Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Dome vs Grate Temp

Santa brought me the BGE dual probe wireless thermostat, so had to do a butt today. Laid it out late and decided to do my first turbo. Kept it between 325-350 most of the time.  Took six hours to do an 8 pounder. FTC'd it and will eat in an hour or two. My question is the variant in the grate and dome temp. Grate ran about 30 degrees hotter than the dome. I have never calibrated the dome thermostat, so I was wondering if that was normal. 
LBGE 
FWB, FL

Comments

  • Hub
    Hub Posts: 927
    My experience is just the opposite.  My dome temp usually runs 30-50 degrees higher than my grid temperature.
    Beautiful and lovely Villa Rica, Georgia
  • mvnole
    mvnole Posts: 54
    I better calibrate my thermometer then. 
    LBGE 
    FWB, FL
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,761
    edited December 2015
    If you have meat or a drip/water pan in the egg, the dome temp is going to be lower.......25, 35, maybe 50F?  Who knows, just depends on the conditions.

    There's a lot of evaporation and heat being sucked up by the time it hits the top.  Also, if you have a big chunk of meat, the dome temp gauge might be hitting the meat itself.  The dome temp gauges are usually junk, so calibrate often.  Smokeware's replacement one is pretty nice--I have them in all three of my eggs.

    Also, be vigilant on where you place the maverick probes on the grate.  You could be getting a false reading if they're directly in the heat (high), or a low reading if they're too close to the ceramic, meat, or drip pan.
  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    Once mine settles in on a low n slow I see very little difference between the two. 
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    Most people report dome temps to be higher than grate temps.  Difference between grate and dome varies.  Proper placement of the grate probe is important.  Too close to the edge and it will pick up hot air coming around the indirect plate. Too close to the meat and it will read cold until the meat has been cooking for a while.  Placed over a drip pan with liquid it will read low.  Open grill space is usually very had to find in an egg, making it difficult to properly place a grate probe.  

    One option is to use the probe in the dome.  If it fits, you can use it in place of the cheap thermometer that came with the egg.  


    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
  • Your experience of dome temp being ~30 degrees less than grate mirrors mine
  • Does anyone besides me clip their grid probe to the underside of their dome thermometer?  I got accustomed to using dome temps before getting my maverick and that's the temp I want the controller to show.  Even with their clips looped together, they will often vary, particularly until the Egg settles in and is staying at a constant temp.  I was tempted to try to enlarge the dome probe opening so I could insert the grid probe in its place, but am sure that would be the end of my warranty, so it gets clipped onto the underside.

    Tommy 

    Middle of Nowhere, Northern Kentucky
       1 M, 1 XL, a BlackStone,1 old Webber, a Border Collie, a German Shepherd and 3 of her pups, and 2 Yorkies