WSM Thermo Problems

txschutte

txschutte

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I have the girl loaded with eight shoulders totaling about 56lbs right now. The Weber dome thermo on my new 22.5 reads about 195*. Checked with a Thermapen and a Weber digital, both read 257*. Are the Weber dome thermos worth a crap, or is the load affecting the reading? If the dome thermos are indeed crap, is there a Tel-Tru replacement?

Thanks in advance.
 
http://www.thebbqguru.com/products/Eyelet-Assembly-for-WSM-%282-per-pack%29.html
Ive never trusted the thermo on the lid. It might be due to the load in the cooker, and position of the probe. I have the bbq-guru WSM eyelets on both of my WSMs. They replace the bolts holding the upper grate in place. they allow u to feed a remote thermo probe in w/o having have the lid cracked open or anything. Well worth the 10 bucks.
 
Last edited:
The one on my WSM 18 1/2 seems to be OK. Maybe you should remove it and check it in a pot of boiling water.
 
I think I'll call Weber customer service and see about a replacement if the problem continues. I have a 15lb brisket going on next. I really don't need to have brisket problems with a new smoker to get more "let Wyatt do it" fodder.
 
I have yet to have an owner of the newer style WSMs tell me the thermo was on.

Seems to me the closest was 20 degrees. Yours looks to be off 60+ degrees.

Not sure if there is a direct replacement, but you could use a uni-bit to enlarge the existing hole and add one of the other Tel-Tru thermos.
 
txschutte said:
I checked it out of the box. It read about 20* light. I didn't see any way to adjust.
Click to expand...

Well that's great. I never checked mine but have been comparing it to a digital that I put in the top vent. I've been thinking about testing the built in one and calibrating it. I guess I'll check it and If it's off more than my liking I'll give Weber a call.
 
J'ville Grill said:
Well that's great. I never checked mine but have been comparing it to a digital that I put in the top vent. I've been thinking about testing the built in one and calibrating it. I guess I'll check it and If it's off more than my liking I'll give Weber a call.
Click to expand...

No way to calibrate it.
 
So are the WSM thermos consistently reading lower than actual temp, or are they all over the place?
 
I have a newer 18.5" WSM and my dome thermometer reads fairly close to my digital probe. It does not stay right on track with it but it usually is within 15 degrees high or low.
 
I never trust the dome thermos. just not always accurate. I use my et 73 to monitor meat and smoker temp, and you can pick up one of these for about 35 bucks on amazon.
 
txschutte said:
No way to calibrate it.
Click to expand...

mark the point where water boils with some nail polish or permanent marker. that will give you 212, so you will have a pretty good idea of where 225 is. that's about the closest thing to calibration you'd be able to do

I think you can get a thermistor probe pretty cheap if you can figure out a way to mount it and hook it up to something. Then you would have an accurate digital readout all the time. (and you'd be able to save and analyze/graph your data for fun if you're a numbers nerd like me)
 
I removed my thermometer from the dome and replaced it with a much better thermometer with a threaded end and wingnut. Much better confidence and better results.
 
Neither of my dome thermometers read accurately -- neither on the kettle nor the WSM.

My iQue probe is in roughly the same position as the dome thermometer in the WSM, and the thermometer is consistently 20-25 degrees different.

CD
 
With a big load just maybe something is blocking the air flow to the probe , that happen sometime on my off set smokers
 
Hmm, I just put an oven thermometer on the rack with the meat. Check the dome temp then check the inside thermometer temp and just work with the offset in mind. So my thermometer on the side of my smoker reads 50 degrees higher than the thermometer in the center of the meat rack. I just run the outside temp at 300 knowing it is 250 where I am worried about it. I double check as the cook goes along once in a while. I totally understand wanting it to be right on but I am not sure that ever happens with the thermometer in the dome lid and the meat racks down lower.
 
I have a WSM and once had a real problem with the thermo. Turns out the sensor end was embedded in the turkey on the top grate.
 
Smart Bump

I had thermo problems on my WSM once that would be categorized as a Stupid User Error by the IT department. The sensor end of the thermo was embedded in the turkey.
 
As it sits right now,I'm on the third therm. The original seemed to keep up with the remote until it hit 275 and then stopped there,the first replacement they sent ran a good 25 degrees lower than the remote and the one I have in there now runs 15 degrees lower. Also the first 2 therms I had both fogged up to the point where you couldn't hardly read them.I'm pretty much convinced that almost all OEM therms in the lids are inaccurate. I am also taking into consideration the fact that lid and grate temps will be different because of location so maybe 15 degrees should be okay as long as this difference remains constant. But I have been wondering myself if maybe Tel-tru makes one that will fit where the new WSM therm is located.
 
I wouldn't trust a dome therm anyways, because it's not going to give an accurate reading of what the actual temp right below grate level is.

Not to mention, depending on how much cold meat is next to the therm, it's gonna read even lower. Nope, wouldn't even pay attention to it.

If I owned one, I'd probably perform a thermometer delete mod, and cover the hole with a small sheet of aluminum flashing or something.

Example of a simple therm delete mod:

Chili003.jpg


The lower thermometer that I installed has a 6" stem, so it sits right under the center of cooking grate. That I will trust :)

After about 2 cooks, the sheet aluminum is completely sealed up with bbq goodness.
 
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