How do you monitor your smoker temps?

[Hoorenga]

My Brinkman Stillwater came with a nice professional lid thermometer that I have found to be quite accurate, once I figured out that it reads a few degrees lower than where the meat is. For my meat temps I use an Oregon Scintific, remote probe that I bought at Costco. Seems to work pretty well. Nice to be able to sit indoors and watch TV on a wet chilly day while your meat is cookin'.

 

[C-Town Smoker]

I stick the smoker probe of the Maverick ET-73 in the top vent hole of my WSM...then subtract 10-15 degrees for a grate temp.

 

[kcquer]

With the FE, I don't (this is for you Phil:tongue: :mrgreen: :twisted: ) other than to check the readout every now and again to see it's close to where I have the control set.

With the Brinkmanns' I've always gone with the door therms. Even the inaccurate cheapy on the BSKD is consistent and still reads 70 degrees low. When the therm sez 150 I got what I want. Would be nice to check temps from my easy chair, but then I'd have fewer excuses to "mind the smoker' and be unavailable for honey do's:wink:

 

[Greg Kemp]

I use a Costco purchase called "Oregon Scientific" only $25 thought it was going to fry but it has lasted for a few months now with a couple overniters and no problems. Of course it's not a guru but it tells me the temp. and has a remote temp reader I can clip on my pants and go up to 75 feet away.

Hi Greg Rempe! Hope all is well in Ohio!

Aloha!

Greg Kemp

 

[C-Town Smoker]

Aloha yourself Guava man!!

 

[Qczar]

I put a thermometer in the door, plus one on the back left side of the box up high and still another at the back lower right side of the box. All different readings at any given time so I`ll know what to put where and how long.

 

[Bigdog]

Lots of ways:
1) Door thermo-gives general pit temps
2) Triple Nu-temps-one in a potatoe in the center for general pit temps. The other 2 are in a hunk of pork or brisket.
3)Oven thermos-usually have a couple in the pit at various locations.
4)Long turkey type thermo-down the exaust vent for pit temps.
5)Looking at the meat-It will show you where the hot and cool spots are.
6)Feel-general knowledge learned from smoking sessions.

Note: I don't use all these, on each smoke, but do like to have at least 2 sources of pit temps.

 

[stan]

I use a combination of the nu temp and shelf thermometer. Once I get the temp where I want it I note what the door thermometer says. After that I am able to just glance at the door and do the math.

 

[OSD]

I use Nu-Temp probe--shelf thermo--door thermo.

 

[ThomEmery]

Hey OSD
The therm on the door works fine

 

[racer_81]

This works pretty good.

 

[RichardF]

This works pretty good.

Yep - That's how I'm going to spend the next $10G's I have laying around

 

[racer_81]

Yep - That's how I'm going to spend the next $10G's I have laying around

It's a little pricey, but it doubles as a Klingon Disrupter.

 

[Hoorenga]

I notice it still has the original owners name on it. Fluke, feel the force!

 

[Bill-Chicago]

I use Nu Temp

Down to my last probe. took 3 years of daily use ( it says its 23 in the yard now, and there is snow coming down)

I use the remotes 24/7. If I'm not cooking, I know what the outdoor temp is

 

[JohnMcD348]

I just started using a remote therm in my BSKD. Wife got it for me for Christmas. Until that time I was using the door therm( completely inaccurate), along with a couple of shelf therms inside and a probe type meat thermometer stuck in the exhaust vent to measure the escaping temps. Now that I have the remote probe, I'll actually(hopefully) turn out some better Que.

JTMcD.

 

[The_Kapn]

I use Nu Temp

Down to my last probe. took 3 years of daily use ( it says its 23 in the yard now, and there is snow coming down)

I use the remotes 24/7. If I'm not cooking, I know what the outdoor temp is

ChiBill, What a geat idea.
But, if it is 23--I really don't want to know :twisted:

I used to have Taylor probes "everywhere" :twisted:
Then, I "learned" my cookers and now just put a probe in the exhaust on either of them. That temp tells me what is going on all throughout the chamber. :lol:
Life is much easier now.

TIM

 

[kcquer]

Then, I "learned" my cookers and now just put a probe in the exhaust on either of them. That temp tells me what is going on all throughout the chamber. :lol:
Life is much easier now.

Tim, this is my approach as well, only i do it with a door therm. Once your know you gear a bit, what's happened over the last hour or hours becomes more important and more useful than what a therm says at any given instant.
With any cooker you're going to have peaks and dips, it's the mean of these over time that is the overall cooking environment, not a one second snapshot.

 

[allboy]

I also use a Maverick ET-73 dual probe, but I use a NU-Temp also. If I had to pick between the two.....I would pick the ET-73 hands down. I put a Tel-Tru with a 4" probe in my lid on my WSM. This is a nice unit.