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Temp difference - HUGE difference!

Just got a Maverick et732 yesterday. Doing test bird today. Preheated BGE to 350, per Mavericks temp on grate. Dome says 250ish, maverick rads 370s. What the heck, normal?!

Comments

  • Direct?

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Yeah, in a direct setting, that's pretty much what I would expect.
  • Assuming your dome thermo is calibrated:

    If you've got the platesetter in, make sure the probe is over the ceramic and not over the flame.

    Aside from that, the best I can think of is that the dome ceramic is still cool. You should see the Maverick and the BGE thermo approach each other throughout the cook from opposite directions -- except usually it's grate level that's low and dome that is high.
  • Sorry, indirect. PS is under grate. So I SHOULD go off the mavericks temp reading when indirect cooking?
  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
    edited November 2012
    Radiant heat will read hotter than the air temp.  I would recommend against using the maverick probe without the plate setter, the wires don't like direct heat.  Wrapping the wire in tin foil helps.

    Gerhard
  • I have it over the plate, yes.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    edited November 2012

    Here's some collective thoughts on the temp issue-

    Okay- as you are aware, most likely with indirect ( heat deflector in place) cooks the dome thermo will run about 20-40*f higher than the grate when starting out.  Longer the dome is shut the less the temp difference.  On direct cooks, the grate will get the full measure of heat from the lump and the dome will be lower than the cooking surface (delta T varies quite a bit). Raised grid- gets you further from the lump and closer to the dome temp.  Just make sure your dome thermo is calibrated, pick an indication and go with it.

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • Have you tried swapping the probes?

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • No, I just got it yesterday. I think my grate probe is too close to the edge of the plate.
  • I did put ice on the breast to cool that off prior to smoking, and my food probe is a bit high. We'll test her out in a bit ...
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    A couple of months ago, I did an experiment to see how long it took to get to a dome temp of 250, direct, indirect w. a drip pan, drip pan w. water, and indirect w. a platesetter. W. the platesetter, it took about twice the time to get to 250. But another thing I noticed, using an IR thermometer, was that the platesetter was over 600F with a dome of 250. I'm a little surprised by what you are recording, but not astonished.

    Note that if the Maverick probe was within an inch or so of a big hunk of meat, it might be even cooler than the dome. At least from my tests.

    On the whole, an Egg holds a steadier temperature than most home ovens. Don't fuss too much about exact temperatures. A dome therm temp is just a good rule of thumb in most cases. Always watch the food temp.

    If you want precision, look into sous-vide.
  • Calibrate your dome thermometer.
  • Yup, the 12# bird has been in for 2 hrs.  The breast reads 174 and when I pulled it out it was pink.  :(

    I'm adjusting temp, to be that of the actual dome temp of 350.  Good thing I'm doing a test run!!  Let's hope the rest goes smoothly ...

  • Looking back, I think I see my mistake.  Directions say: Preheat to 350* without plate setter.

    Lesson learned.

    And this is probably why I'm doing the hard/time consuming cooking on my husband's gift!

  • njl
    njl Posts: 1,123
    What directions?
  • On the BGE recipe site. It was raw 3/4 of the way thru. :(. At least we had enough for a meal. Using this thing, the egg, is a lot of trial and error, isn't it?
  • Was the food probe too close to the outside maybe? Use the Maverick as a guide and an instant read to check the rest when the Mav says done.
  • Could be. I had the probe in the breast facing towards the front. It was the part closest to the wish bone that was raw, and the thighs