Why is my Smoke probe reading incorrectly?

GrateEggspectations

Am I missing something? Why is the meat probe reading so high while in ambient air temperature? It should match the grate probe.

paqman

what happens when you swap the probes?

nolaegghead

I've seen thermister and thermocouple probes go haywire when water gets in them.  Put your probes in the oven at 170F for a couple hours and see if that fixes, otherwise replace.

GrateEggspectations

@paqman: When I swap, the wonky reading follows the probe to the other channel. I anticipate this is indicative that the probe is the issue. 

@nolaegghead: I’ll try that, though I’m a bit surprised if this was the cause. This set is about a year old and has been used only once. The probes were washed very carefully by hand following use. 

nolaegghead

You could try soldering a new 3.5mm phone plug on the bad probe, but that's about all you can do before concluding it's fried.

paqman

high reading on a probe means the thermistor is toast…. When did you wash it?  If it is was today then what Nola said may help, if it was a long time ago, it is toast.  I doubt that changing the connector would help because you would get a much higher reading.  CA Paradis used to sell replacement probes.

PizzaFreak

My Xl is new and the thermostat readings in no way match the grate readings on my Fireboard 2. In fact, the temp readings are making long-term smokes VERY challenging. I want 225 degrees, 250 tops. What I am getting is much higher with the vents practically closed. I don't want to cook turbo, I am an old-school smoker. So far after 4 months, my Cookshack smoker blows the BGE away for overnight cooks. 

nolaegghead

PizzaFreak said:

My Xl is new and the thermostat readings in no way match the grate readings on my Fireboard 2. In fact, the temp readings are making long-term smokes VERY challenging. I want 225 degrees, 250 tops. What I am getting is much higher with the vents practically closed. I don't want to cook turbo, I am an old-school smoker. So far after 4 months, my Cookshack smoker blows the BGE away for overnight cooks. 

I would say that the BGE is not for you if you like cooking that low. 

nolaegghead

Followup - I am assuming that by "old school" you are putting emphasis on the process whereas compared to modern/progressive cooking would be more results oriented.

danhoo

@GrateEggspectations Check and clean the connector going into the base. I had bogus readings on one of my meat probes and it was not seating properly.  

<edit> this was on my smoke X, but the probes are interchangeable with the smoke so it might work </edit>

The TW warranty on probes is 6 months, but I would contact them anyway.  I've used email and they were very responsive, and followed up with them on chat. 

good luck and post back what you find.

nolaegghead

danhoo said:

@GrateEggspectations Check and clean the connector going into the base. I had bogus readings on one of my meat probes and it was not seating properly.  

<edit> this was on my smoke X, but the probes are interchangeable with the smoke so it might work </edit>

The TW warranty on probes is 6 months, but I would contact them anyway.  I've used email and they were very responsive, and followed up with them on chat. 

good luck and post back what you find.

Switching the probes and the problem following the probe pretty much rules out issues with the base unit.

nolaegghead

That said, I agree it's a good idea to keep those jacks and connectors clean.  I use De-Ox-It on everything with friction electrical contacts and it works miracles.  In this case, it won't fix his problem.

GrateEggspectations

Thanks all. I will contact Thermoworks and see what can be done about it. Like I said, used once, so I’m pretty disappointed. I’ll follow up by reporting on their response here. 

GrateEggspectations

Wow. That was fast. 2 min call to Thermoworks. They are sending a replacement meat probe. Didn’t even ask for proof of purchase (which is lucky, as this was a gift and while I could get the receipt from the givers, it would be awkward to tell them it had broken). 

Great customer service!

danhoo

nolaegghead said:

Switching the probes and the problem following the probe pretty much rules out issues with the base unit.

I agree the base unit has been ruled out.

I'd still clean the connector really well and press it firmly into the base and see if it improves.  It is worth a try IMO.


YMMV

GrateEggspectations

Little update to say that my replacement probe came in the mail today. Gotta say that I was most impressed that they sent me a new one no questions asked and without the need to show proof of purchase (it was a gift). Thanks Thermoworks!

Canugghead

Not surprised. I've  had  nothing but great experiences with Thermoworks products and customer service.

GrateEggspectations

The best part was that it was literally a two minute phone call (that my wife even made for me) from start to end. 

JohnInCarolina

GrateEggspectations said:

The best part was that it was literally a two minute phone call (that my wife even made for me) from start to end. 

“Can you make a call to see about getting my broken probe replaced by a fresh new probe that works?” - not a question I’d ever want to ask my wife, unless the goal was to make her laugh hysterically.

GrateEggspectations

JohnInCarolina said:

GrateEggspectations said:

The best part was that it was literally a two minute phone call (that my wife even made for me) from start to end. 

“Can you make a call to see about getting my probe replaced?” - not a question I’d ever want to ask my wife, unless the goal was to make her laugh hysterically.

Not a concern on my end - she has a wealth of evidence confirming truly exceptional functioning. 

We tend to divide up tasks in our household on the basis of skill and ability. This has her performing most administrative functions. Just don’t ask her to mow, clear snow, etc. 

fishlessman

PizzaFreak said:

My Xl is new and the thermostat readings in no way match the grate readings on my Fireboard 2. In fact, the temp readings are making long-term smokes VERY challenging. I want 225 degrees, 250 tops. What I am getting is much higher with the vents practically closed. I don't want to cook turbo, I am an old-school smoker. So far after 4 months, my Cookshack smoker blows the BGE away for overnight cooks. 

the lower vent setting for 225 is insanely closed. try opening it to the thickness of a credit card and then close it even more as it passes 225.  the top daisy is closed even more if thats what you have. 250 is actually a good temp for an old school low and slow in an egg