Thermometer Not Working

EggLuver

OK, after reading last night's advice about calibrating my thermometer, I decided to try it. I got my water boiling and went to get the therm off the Egg. First thing I noticed was that the therm was on 200* and I didn't even have the Egg lit up!! I knew there was definitely a problem. So I used the wrench and set it up to 212* and nothing happened when I put it in the boiling water, which is what I think is supposed to happen. But the problem is, when I took it out, it dropped very little.

I even placed it in ice water after that and the lowest it went down to was about 175*. I then tried it in the boiling water again and it went back up to about 210*.

What do you think? Am I going to need to get a new one? If it just want drop lower than about 200*, I think I can still use it, but I've got to put it back on the cooker and fire it up to see if it's going to go higher than 212*. If it won't, then I KNOW I'll have to replace it.

Any ideas about what the problem might be?

FearlessGrill

From your post, I'm not clear on what you did. Here's how to calibrate. From what you've described, it sounds like you either have a broken / defective thermometer, or the calibration is way off.

1) Boil some water
2) Place the thermometer tip in the boiling water. Hold it there until it reads a constant temperature. Try not to burn yourself.
3) If the temp that it reads is not 212 degrees, use a wrench to turn the nut on the back until it reads 212 (altitude adjusted) when held in the water. You may need to do this a couple of times if you have to take the thermometer out of the water to turn the wrench.

If this doesn't do it, ask your dealer for a replacement if the Egg is relatively new. Some here, myself included, have replaced the OEM thermometer with models from Tel-Tru. They cost less than $20 if I remember correctly.

Hope this helps.

-John

DynaGreaseball

Just sounds like a bad one to me. When mine went out (similarly) I ordered one from Tel-Tru.

http://www.teltru.com/s-43-barbecue.aspx

It's been working for 2 years, right on the money...



The one I got has a longer stem than the BGE stock thermometer. That's why I have the pipe transition piece as a spacer. Some use wine bottle corks; some use nothing.

Good luck.

Rusty Rooster

Not really trying to be funny here, but I really doubt you cook below 210. If it is accurate at 212, then try to check it at a higher temp. If it is accurate at cooking temps what difference does it make ate coler temps. If it is inaccurate at higher temps, then it sounds like it needs to be replaced.

DynaGreaseball

If I understand EggLuver's post correctly, he set the dial at 212* when the thermometer was at ambient temperatures. Then when he put it in boiling water, it didn't move. Putting it in ice water then proved (to me at least) that it was stuck or sluggish. Would have been better if he had set the dial at about ambient temp before putting it in the boiling water.

Rusty Rooster

I may have misunderstood him, if it does not move at any temp, then yess, you are correct, it is likely broken.

AARONSCHRAM

Your stem may be just barely bent enough to make the red reader have contact with the face of the thermometer. I had this issue as well. If I tapped it, it would kind of straighten out.  Then I realized the stem was off just enough…