Bandera replacement thermometer -best positions/types...(what she said hahaha)

I need to do that too. One of these days I will rebuild my Bandera. But I just built a UDS so she is on the back burner again.

I dont have a Bandera but I just bought this River Country for about 1/2 the price of the Tel Tru and its very nice.

It even has an adjustment screw on the back if you need to fine tune the calibration

its very heavy and well made ss unit

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DKUB2U/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

fatty said:

Hey Butt burner...it looks nice, and cheap to boot! haw is it working so far...any other comments...
Thanks

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its fine or I would not have mentioned it

2nd for the River Country Thermos.. have had mine on my large offset for well over a year.. and no problems here

Another vote for the River Country thermometer. I placed mine in the location that the original was in. I then put the original down about where the heat enters the chamber. I don't know why other than "just because". I guess it looks neat.



Two holes on the side and a magnetic tray for the Maverick and its two probes:


Probes run through little corks to seal up the holes when in use. This is before paint, but gives you an idea of the concept. Works beautifully:

fatty said:

Bvbull200 nice work... I was thinking something very similar... when you are cooking what do the gauges say, what is the temp difference between them all.

Thanks

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I usually cook at a level pretty close to where the top gauge is. When I'm still a ways off from the IT mattering much, I use the food probe as a pit probe and put it on the side of the meat nearest the firebox. I always put the actual pit probe near the meat, but on the side opposite the firebox.

When the pit runs pretty steady, I'll get no more than about a 5-8 degree difference across all 3. The door gauge was calibrated before installing and has been tested once since then and it was still spot on (ice/boiling water test). It is every bit as accurate as my Maverick and I trust it much more. The Maverick has gone crazy on me a couple of times, but I can always be confident in the analog. The only downside is that, as an analog gauge, it reacts a little slower compared to a digital thermometer.

The bottom gauge, however, I couldn't tell you. It is the one that came with my Bandera and did test accurate. I think it reads a little higher than the others since it is right where the heat is entering the chamber, but I honestly never pay it any mind. I mostly put it there because I had it and I could.

Hope that all helps.

fatty said:

also what size stem is your therm the 4 inch?

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It is the 3". Plenty big, in my opinion, but if you wanted to spring for the 4", that'd work, too.

Here it is on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013FDUG2/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had a big TelTru in mine.

I liked it very much. It was accurate and large enough that I could look at a glance from inside the house or across the yard and see what the temperature was. Hard to see in the photo, (and may not be in this photo) but I put 225 degrees straight up. That way if I could see the needle, I knew what the temp was. Of course that is only 1 temperature and it is hotter below and cooler above. I learned how to use that temperature to estimate the racks below and above. Many people will tell you that 1 thermometer is not enough and that one is in the wrong place etc. and they are technically correct. But to me BBQ is more feel than an exact "70 minutes at 250 degrees" kind of thing. I could use that temperature and some experience with that cooker to decide if I had too much fire or not enough.

fatty said:

BVBULL200 thanks for the info fantastic! I am sold on the river country...Might get 2 and drill another hole for it...or go the maverick type set up you got there...thanks so much!
any other comments on your bandera Therm mods!

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If you plan on getting a Maverick, you'll see diminishing returns on a second analog thermometer, in my opinion. You'll learn pretty quickly what the temp difference is on different racks with the Maverick so that the temp at a second fixed point won't be as important. It is like what mark said about learning his pit. Once you figure out the temp difference throughout the pit, you only really need the one reading to tell you what the rest of the pit is at. A second analog gauge is just redundant information. Hope that makes sense. It's less than $20 to add a second River Country, so if you want to do it anyways, it isn't going to cost you much.

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is put the holes for my Maverick probes just above the middle rack instead of just below. It would have made it easier to run the probes in to the chamber and put them on the middle rack or higher without having to go through the middle rack. 2 inches higher would have made a big difference.

Good luck.

fatty said:

Thanks!
So far I like dropping one therm on a rope through the chimney and using the door one...your right that might be enough... I really still do cook by eye and meat internal temp...out side therms are really a guide...Hey can you tell me about your experince with how your bandera burns through wood/charcoal how long to heat up how long it takes till you need to add more fuel? etc...

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Sorry for the late response.

My Bandera probably takes around 45 minutes from lighting the chimney to getting up to temp. I say that without having ever really paid attention. I do know that I can usually have the meat on about an hour after I get up and there is some prep work before getting everything lit, so that is probably a decent estimate. This is for a steady temp around 240* (my Bandera's favorite temperature).

Make no mistake, this smoker is anything but fuel efficient. On a 13 hour smoke, I'm probably in the neighborhood of 20 pounds of charcoal briquettes and lump combined, with another couple handfuls of wood chunks. When I set my coal basket up and start it using the minion method, the initial light probably runs for about 6-8 hours, with only 1 or 2 wood chunks added along the way for keeping my preferred smoke flavor before the rising internal temps close that window.

From there, it is just adding a handful of briquettes to whichever side of the basket isn't burning (my basket is in my build thread) and I do that every 1-2 hours. I could probably save a few pounds of charcoal if I just trust the temps that a tiny pile of glowing briquettes puts out, but I typically overcompensate and have heat for a few hours longer than is necessary. That Outdoor Gourmet charcoal from Academy is great, in my opinion, and only $5 for a 16.6 lb bad, so I'm not too worried about wasting a little.

Now, all fuel efficiency aside (or deficiency), there are two mods that I have not done, but will probably really help. I don't have any gasket added to my smoke chamber door. I have a rope gasket, I've just been too lazy to buy some high-temp silicone or whatever else I need to put it on the door. I could get a better seal on my door and save a little fuel I'm sure. I also opted not to put the piece of sheet metal across the bottom of the lid on the firebox, but now think that would be a good idea. I can probably make my paint last a bit longer on the lid and I think it could be really helpful with fuel economy now that I think about it. I have some extra sheet laying around, just need to get the angle grinder out and have my buddy tack weld it into place.

Hope that helps and good luck with it! I'm pretty new to all of this myself, but have been reading a lot and paying close attention to all of my cooks.