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Wow, just tested my thermometers

JackGT
JackGT Posts: 64
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
I had never done this, and after blowing out two temp gauges on my large, I decided to boil some water and test my thermometers. And I got some interesting results.

In a pot of gently boiling water, my thermometers read anywhere from 190 to 250 degrees! Here's what I found (ymmv):

BGE thermapen style instant-read - 205
BGE temp gauge (taken from my large, after I accidentally fried it the other night, that Cowboy lump gets hot!) - 250
Three different probes with a Maverick Redi-Check unit - 190, 230, 220
Acu-rite digital thermometer - 210
No-name, similar to this one - 209

So some pretty interesting results. I'm going to pick up a new temp gauge for the egg this week and test before using. Check those thermometers!
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Comments

  • BigT
    BigT Posts: 385
    http://www.teltru.com/barbecue.asp


    hope this helps

    Big T
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  • JackGT
    JackGT Posts: 64
    That's awesome, thanks!
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    don't forget, you can re-calibrate the BGE thermo. turn the nut in the back as required
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,846
    There are some things in life you just don't want to know, multiple temperature readings in a cooker is one of them. And in life, sometimes you just have to put faith in one thing, for me a single thermometer is one of the faithful.......at least that's my story.....LOL!

    T
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
    Something I've done since the day I started this odyssey. Calibrating my thermometer(s) once every 6 or 8 weeks. Doesn't take long and saves a lot of confusion.
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  • BigChar
    BigChar Posts: 113
    I totally agree on the recalibration - Especially with the BGEs. I wa amazed how off my thermo was when I got it = alost 50 degrees cool! After reading JackGT's post, I now want to test all of those suckers. tjv - you are so right. Which do you trust. Boiling point of water is 212 for most of us flat lander, correct?
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  • DynaGreaseball
    DynaGreaseball Posts: 1,409
    Not as accurate as the calculator, but you can figure about 1° cooler than 212° for each 1000 feet above sea level.

    Hope that helps.
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Thermoworks (the Thermopen folks) has a Boiling Calculator.

    The link will ask for location and berometric pressure and the second option will help you look up the information requested.

    Follow the link http://www.thermoworks.com/software/bpcalc.html

    GG
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  • WileECoyote
    WileECoyote Posts: 516
    One thing to keep in mind: the accuracy of your thermometer doesn't really matter that much. As long as your thermometer is consistent and it doesn't swing wildly up or down from day to day then your temp readings will be reliable. You just have to cook often enough with your thermometer to learn what temps to cook various foods at, and for how long.

    Example: Thermometer A is dead accurate. I want to cook steak based on a recipe specifying 700+ sear for 2 minutes per side followed by 12 minutes at 400. I follow the recipe exactly. If I am using Thermometer B which is calibrated to read 50 degrees too high then I just sear at 750+ followed by a 450 cook for the remainder. Actual temps in the egg are the same in both scenarios so you get the same results.

    Sure, it may take you a little while to learn your thermometer and we would all want them to be dead accurate, however if you get a good thermometer that is consistent then you should learn the proper ranges for it and stick with it.

    And don't sweat the details in the recipes: remember that the people that made those recipes probably documented them based on inaccurate thermometers in the first place. And every egg is made just a little different, burns different, uses different fuel, different grates and grids, different food prep and portions, elevation changes, exterior temp and humidity fluctuations, etc. so you won't replicate anything with precision anyway.

    If you want to be a true tempera-phobe then get about a half dozen electronic probes which are accurate +/- 1 degree and mount them at various locations inside the egg. Above the grill, middle of the grill, side of the grill, top of the dome, middle of the dome, etc. Connect all of these to a laptop and record all of the data then plot it on a series of 3D graphs. Regardless of the perfect reading by your standard dome thermometer, you will find that the actual temperatures vary significantly throughout the interior of the egg and that they all change constantly throughout the duration of the cook. :ohmy:
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