Smelling like smoke and loving it!!
My question(like many others) is temperature differential. The Maverick 733 shows
26 degrees higher than the smoker. The probe is clipped to the grate on the upper rack
and is not touching the rack. Do I listen to the Maverick or the smoker?
Bradley's thermometers are notorious for being, shall we say, less than stellar in terms of accuracy. I would certainly go with the reading you are getting from your maverick. If still unsure you can check the calibration on your maverick with the boiling water method. I do so periodically just for piece of mind but have yet to have more than a 2 degree discrepancy. Oh and hello from South Dakota! You will find a wealth of info here, and folks who are more than happy to answer any question you may have. One warning for you: there may yet be time for you to escape this addiction before it has you hopelessly in it's clutches, so carefully consider the consequences before you put that first piece of meat into your smoker!
Listen to the Maverick. My BDS4 is great but has pretty drastic temp swings. (20-25degf) For doing things that don't require very tight temp ranges you will be fine. You will quickly get used to dealing with them. Just keep using the Maverick and watch the Bradley temp also, you will start to see the temps swings, then set the smoker up accordingly.
Corey
I would go by the mav but I would clip it near the food you are going to cook. not on the top rack. If you have several racks then clip it on the bottom rack that has food on. Point is you want to read the temp near what you are cooking. welcome from Pa. :)