Wintertime Tip

[tony b]

With our forecast next week to dip below zero F and single digit highs, it reminded me that, for folks who live in climates like mine, you should remove your dome thermometer after each cook and bring it indoors. With temperatures this low, the gauge will under range (go off scale low) and mess up the calibration. 

[jonj]

Thanks for the tip. Is there a low temperature below which it really needs to come out (below freezing, below zero)?

Jon

[Syzygies]

TelTru FAQ

Quote

What are the operating temperature limits for Tel-Tru bimetal thermometers with silicone fill?

The maximum operating temperature is 500F (260C). The minimum operating temperature is -50F (-45C).

TelTru is a premier manufacturer of replacement thermometers; various of us have several (trading sensitivity for range).

They state a low temperature operating limit of -50F for bimetal thermometers with silicone fill. My speculation is that their other bimetal thermometers have no such lower limit.

The display quite naturally goes off scale low well before this point. Whether this causes loss of calibration is both an empirical question and a question for each manufacturer. My thermometers often see 25 F over winter nights, and on low & slow cooks the comparison with my BBQGuru is at least a sanity check (the different locations take a very long time to converge to the same temperature, even if all instrumentation has perfect accuracy).

So, dunno. I've been able to ignore this issue and my food tastes good. As I said, ultimately an empirical question. Who has witnessed loss of calibration after freezing nights?

For the regulation issue, the operating temperature range would be a good question for Dennis to take up with his supplier.

Don't get me wrong; I deeply respect asking this question. What's the poster child for asking this question? Apollo 13 returning home alive after a severe explosion in space. The ultimate cause of the explosion was bare wire inside an oxygen tank, which sparked the contents during a routine in-flight stir. Earlier on the ground, NASA needed to boil off the contents of that tank, missing a voltage design change that accidentally fused a heating element always-on. They asked some guy to sit on a folding chair and say something if a thermometer read over a certain limit. The thermometer quickly reached and got stuck at this limit; it wasn't designed to read off scale high. The guy didn't say anything, and the tank problems went unnoticed.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Syzygies

[tony b]

8 hours ago, Syzygies said:

Who has witnessed loss of calibration after freezing nights?

Me, that's why I originally posted it a few years ago. After a stint of sub-zero temperatures for several days, I began to notice that I was seeing a larger than normal difference in my Guru and dome thermometer on longer cooks. I checked the calibration of the dome thermometer in boiling water and it was significantly off. like 20F (if I remember right). 

 

@jonj - I generally go with below freezing. It probably takes colder than that to mess with the calibration, but it's an easier metric to go by. So, in my case, I won't be leaving my thermometer in the KK until early May. Just becomes part of my routine; I take out the thermometer when I put the cover back on after I am sure the fire is out.

[Syzygies]

4 hours ago, tony b said:

I take out the thermometer when I put the cover back on after I am sure the fire is out.

That's a routine I can follow.

[tinyfish]

Thanks for the reminder.

[Aussie Ora]

TelTru FAQ

What are the operating temperature limits for Tel-Tru bimetal thermometers with silicone fill?

The maximum operating temperature is 500F (260C). The minimum operating temperature is -50F (-45C).

TelTru is a premier manufacturer of replacement thermometers; various of us have several (trading sensitivity for range).

They state a low temperature operating limit of -50F for bimetal thermometers with silicone fill. My speculation is that their other bimetal thermometers have no such lower limit.

The display quite naturally goes off scale low well before this point. Whether this causes loss of calibration is both an empirical question and a question for each manufacturer. My thermometers often see 25 F over winter nights, and on low & slow cooks the comparison with my BBQGuru is at least a sanity check (the different locations take a very long time to converge to the same temperature, even if all instrumentation has perfect accuracy).

So, dunno. I've been able to ignore this issue and my food tastes good. As I said, ultimately an empirical question. Who has witnessed loss of calibration after freezing nights?

For the regulation issue, the operating temperature range would be a good question for Dennis to take up with his supplier.

Don't get me wrong; I deeply respect asking this question. What's the poster child for asking this question? Apollo 13 returning home alive after a severe explosion in space. The ultimate cause of the explosion was bare wire inside an oxygen tank, which sparked the contents during a routine in-flight stir. Earlier on the ground, NASA needed to boil off the contents of that tank, missing a voltage design change that accidentally fused a heating element always-on. They asked some guy to sit on a folding chair and say something if a thermometer read over a certain limit. The thermometer quickly reached and got stuck at this limit; it wasn't designed to read off scale high. The guy didn't say anything, and the tank problems went unnoticed.


Did he fall asleep lol

Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

[Syzygies]

17 hours ago, Aussie Ora said:

Did he fall asleep lol

Perhaps. He claimed that they said to say something if the reading went over a certain number. What he saw was a reading that got stuck at that number.

[Poochie]

I'm leaving mine in...even though it dipped down to 61 degrees this morning. 

[tony b]

Stop it, Poochie! It windy as all get out today - bringing the wind chill down to 8F. 

ps: glad to see you posting again!