merrill Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 (edited) My Thermometer is acting up. It will be working fine then it goes to zero and then it can go very high very quickly, in maybe 5 to ten seconds. It can go from 350 to 125 and then up to 500 all in 15 seconds .I have another thermometer and that one is working fine but I use that on my old K7. Any suggestions? Also what kind of probe thermometers can you guys recommend. I want something where I can read the temp of the meat from inside the home. I am currently using a therm something but the probes are kind of weak. I also had two or three of those older ones that talked to you. Your Entrée is almost ready etc. Edited November 27, 2019 by merrill more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 I have this and it works great. Very long range. https://snsgrills.com/collections/thermometers/products/xr-50 There are others by Thermoworks at a higher price point, but also higher quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merrill Posted November 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 Hey Pequod, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable, thanks for your suggestions. I have been using Komados, the originals from Richard Johnson for 25 years. I am pretty much a ham and egger ie not real technical. I notice it is much easier and quicker the turn the Komodos up and down temp wise. The temp for the grill is mounted higher than the grill so from your experience if the guage says 350 what would you expect the different grill levels to be from low to high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 The answer is going to depend on whether your KK is heat soaked or not. If heat soaked (at or near thermal equilibrium), the temps should be pretty consistent throughout, although you’d likely find higher radiant heat transfer near the flame zone and also near the walls and dome (black body radiation). If not heat soaked, then you’d find higher temps the closer you are to the flame zone. Definitely higher heat transfer, which is why we go low for searing and higher for gentler cooking. But I’d be hard pressed to tell you how much hotter it is down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merrill Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Heat soaked, Thermal Equilibrium, Radiant heat transfer, Black body radiation! Hard pressed or not you said a mouthful. Now I have to look up what those terms mean and I will be all set.. ty and Happy Thanksgiving 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merrill Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 I haven't looked at a lot of the recipes in this site because I have been doing them for so long I know most of it by heart. I just read a thread on a "7 pound turkey breast" and it has some good info as well about the different temps at different levels. Tomorrow I am doing a 11 pound turkey breast and a 16 pound turkey. I am planning on doing them around 325 to 350, indirect I was thinking of putting the turkey on top but considering the size difference it might make more sense to have the turkey closer to the bottom because it appears that it is a little hotter down there? However; when using a HD, one might think the temp right about it might possibly be lower than 8 inches higher? Any thoughts? ps I used to really like the old Kamado forum because there were a lot of seasoned veterans with lots of very useful info. The more I read here the better I like it. The old RJ forum went back 20 years or more. How far does this one go back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 28 minutes ago, merrill said: Heat soaked, Thermal Equilibrium, Radiant heat transfer, Black body radiation! Hard pressed or not you said a mouthful. Now I have to look up what those terms mean and I will be all set.. ty and Happy Thanksgiving Sorry...I’m an engineer! Can’t help myself. 9 minutes ago, merrill said: I haven't looked at a lot of the recipes in this site because I have been doing them for so long I know most of it by heart. I just read a thread on a "7 pound turkey breast" and it has some good info as well about the different temps at different levels. Tomorrow I am doing a 11 pound turkey breast and a 16 pound turkey. I am planning on doing them around 325 to 350, indirect I was thinking of putting the turkey on top but considering the size difference it might make more sense to have the turkey closer to the bottom because it appears that it is a little hotter down there? However; when using a HD, one might think the temp right about it might possibly be lower than 8 inches higher? Any thoughts? ps I used to really like the old Kamado forum because there were a lot of seasoned veterans with lots of very useful info. The more I read here the better I like it. The old RJ forum went back 20 years or more. How far does this one go back? I’ll be doing a spatchcocked Turkey and plan to cook it on the upper grate like I do spatchcocked chicken. Higher in the dome = higher radiant heat transfer from the dome. Same reason we cook pizzas high into the dome - better top heat. I don’t think you’ll find a significant temperature difference between the main and upper grates, but you will get more radiant heat transfer at the upper. So...I would put the turkey up high and the breast right below on the main grate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merrill Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 your an engineer and I am a door to door insurance salesman. Now you know not to use to many big words when giving me advice! Same temperature but more radiant heat? What is radiant heat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 9 hours ago, merrill said: your an engineer and I am a door to door insurance salesman. Now you know not to use to many big words when giving me advice! Same temperature but more radiant heat? What is radiant heat? Here ya go: https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/thermodynamics-cooking-and-how Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 I’ve been preheating my 23 for the last hour. It is now heat soaked. I have a temperature probe on the upper grate (top right) and another on the main (too left). The probe on the lower left will be my meat probe and is currently laying on the upper grate. As you can see, at thermal equilibrium the temperature difference between the main and upper is negligible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 The new Mavericks are very good, much more reliable than the older ones. If you want wireless, go with the Meater+. Another engineer here, but I have nothing to add to Pequod's advice. The old RJ forum was great early, I learned a lot, but it lost lots of folks when he started "banning" people for complaining about the problems with cracking and tile shedding. You'll find this one is equally helpful from the members and Dennis. This forum goes back a few years, but some of the older posts have glitches with pictures and external links due to a platform change a couple of years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...