Higher Grate Temp vs. Dome Temp

PENSfan

Hey everyone, I'm new to posting in the forum, but have been following for over a year and a half when I got my large BGE.  I've had an anomaly with my egg it seems.  Whenever I do a long smoke, my grate temp is consistently 25 degrees higher than my done temp.  I've done the boil test on BGE dome thermometer and also on my digi-q probe and they are spot on.

I put a 10lb butt on last night after letting the egg come to temp (225 degrees) and smoke to lighten, then I added a drip pan on top of the plate setter with apple cider vinegar and apple juice, I put my preheated cast iron grate on and then placed the butt about 2/3 of the way to the rear of the egg.  My grate probe I put at the 3 o'clock position clipped to the grate about 4 inches from the meat and above the plate setter (not the openings around it).  This has happened ever since I got my egg, but I go with the grate temp of 225 and food comes out amazing.  Just wondering if anyone can help me out with an explanation or tell me if I'm doing something wrong.  Thanks everyone and Happy 4th of July!

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and continue to enjoy the journey.  I am of no help other than to offer that you pick one indicator, know how the BGE behaves with that and run with it.
Do the temps equalize over time or do you see a constant off-set throughout the cook?  Asking, as for most the temps converge as the cook progresses.

PENSfan

Thank you, it's been a fun journey so far!  That's basically what I've been doing, and it's been working.  Towards the end they converge and are within 5 degrees of each other.  

AVEngineer

I never use my cast iron grate for low and slows. I wonder if the grate had anything to do with it. Have you noticed the same difference when using the SS grate?

Foghorn

Thermometer proximity to a large cold hunk of meat is important.  If you want to drop your dome temp, just slide the butt forward on the grate closer to that thermometer.  With no meat on the grate, there is still a slight gradient at grate level with the center of the grate slightly lower as it is further from the rising heat.  So, if you want your grate temp higher, just move the thermometer more toward the periphery or toward the back if that is where the heat is mostly rising.  

We all like to think of the inside of our cooker as having one temp, but that's just not the case unless you have a VERY large cooker and an isolated heat source.  I used to get frustrated that when I loaded my XL full of wings, they didn't all cook at the same rate.  Then one day I was doing a cook where I just played to the differences - putting different foods in different areas of the grate - and it was an epiphany.  Since that time I have embraced the different temps and used them as an advantage. 

But for a brisket or butt cook, just pick one thermometer and cook it until it is done.

Toxarch

Mine are always different until near the end of the cook. 

PENSfan

Thanks everyone and lousubcap, I haven't used the SS grate in over a year, so I can't recall.  Like I said, everything turns out amazing going with the digi-q temp, I was just curious as I sat there taking in the smells with my coffee this morning.

1move

It's normal, the grate is much closer to the fire than the dome. The temps will equalize over time as it heats the ceramics and your cook/meat.

XC242

Welcome. When your food is amazing you're certainly not doing anything wrong. 

Foghorn

XC242 said:

Welcome. When your food is amazing you're certainly not doing anything wrong. 

And @XC242 drops the ultimate words of wisdom....

KiterTodd

Now, I follow the opposite rule of this (I use only the grate temp when I care, because that's where the food is).  But, it's a BGE meme, gotta share it...