dome temp lower than grate temp

eggatorator · June 2008

Greetings All,
New Egg owner (Medium) and have had alot of over prior three weeks. Already melted gaskets doing TREX but grenerally have been very pleased.
One thing...did a 10 hour cook yesterday for pulled pork. It was absolutely the best I've ever made but I noticed something. I used my new Maverick grill grate probe for the first time and the grate temp was consistently 15 to 20 degrees higher through out the cook than the dome temp. I know this is contrary to what most people experience from my research here. I had the plate setter and a drip pan in place. I previously checked the dome thermometer and it seemed accurate. Just wondering if anyone else experienced the same thing.

Fidel · June 2008

Is is possible that the probe you had monitoring the grate temp was directly above one of the opening between the legs of the plate setter? That would explain it.

eggatorator · June 2008

I actually had the butt over to one side a little (only 6 lbs.) and the probe right against it (about an inch away) but I don't think it was above the leg vent. Something to check next itme though. Thanks for the response.

Big Easy Egg · June 2008

My dome temp on my XL always reads 30 to 40 degrees lower than my grid temp when cooking indirect. I have calibrated my dome thermometer and it is spot on. I know Keg posted a similar question yesterday.I thought it would be opposite given the design but I have the same results as you do.

UnConundrum · June 2008

I don't find it unusual at all for the dome to drop below the grid temp. This is especially true when the egg is indirect and there's a good size load consuming the BTUs. I've seen 50 degree drops in a dome temp from the start of a cook to the end, and then it returns....

I'll see if I can find a graph to demonstrate this and post a follow up later today.

fishlessman · June 2008

lots of things throw off the temps in different directions. cold meat too close to the dome therm or touching the dome therm. probe placement on the lower grid. water in a water pan, grid sitting on a drip pan instead of raised above it. stews in a dutch oven. too big of a pizza stone blocking air flow.

UnConundrum · June 2008

I found the graph. Follow this link and check out the lower pit graph. You'll see that the yellow line, which was the dome temp, dipped down below the pit temp mid cook, then raised back up towards the end. I believe the meat is soaking up the BTUs to dissolve the collagen, and when it's done, the BTUs are free again to heat the dome.... Just my two cents.

Stanley · June 2008

I'll be watching this thread with interest and would love to hear more from folks with pertinent data. My post a couple weeks ago about my less-than-successful first attempt at ribs drew responses from Platinum Eggers to the effect that my 230° dome was yielding 190° grate - not enough to cook ribs - and that I needed to bump to 250° dome.

eggatorator · June 2008

Thanks for the helpful information and the link!

Tuck · June 2008

I usually keep an oven thermometer on the grate when doing low and slow cooks, because of the variance between the dome and the grate. But I usually see the reverse of what you saw. My grate temps are lower than my dome temps.

eggatorator · June 2008

That seems to be the conventional wisdom. It seemed really strange to me so I put one of my old oven thermometers next to the Maverick probe and they read within 5 degrees of each other...15 - 20 less than the dome. Go figure?

Stanley · June 2008

OK, now I'm confused. Your original post said 15°-20° higher than dome. Which is it?

Coburn · July 2008

Same situation for me. In the process of cooking a 9 & 1/2 lb shoulder in a large BGE with a BBQ Guru ProCom 4. My pit probe is about 1 & 1/2" from the meat attached to the meat probe. My pit temp is reading 225* and dome is 200*

I believe UnConundrum assesment to be the issue. I have a drip pan with a couple of beers, plate setter, cast grill not to mention large butt soaking up BTUs. My last attempt cooking shoulder, I did not have liquid in the pan and the should was around 6 & 1/2 lbs; the dome temp was consistently 15-20* higher than the pit temp.

Pepper Monkey BBQ · January 2009

I don't know if anyone is still following this thread or not ... I have a large egg and have been cooking on it for about 6 months. I was learning a lot during the first couple of months, now I'm using it three or four times a week. Recently I did ribs and thought I had my timing perfect, but they came out over cooked (but still edible of course) ... started monitoring grate temp vs. dome temp and my difference after the egg has stabilized is about 20 deg (grate hotter than dome). The big thing I've noticed is that changing the vents changes the dome temperature instantly but the grate temp takes a good 20 minutes to cool down and even out. I think this is why I'm often done cooking "Early" compared to what I thought I'd be. Thoughts?

JM

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dome temp lower than grate temp

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