Ottawa_egger

What is the relationship b/n dome temp and grill temp? I did some ribs on a plate setter (i.e. with grill roughly even with the egg opening), and my carefully calibrated dome thermo read 300 degrees while my cheap oven thermo read about 220-230 on the grill. Even assuming the cheapo was off by 20 degrees, that would still give me a dome vs. grill gap of ~50-60 degrees. Is this the norm?[p]ottawa_egger

Dos Huevos

Ottawa_egger,[p]Mine's more like 25 instead of 50, at least in the left egg. I've not yet tried that test in the right one.[p]From what I've heard here, the difference can be from 20 to 50 degrees difference between the two...

AZRP

Ottawa_egger,
Was the meat still cold? The dome and grate temps get closer to the same as the meat cooks. -RP

gdenby

Ottawa_egger,[p]Being a newbie myself, I've been a little perplexed by the differences between dome and grill temp, and so have done a few measurements. The differences can be large in the simplest of set-ups. With direct cooks I've had temperatures both as high as 70 degrees greater at the raised grid, and 50 degrees lower. The variable seems to be how hot the coals have become recently. After opening and closing the dome, the temp in the upper part of the egg becomes quite low, but the coals down low really flare up. After awhile, the heat migrates to the top, and the lower part cools down some.[p]When you add any obstruction, you add a lot of variables. Primarily, the area directly above the obstruction becomes cooler. Something like a fire brick will absorb a lot of heat, while a drip pan can let more through. Sometimes the obstruction pushes the heat towards the outside, and I've measured temperatures thirty or forty degrees hotter around the edge than in the center of the grid.[p]Proximity to food can really effect a temp probe reading. I've measured 15 degrees difference when moving a probe about an inch and a half from a big hunk of cooking roast.[p]In the end, I assume that the raised grid in a low and slow indirect will be between 20 and 30 degrees cooler than the dome. So while I pay attention to the dome thermometer, I'm usually more interested in the meat temps my remote thermometer is showing, and make sure the meat is not directly over the glowing coals.[p]gdenby

BBQ-BoB

Ottawa_egger,
Did some ribs on my XL the other day using the plate setter and the thermo in the lid showed 400+and grate level with a trusted and checked probe thermo showed 300-311. Had the probe in a ball of foil sitting neat the center of the grate.