Grate temps vs. Dome temp

MJQ8 · December 2012

Hey everyone: 2 months into my rookie season and am getting schooled by my LBGE most every time in one area or another. That is OK with me though because I am learning a lot of things that were not even on my radar 2 months ago. You guys have been a GREAT Resource. Thanks for all of your help.

My question today is how important is it to know grate temp vs. dome temp and does it make a huge difference and does it really matter?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Austin Egghead · December 2012

Some time ago there was a post about the difference between dome temp and grate temp using various set ups. If you can't find the post using search then do a google search.
If I remember correctly direct cook grate temp higher than dome, indirect with plate setter dome was higher than grate

Fred19Flintstone · December 2012

I agree with @AustinEgghead about direct & indirect and where the temps are during those setups. The only thing I would add is during a low & slow cook, after a while the dome and the grid temps usually become equal +/- a few degrees.

Nature Boy · December 2012

Howdy Mike.
This forum is, indeed, an awesome resource, and it sure will shorten your learning curve. Knowing what the temp is down around your meat is VERY important, especially if you are looking for consistency. The only predictable thing I have found, is that it can be very unpredictable from cook to cook. Even if you use the same setup as you did last time, the way the meat is placed in, and the way the fire is burning can yield totally different airflow patterns. Then just when you think you have it figured out, things will run differently. So the observation factor becomes key. Us all your senses to determine how the cook is going, and extra temperature probes in different spots of the cooker will help you see what is happening.
Cheers!
Chris

TonyA · December 2012

I think one of the most important things to know about dome/grate temp is that while it can start around 30-50 deg different indirect, they merge over time. It's been my experience that the dome usually comes down toward the grate temp and it can take hours! This is why guys who want to do an overnight at 250 will get the dome there .. they really only have a 200 degree grate and will wind up losing their fires sometimes. Get the dome to 300 .. it's probalby more like 250-275 at the grate.

Direct will work pretty mcuh the same as any other grill in principle.

+/-25 degree temperature fluctutions are probably not going to ruin a cook for you - even on chicken or ribs. Get a good instant read thermometer and learn how meats increase in temperature while they are cooking. I'd look around here for some tried and true techniques (there are many .. pick one that suits your needs) on given meats and stick with it until you master it before branching out.

lousubcap · December 2012

Opinion here and we all know what those are like-All BGE's come with a dome thermo. Calibrated it is a reference regarding what is happening inside the BGE. You can add more thermos and you will get more data about what is happening. You can get yourself into data/information overload. Understand whatever temperature source means with respect to the type cook (direct, indirect, raised grid etc) you are doing and get comforatble with how to use that info to manage the cook. Don't make it too complicated.

Skiddymarker · December 2012

Austin Egghead said:

Some time ago there was a post about the difference between dome temp and grate temp using various set ups. If you can't find the post using search then do a google search.
If I remember correctly direct cook grate temp higher than dome, indirect with plate setter dome was higher than grate

Austin has it right except, and not a big deal, but sometimes using the correct terminology can really help, specially when asking for help from some of the veteran eggers. The grate is the thing the lump sits on deep in the fire box, the place you put your food is a grid.

On a direct cook the cooking grid is hotter than the dome, it is exposed to the burning lump. On an indirect cook the dome is hotter than the cooking grid, it is sheltered from the lump by the setter or stone. Usually, on long indirect cooks, where the dome is left closed, the grid and dome temps will often be identical.

MJQ8 · December 2012

Thanks everyone for your response. SkiddyMarker, thanks, you are right. I should have used the term grid instead of grate as that is what I was looking for originally. Enjoy your weekends!

nolaegghead · December 2012

A regular grid is a tessellation of n-dimensional Euclidean space by congruent parallelotopes (e.g. bricks)
:-O

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Grate temps vs. Dome temp

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