Chamber temp vs set / measured temp.

When I ran my tests here is the pic of the probe placements...you can see to the far left where the grills probe is I put one right next to it. I wanted to see if the grills temp probe read correctly.
775
 
Ok guys here is the complied data.

Notes:
1: At 10:45 am I had to adjust the min feed to bring the grill down to temp. I sealed the lid and the temp was climbing. I assume that the grill was burning more efficiently so I lowered the feed rate down from 4.5 to 3.5 and she settled right into the 225 setting.

2: At 11:00 am we had a 5 min down pour of rain hence the swing to the low side.

3: The order of the set temps skips 250 then comes back....I was going to be cooking dinner at 250 so I did the 250 setting last... all of the data for 250 has my dinner (a Fattie) sitting right in the middle of the grill. Needless to say it came out great but you will see some interesting numbers from the center probes Im guessing due to the temp of the food pulling heat in.

4: You will see no data from 15:00 to 16:00 because I had to run to store and could not be there to write down the data.

With all of that said and out of the way....here it is....for informational purposes only!!....If you use this data and find a way to hurt yourself or others on any way with it ...don't blame me!
 

Attachments

  • REC TEC BULL TEMP PERFORMANCE.pdf
    127.1 KB · Views: 167
I quick, mind you quick look that looks dialed in fairly well. Will digest more later but fantastic job and love the foil probe holders, those are my fav :).
 
:D
@jeff7117

Where in the grill was the fireboard probe placed in relation to the grills probe?
The two ambient probes are in the same locations as the first test. One on the left side of the grill, and the other on the right side of the grill, almost grate level with clips holding them in place. The two other meat probes are on top of a brick in the middle of the grill.
 
@jeff7117 Yes I relooked at the pic of your grill with the brick...I see the probe on the left. Im wondering if the reason you see temp differences like you are in relation to the rec tec actual is because you are measuring horizontal along the grate about 4-5 inches from the Actual Grill probe...hmmm
When I wanted to see if my grill probe was reading the same as my temp controller probe I placed the probe vertical right next to the grills probe. I figured that was the best way to get an accurate reading to test the grills probe.....to measure the same air the grill is.
Of course I could be completely full of crap...LOL Just a thought though.
 
I've always tried to measure temps at "meat level" whenever possible on almost all of my grills. Before I started thoroughly testing at grate level, I did have an ambient sensor right next to the RecTec sensor and the results were similar to what I'm getting now. The RecTec sensor must have a pretty high threshold it has to hit before it changes much.

Overall, I think I have a good handle on how the grill will react and function based on a given temperature, and most of the swings I am getting right now probably have to do with the really high temps outside right now.

I'm planning on cooking another brisket soon so I'll post back if I run into any temp issues again.
 
Overall, I think I have a good handle on how the grill will react and function based on a given temperature

That's what its all about....just knowing what your grill is doing and adjusting appropriately and getting the food out the way you desire. Some people would say I was insane ....ok most people....to run a test for 10 hours recording data every 15 min but to me I enjoyed it and I think now I know exactly what the pit is doing and when.
If this was a stick burner...learning to control the fire for proper pit temps is a must to be successful.... I equated what I did to learning how to control the temps in my pit to get my desired results. Cant wait to see your next Brisket and I will post my results of mine as well...Cheers!!
 
@jeff7117 @NU2SMOKE ..Thank you guys been gone a CPL days and came back to this excellent collection of heat data.... I for one, really appreciate you both sharing this along with the how and where. Great job guys and Thank you both!
Id like to say it was my pleasure but it wasn't...LOL No problem my friend..I hope it helps people out. I cant guarantee that every grill performs in the same manor but it gives you a place to start. Or you can just throw a chunk of meat on it and wing it and it will probably turn out great too...LOL
Cheers
 
Not to cross post, (my lounge post) but it took just under 3 hours to get this notification that you replied...strange.
 
Sorry to take this topic a little off course but curious why you chose the fire board over say the signals by Thermoworks? Never heard of fireboard untill this thread started... just curious is all..
 
Six channels over four is probably the biggest draw, and for ballpark-ish the same $ as Thermoworks. There are some other differences, but those two are likely the biggest influencers.
 
Yeah I'd say the 6 channels is definitely a plus over the 4. Looks like a nice unit..like to hear what you all think of after some time and use with it...
 
Yeah I'd say the 6 channels is definitely a plus over the 4. Looks like a nice unit..like to hear what you all think of after some time and use with it...

The 6 channels was a nice plus, and the app for the fireboard seemed to have more detail than the thermoworks. The fan control option in the fireboard was also nice to have if I ever wanted to add it to one of my grills in the future. The other thing I like about it is that you don't have to buy everything at once. They sell just the fireboard unit and all of the probes separately. If you just want a bunch of ambient probes or only food probes, you have that option. I think they even sell a pass-through probe if you want to permanently mount the ambient probe inside the smoker.

I wasn't sure which smoker I would use, and I did quite a bit of research on both and for the money, the fireboard seemed like the better choice and gave me more options in the long run. So far, I really like it and it has been a huge help getting all of my grills dialed in.
 
@jeff7117 and @NU2SMOKE ,
I finally received my new probes (bad from probable shipping) and they don't cut out when plugged in anymore*
..so I recalibrated them with the ice water again.
I went to finally calibrate my "actual temp" probe with the meat probes. I kept getting a higher actual than the meat probes, they sat in the same location as the "actual". I adjusted it down 10° because it was reading high. The temp display would not change in the adjustment screen, but it did after I closed it out and physically turned on the smoker. But when I went back to setup it read higher again?. (But did read the same as meat probes when smoker was turned on)
Is this normal?
..did either of you experience this?
Does it Seem like 10° is big difference ?
Should I not adjust the actual?
And is it only based on the 1 probe or are there other sensors at work that average that number?
Sorry so many questions just trying to be accurate.
IMG_20190716_162144.jpg
IMG_20190716_163630.jpg
IMG_20190716_163758.jpg
 
@jeff7117 and @NU2SMOKE ,
Is this normal?
..did either of you experience this?
Does it Seem like 10° is big difference ?
Should I not adjust the actual?
And is it only based on the 1 probe or are there other sensors at work that average that number?
Sorry so many questions just trying to be accurate.

This was the problem I ran into. The "Actual" temp wasn't anywhere close to what the other sensors were reading. I don't know about the other models, but my "Actual" temp sensor is mounted on the inside of the grill close to the hopper, and I only have the one internal sensor. If there are other temp probes located in the other RecTec models, you'd have to make a call to find out.

I had to offset the "Actual" temp on mine since it was off by over 20-30 degrees depending on ambient. 10 degrees doesn't seem bad, but it could vary some over a cooking session. The only way to know for sure is to try the offset and run a short test. According to the RecTec video on YouTube, once you change the offset, you'd need to run it about an hour for the calibration to take effect.

Good luck and let us know how the test goes if you decide to change the offset.
 
@jeff7117 ok here's the problem.... The data changes when the unit is switched on.... Here's what I mean. So let's assume that because the ice water calibration is very close to correct (32°) on the meat probes. (-4 on A and 0 B) I corrected the actual probe to match (-10).
When I switch the settings off and the unit on, the actual no longer matched. This is when you replied about Rectec's 1hr 250° test procedure.( Thanks did it today).
However the temps are so far off that I question how to adjust it now, as well as the fact they change just by having the unit on or off. I included some pics. First two are immediately after factory cool down, and then turning unit back on.
The rest are during the 1hr test. Meat probes were fastened to "actual" probe at same height/location*
P.s. not sure why the pics post out of order... The actual temp pics of 198 and 223 are the on/off after test**
IMG_20190717_143701.jpg
IMG_20190717_154256.jpg
IMG_20190717_144320.jpg
IMG_20190717_154447.jpg
IMG_20190717_151821.jpg
IMG_20190717_152155.jpg
IMG_20190717_152202.jpg
IMG_20190717_152357.jpg
IMG_20190717_152533.jpg
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Latest posts

Back
Top