Ambient Temp Vs Dome Temp/Meater Probe

jwc6160

I have the meater probe and it seems to work fine, but i've noticed the ambient temp shown on the prob vs the dome temp is about 75 degrees off. For most of my cooks prior, I just used dome temp and then a thermo pen check every once in a while so seeing the ambient temp on the meater is throwing me off. Is this a normal discrepancy or is the meater just way off. I know there will be a difference in dome vs "grill" temp, but 75 degrees seems like a lot. If the meater is about right, should I be paying more attention to that than the dome temp? Thanks for any tips. 

OhioEgger

Given enough time, those temperatures will gradually move closer together.

lousubcap

Make sure your dome thermo is cal checked and go with it as you have done in the past.  Regarding the Meater how does the meat probe compare with your thermo pen?  If close then it is working and all you are seeing are the thermal gradients present in the BGE.  Those gradients also exist in your clock box.  FWIW-

Mark_B_Good

I have measured this more than a few times. At the start of the cook, I normally see that the grid is 50F to 60F colder than the dome temperature. By the end of the cook, the are about 5F to 10F apart.

I measured the grid temperature about 1" away from the meat I'm cooking.

jtcBoynton

Exact placement of a grid probe makes a big difference. Grid temps also typically vary during a cook even when the heat input is stable. 

jwc6160

jtcBoynton said:

Exact placement of a grid probe makes a big difference. Grid temps also typically vary during a cook even when the heat input is stable. 

This makes sense. The meater is just one probe so it would make sense that the ambient is showing even lower since it is so close to the meat. 

Langner91

Because it is so close to the item being cooked, it is important to set any "ambient" alarms to take that into consideration.

For instance, If I want an alarm to sound if my dome temp exceeds 300°F, I tell the Meater app to alert me if the Meater senses over 275°F.  That has worked really well for me.

danhoo

I bought meater mainly to use for rotisserie cooks, but I've also used it for pork butt. 

Meater ambient temp is always 20 to 40F lower than my thermoworks smoke ambient probe or my calibrated Tel-Tru on the dome of my BGE.

I have both an older smoke and a newer smoke X4 and both report the same ambient within a few degrees. 

The Meater meat probes are closer to the temps from my Thermoworks smoke meat probes but again lower. Usually within 5 to 10 degrees though.

I just factor this in. The Meater is great for roti chicken on the gasser which is why I bought it