Which therm to trust & adjusting temp?

OzarkQ

My butt is coasting in the egg right now - the dome says 250' and the maverick grid probe says 209'. I set alarms last night and they went off twice for triggers at 200' and 245'. Once it got to 199' and the other time it went high because I over compensated. Which therm should I trust?

Also - when the temp goes down like that, is it enough usually to just adjust a vent? I ended up blowing through the bottom vent a bit to stoke things so I didn't have to wait so long before making sure the temp would change and being able to go back to sleep! :blink:

Geoff

Michael B

Have you checked the calibration of the two thermometers?

There will be a real difference between dome and grate temps. If the plate setter is positioned with an opening center front, and your grate therm is protected from any direct heat by the plate setter, the two will show a big difference.

> when the temp goes down like that, is
> it enough usually to just adjust a vent?

A temp drop after a long stable period, all else remaining the same, is generally caused by a build up of ash and small coals blocking the air flow. Using a wiggle rod to clear these is a good idea.

After your BGE has cooled down, make sure the fire grate is placed with the tapered side of the holes on the bottom. When setting the coal bed for long cooks in the future, place a few large pieces on the bottom.


All-in-all, sounds like a successful night.

thirdeye

I monitor the actual temp at the grate, since that is where you are cooking. It will be lower than your dome thermometer. After a while you will figure out how to watch the dome thermometer and sort of compensate to get a real good guess on your actual temp.



Build one of these to stimulate the coals when needed, like before turning in or if your cooker is ramping down slowly. Much easier than blowing in the vent and risking a temp spike.

OzarkQ

I did make a coat hangar wriggle rod - but I ran out of coals on the cook. I will start a new post..