Temp question

[langmotorsports]

Hi all.....My bisquette burner died so I was going to replace just that....got the kart and realized they made a change and long story short ended up buying an entire smoke generator and the new temp sensor which I was told I have to change or my temps would be way off. Just out of curiosity I wanted to verify my temps were accurate..  Smoke generator set at 280 for my test and it says oven temp is at 280.   I put one oven thermometer low and one higher in the smoker to test temps.....bottom thermometer right above heated above heating element reads 240ish. Top thermometer on top rack reads 200.    I don’t like this at all for smoking purposes.    Anyone help me as to what’s going on or why I’m not getting solid temps per the digital read out.   I get the swing from top to bottom of the smoker but 40 degrees seems to be a lot.  Thanks in advance all.    I have lived the food coming out of the Bradley but it’s slow and I’m guessing my temp issue mentioned above has something to do with it

[Toker]

You must put your probe just right to the Bradley sensor for more even reading. I suspect that you placed your thermometer too far from the Bradley one and yes a temperature swing is normal. To fix this situation, I bought a pid controller and an convection fan. This way, my temperature is a lot more stable.

[langmotorsports]

Thanks!! I just bought the auber fan....hoping it helps.   Do you feel the PID will help also?  I have the digital smoke generator.  Which PID do you suggest ?    I’m not up on this at all and am not really understanding what a PID does differently than the normal controller.   Any help is much appreciated!!

[Toker]

This one is a real must despite of its price. You just need a 2,4 WiFi connection

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_28&products_id=702

[Habanero Smoker]

When you say oven thermometers, what type? Was it an oven dial thermometer, or a oven cord thermometers, or a remote oven cord thermometers. The dial thermometer you need to open the door to read it, thus you will loose heat. Also the dial types are not accurate, and can take up to 2 minutes to measure the temperature. Also Cook's Illustrated has an article on dial oven thermometers, and in that article they state the industry standard allow the readings to be off as much as 25°F.

The last two mentions, the probes are attached to cord that you run through the closed door, and the other end is attached to a base unit with a digital screen attached.

So it would be helpful if you mention the type of thermometer you used.

[langmotorsports]

I used the stand alone thermometers.  Got them off amazon.  I did wonder if they were maybe the problem so I set my home oven to 300 to test them........spot on read 300.   

[TedEbear]

How do you know if your house oven is accurate?  My fairly new $3,500 wall oven has an 18*F temp swing and was reading an average temp too high for the setpoint.  Fortunately, it has an offset temp calibration feature.  I used the temp probes that I use in my smoker to check it.  I verified that they are accurate by using the method below.

To test the thermometers, put the tips in a pan of boiling water, not touching the sides or bottom.  They should read 212*F.  Next, put the tips in a glass of ice water.  They should read 32*F.

[cathouse willy]

Thanks!! I just bought the auber fan....hoping it helps.   Do you feel the PID will help also?  I have the digital smoke generator.  Which PID do you suggest ?    I’m not up on this at all and am not really understanding what a PID does differently than the normal controller.   Any help is much appreciated!!

The temp controller in your digital smoker is very basic and is no more accurate than the one in the basic bradley,it allows +/- 25 deg  f swings.This is fine for lot's of food's but if you need more accuracy the pid is the way to go. It can control temps within 2 deg of your set point.Do an interweb search for pid to get all the details.The Auberin pids are plug and play and good quality but if your ok with electrical wiring pids can be had in component form for a lot cheaper.
Hope this helps
Bill

[Habanero Smoker]

You also have to consider the thermometers you used, can be as much as 25°F off, and still pass the industry standard. Since the Bradley and your oven cycle on and off, you need to make sure you get the reading at the peaks and lows. Most digital thermometers will record that for you.