How accurate is the Bradley Thermostat?

[waynerto]

The reading on my thermostat seems to be consistently higher than what my Thermoworks Signals reports.  I guess this could be due to proximity to the heating element, but which should I believe?  I have the probe for my Signals hanging through the smoke hole to roughly the centre of the smoking cabinet.

For example, my Signals reports 206 and the Bradley control unit reads 241.  It is cold here today but I haven't opened the door in a couple of hours.

[manfromplaid]

j have the digital smoker with dual element mod. I found the smoker temp gauge off by quite a large margin. with the dual mod I use a PID to control temps.. I would go by the signal temps over the Bradley temps and leave the door closed. iam just outside Edmonton and know what its like to keep temps up in cooler weather. use your signal to develop a comparison to the built in gauge. best of luck trial and error and keep a log or journal.

[waynerto]

Thanks for the feedback!  I did ribs today in about -2C ambient temp.  The Signal read about 210, whereas the t-stat was about 30 degrees higher.  The ribs turned out well, I didn't bother with the wrapping or spritzing as I wanted to minimize opening the door.  I put an old blanket around the smoker as well to try to hold the heat in.

[Habanero Smoker]

I fully agree with manfromplaid.

In addition, I have the Signal, and it is extremely accurate measuring the ambient temperature around the probe. A couple of things to consider in placing your probe. Make sure you use the air (ambient) temperature probe, when measuring the cabinet temperature. That is the short blunt probe. Thermoworks states that the air probe is more accurate than the meat probes; for this measurement.

The placement of your probe is also important. Lowering the probe so that it hangs in the middle of the cabinet, may not give you the most accurate reading. I always attach my probe to the lowest tray - farthest away from the element, and keeping the probe at least a couple of inches from the meat. When food is cooking, it releases moisture through evaporation. Evaporation can cool down the area around the meat by as much as 20°F. Or in your case, above the meat, as the moisture moves up and out of the vent.

How did your ribs turn out?

[Edward176]

I have the same set up as manfromplaid and live in Winnipeg. I go by the temperature on my PID over the temperature on the Bradley digital screen. I've also used my Inkbird Wiresless Thermometer as a second temperature device to verify which was more accurate and the PID and Inkbird were very very close, while the Bradley temperature could be out by 20°F+ compared to them. So I'd say your Thermoworks is closer to actual temperature.

[TedEbear]

I have a Thermoworks Smoke and I've checked it with a pot of boiling water and a glass of ice water.  It is very accurate, based on those tests.

Testing Thermometers For Accuracy: Ice Bath Test & Boiling Water Test