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David Chang

Chris Young's Giant Grill Gauge, Combustion Engine, and Predictive Thermometer

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It is not clear to me if the GGG temperature sensor probe is long enough to work with a KK. Chris indicated that they would be posting dimensional drawings a while ago, but it hasn't happened.

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What is not clear to me is how far the sensor would reach into the KK. Chris was surprised by the thickness I measured on mine. I wouldn't think having it just barely peeking through the hole would be ideal.

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My routine setup for using pit probes through the Tel-Tru dome hole is to set a "stop" on the probe using an alligator clip. (I now use those things hippies used to use to smoke joints, to smoke meats.)

This has the advantage of never exposing the probe cable to high temperatures, easing stabilizing the KK for making bread. I'm familiar with the standard advice that a pit probe should be near the meat, but that advice is cooker-agnostic. In my experience there can be a large discrepancy at first between dome temp and grill temp, but they converge as the KK stabilizes because the KK is so well insulated. Limiting the dome temp is a better way to keep the fire from overshooting; in a way the dome temp is the actual temperature, and asking the KK to maintain a flat pit temp near the grill is asking the fire to supply an initial surge so the dome temp can swing high. Of course there's an overshoot risk.

Controlling the dome temp is simply a different flight path for getting to your destination, and one I'm happy with. For low & slow barbecue, the meat stays colder longer, absorbing more of the clean smoke from my "smoke pot" (my other hippy to meat transition) before we reach cruising altitude.

Dave's not here! (I think he's in back, at the cooker.)

So I'd be very happy with a dome controller; that's what I already do. And I'm rather unhappy with my newest controller from that legacy company, so I'm ready to move on. Based on that experience, my biggest concern is how well the MeatNet™ Cloud works. My $30 Leviton Smart Switch in the garage updates its app instantly when I use the physical switch, so we know IT competence isn't a "class" thing. My legacy controller (cloud or bluetooth) will blithely lie that 20 minute old data is current, with no visual indication that my phone is failing to update. I so wish there were hardware episodes of Squid Game for AI to watch. I'd be happy to be the human on the ground, filming a YouTube video where sledge hammer meets product.

Anyhow, I've seen little difference between having the tip of the probe barely protrude and having it dangle well inside. One gets predictable cooks either way. Numbers are arbitrary (and this is coming from a mathematician).

Edited by Syzygies
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huh, i never thought of threading the ambient probe through the tel-tru hole. i've always used the side port for grate level monitoring. 

i honestly don't need this gadget as my cooking on the KK has declined over the years (eating less meats, smaller appetite as i get older), but i like the ideal of turning the KK into a wireless cyborg. 

you're probably right about the convergence of grate and dome temp over time as things stabilize, i'm just waiting for someone to pull the trigger and test if this thing works as advertised..

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