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How to use probe to measure dome temps...

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chasgh
chasgh Posts: 64
in EggHead Forum
I recently received a Tappecue from the wife as a gift.  The first time using it I set a probe on the grate and another in the meat and it worked great.  However, I cook by the temp on the guage in the dome and there is quite a difference in the grate temp and the dome.  Id like to position a probe where it measures dome temps and that would closely compare with the egg guage so that I can accurately monitor any temp changes during the cook.  Of course the advantage to the Tappecue is that it connects to wifi and you can monitor cooks remotely anywhere.  Any tips on how to secure a probe up there so that it will stay during the cook?
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  • SmokingPiney
    SmokingPiney Posts: 2,282
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    chasgh said:
    I cook by the temp on the guage in the dome and there is quite a difference in the grate temp and the dome.  
    That has been my experience with my Maverick. I have also noticed the readings will converge over time in a longer cook. I set the temp with the dome and note the temp on the grate probe. 
    South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS 
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  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
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    You can try removing the dome thermometer and inserting one of the probes through that hole.  Depends on the diameter of the Tappacue probe.  Or, you can buy a clip like this from an electrical store ... slide over the end of the Tappacue probe and clip to the stem on the dome thermometer.



    Please come back and tell us your final solution.

    Also, it'd be great if, after using it for awhile, you wrote a post on the good, bad, and ugly of the Tappacue unit.  On paper it seems to combine the best features of the Maverick and iGrill with the addition of wifi, but expensive enough for folks like me to flinch at being first in line to try it.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

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  • chasgh
    chasgh Posts: 64
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    I liked the idea you mentioned above though didnt make it by the hardware store to buy the clip. I was able to simply loop the probe through the inside of the egg thermometer and let it hang from that.  The Tappecue has performed perfectly so far.  Put the butt on at 10:30 last night.  Woke up at 5 and looked at my Tap app and saw Id lost some temp likely due to a cold cold rain.  Got out of bed and opened up the vents to get some air in to raise the temps.  Its been almost 12 hours and at 175 I figure I still have 2 more to go.  Im a big fan of the Tap so far.  I think durability will be the ultimate test though.  Sure hate to pay that much for something and it only works a few times.  I'll keep you updated as time goes by but so far its been great.  
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    This topic comes up a lot. It really doesn't matter all that much as the temps within a kamado vary widely. The grid temp is where the food cooks and is often the most used. The dome is typically 30-40ºF higher than grid for indirect cooks and 30-40ºF lower than grid for direct cooks. On lengthy indirect cooks the temps will get closer together as the cook gets longer, by the 5th or 6th hour my MBGE reads pretty much the same grid vs dome. 
    Sometimes, too much information can be its own problem. I can't wait to get a particulate sniffer that will tell me exactly how my smoke wood is doing.....
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
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    It varies by doesn't mater much at all. They come together on longer cooks but usually start out around 20 or so degrees different in my experience. I usually have higher dome temp but last butt cook and brisket cook today have started with hotter grate temp than dome. Again they come together. No worries just cook away and enjoy the booze
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
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    Airflow inside our eggs is both turbulent and constantly changing.  The norm is as @Skiddymaker pointed out above.  But, don't get too excited if things go haywire.  Here is a cook I did pre-Flameboss when the weather was bad and I was bored:

    The dome temp for most of the cook lagged the pit by about 25 degrees.  Then, for no apparent reason, at 11 hours into the cook it jumped almost 50 degrees until it was hotter than the grill temperature ... labeled as pit temp in the above graph.

    That's about the time I stopped being a domer and started measuring the temperature where the protein resides ... just above the grill.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

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