wilburpan Posted April 23, 2016 Report Posted April 23, 2016 I’ve noticed that the stem of the dome thermometer has acquired a nice black coat of smoke and stuff from all the cooks. Could that layer of soot insulate the tip and make the thermometer read artificially low? 1
CeramicChef Posted April 23, 2016 Report Posted April 23, 2016 Wilbur - that's a good question! I would think that if the soot does indeed act as an insulator, it would not be long before temps equilibrated and a correct temp would be indicated. I don't think soot makes for a good insulator. That said, I really don't rely on my dome thermometer. I tend to use my electronic thermometers over the dome thermometer.
DennisLinkletter Posted April 23, 2016 Report Posted April 23, 2016 Can't imagine it could be more than 1-2º Just imagine how thin it is and it's mostly grease which would conduct/transmit heat efficiently. It would have to be really furry with soot to "block" heat from the metal tip.. 1
ckreef Posted April 23, 2016 Report Posted April 23, 2016 Like others I no longer use the clip to hold the thermometer in place. I frequently pull the thermometer out and clean it off. Currently I use the dome thermometer exclusively for my pit temperature. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk 1
tony b Posted April 23, 2016 Report Posted April 23, 2016 I periodically use a copper scruffie to clean the dome thermometer shaft/tip, but it's probably overkill.
DennisLinkletter Posted April 24, 2016 Report Posted April 24, 2016 The clip is to hold the thermometer on the side of a pot.. No need to use it in your grill.. in fact using it might get you false readings as it would hold and transmit heat to the shaft. I believe only the last 1" of it measures heat.
Firemonkey Posted April 26, 2016 Report Posted April 26, 2016 There's a groove on the thermometer stem that indicates how much of the thermometer needs to be inserted for an accurate reading. So the length from that marking to the tip is used for reading temps. Any extra length is just for fun. The only cleaning mine has ever gotten is to slide it in and out a few times. And extra crust gets knocked off by the friction on the way out and back in. Here's a picture of the groove, in case anyone forgot we are talking about grill thermometers here. You can see the groove about 1/3 of the way down the stem from right to left - near where it crosses the corner of a tile.
MacKenzie Posted April 26, 2016 Report Posted April 26, 2016 I see it and I'm glad you pointed out what that thermometer was for.
CeramicChef Posted April 26, 2016 Report Posted April 26, 2016 Wilbur - thanks for your post on this. I just remembered to check my TEL-TRUs in both Beauty! and TheBeast to see if they were coated. Coated? Yes, both were blacker than the Ace of Spades. What I didn't expect to find was this really beautiful set of structures that reminds me of the hoar frost I used to see on pine trees when I lived up in Colorado. Absolutely a beautiful sight. Flocked trees are a sad attempt to copy that. My TEL-TRUs had these beautiful black delicate crystals all over! Without your post, I'd never have discovered that. Thanks!
Aussie Ora Posted February 7, 2017 Report Posted February 7, 2017 I've been noticing lately that my lump looks like it's burning good but the dome gauge reckons it's not .I was preparing for a tri tip cook tonight and the tel Tru seemed to take forever to do anything so I pulled it out it was covered in crap gave it a clean and a bit of light sand paper and wow what a difference this thing just shot up in no time something I'm going to have to keep an eye on every month or so Outback Kamado Bar and Grill
tony b Posted February 7, 2017 Report Posted February 7, 2017 I don't store mine in the KK during winter, so I can see if it's looking particularly "fuzzy."
