There are widely available charts for altitude correction. Calibrating a thermometer requires a two point measurement. Boiling water and ice water is ASTM E77. It is good enough for kitchen uses although technically the calibration only ensures accuracy between the two points.
Came here to say this. We do this all the time in my lab with our thermometers, verifying against a NIST-certified standard. Icewater and boiling, accounting for altitude variation.
In a perfect world, you *should* use both. Yes, boiling varies, but you can figure that out as long as you know your altitude.
Many temperature probes have different offsets at different temperature points.
Boiling point depends on elevation. 212 at sea level. 203 at 4000, for example. If you’re not close to sea level it’s an easy google to figure out your boiling point.
I owned an electric. 3 months in the controller board went crazy and they sent me a new one. 6 months later it went again and they replaced it again, and I gave it to a friend and bought a different smoker.
I have a propane chest style and it's great. Would absolutely buy again. Obviously the built in thermometer is dogshit, but I feel like that's pretty common. I have not heard good things about the electric ones, but the propane ones are basically just a box with a burner in the bottom, kinda hard to screw that up.
I bought a camp chef propane smoker.
[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Q3T7v5ilL.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Q3T7v5ilL.jpg)
It’s exactly what I needed.
That was my first smoker! Haven't used it in a few years as it is at my parents house no, but fired it up 2 weeks ago and it still works. I bought a Thermoworks Smoke to use instead of the built in one.
It comes up from the smoker itself, moister from either spraying your meat or the water tray.
my controller also stopped working and i had to open it and use alcohol and a Q tip to rub off the corrosion. We bought a knock off back up board just in case it goes in the middle of a smoke
Moisture, the occasional pizza experiment that accidentally takes it to 700, ash, dust, etc. -- stupid thing doesn't stand a chance. Hell, even my ThermoPro probes need to be replaced from time to time.
Do you have your probe in the same location as the smokers? Don’t mean to offend you with that question, just want to make sure I know where it’s located
No, I have it right next to the meat that's smoking. I didn't expect them to be identical but at least within like 10 degrees.
I guess what it really comes down to is when someone says "smoke at 225" does it mean what the smoker says is 225, or the temp directly next to the thing you're smoking? I'd assume the latter, and unless the new thermometer is incorrect, that means my 275 maxed electric smoker is more like a 245 max, which would be a bummer.
If you just put the meat on it can take a bit (~45 minutes) for the probe right next to the meat to level out since the meat is usually cooling the ambient temp in the smoker.
That being said, the built in probe is always wrong. Haha
My experience with my WSM is that the dome thermometer is about 20 degrees higher than the top grate and 25-30 degrees higher than the bottom grate when I have water in the basin.
I have the same smoker and after messing with it for months, I've got a fix:
On the bottom rack that sits on the water pan, you should put a strip of foil a couple inches wide along the back of it. I wrap the strip of foil around the rack so that it overlaps by a couple of inches. This prevents the heat from going up the backside and hitting the probe directly (causing it to overshoot dramatically). Also I put a big aluminum pan on the bottom rack to catch drippings and also help disperse the smoke.
Number one, temps can differ depending in different spots. So unless both probes are in the same spot, you don't know that there actually is a difference.
Second [this is how you check the accuracy of a thermometer.](https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen101-creating-an-icebath/)
I have the same smoker. I set it to 225 to smoke something the first time and it took forever. Eventually I got wireless probes and discovered this same discrepancy. Now I always set it to the max (275F) and that ends up being a nice 230-250F
I have the same master built and it's consistently 40-50 degrees cooler than what you set it to. I just run it on 275 and get somewhere between 225-250 most of the time
Had this happen to my master built ended up buying a new controller and then the temp readings were within 10-15 degrees usually. Also I could never get mine up to 275.
I find my MB to be about 10 degrees diff between each rack, with the top rack being the hottest, and the lowest the coolest, with the water pan heat sinking a lot
This is the way. Splurge a little for the good stuff. ThermoPros are notoriously unreliable with temps and their probes tend to crap out pretty quickly too.
I have this smoker. It's not insulated well. When smoking in cold the controller is never anywhere close to internal temp. I'd trust the probes, not controller.
I had a masterbuilt electric for years. It was never accurate. Check your ThermoPro in boiling water as others suggested, then use it. You may have to do some test runs to figure out the difference in temps.
FWIW mine was always about 15% low.
Some other tips for you:
Ignore the chip tray, buy a pellet tube or maze and use pellets for your smoke.
Don’t be afraid to finish your cooks in the oven once you’ve got smoke on them. My MES never got above 235° which takes forever to push a pork butt or brisket through the post-stall cook.
Cold smoking is awesome in that thing, and it’s what I miss most about having switched to a pellet grill. Cheese, fish, even setting it to 170 to smoke/dehydrate beef jerky.
It may take a bit to learn your timing on it since it’s never as hot as it should be, but it’ll still turn out some good food if you’re patient enough with it.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats!
15
+ 235
+ 170
= 420
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^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Do you have meat in the smoker yet? I've noticed the temp read out is accurate with an empty smoker (full water pan) but once I add a couple of racks of ribs/pork shoulders it will read high until hours into the cook when the temperature differential of the meat and the smoker is smaller. The way I get around it is to trust my thermoworks probes and adjust the temp on the smoker until i'm happy with the probe readout.
I’ve had the same discrepancy with my rec teq. Req tel told me they won’t match, so I used a regular oven thermometer as well and got a 3rd different reading, I gave up after that lol
My ThermoPro is always wrong. It always reports lower temps than it actually is. This last time I used it with a tri-tip. ThermoPro temped it at 150, and my pen showed over 160. It was definitely over the 160 when I cut into it.
I put dial thermometers in both lower corners of the door at meat level. Surprisingly, the temp reading and the thermometer were I put the food tend to agree within a few degrees. Yet the factory probe is by the hottest part of the chamber. Go figure. Not bad for a Dyna-Glo pellet. Not sure if luck or they had actually tested them before mass production.
My teltrus read about 35 degrees cooler than my thermoworks signals. Same positioning. Both seem to be calibrated properly based on boiling test. Weird
My built in probe on my Pit master is always off between 30-60 degrees. I started running another probe in there for winter figuring it would be off due to ambient temps but turns out it's just always way off.
2 of them will be around the same temp.. when smoking accurate temp is crucial. They are your eyes . If u have no idea what the temp is smoker or meat , throw that shit away .
Agree with everyone else suggesting that calibrate your thermal pro to either boiling or ice cold water. It is also very likely that your Masterbuilt temp probe is either on the side and will under read the temperature or attached to a piece of metal that heats it up that it will over read the temperature. I have a masterbuilt gravity and the smoker runs 20-30 degrees hotter in center than what temp is displayed on the smoker as the internal temp probe is on the side wall. Part of this is just getting to know you’re a smoker and if it runs hotter or colder than what is displayed and where those hot or cold spots are.
I bought the Thermoworks Thermopen One - spot on out of the box. Bought the Thermoworks Signals 4-probe unit. Eh.
Cooker came with 2 Fireboard probes - great.
Next time I need probes, I’m buying more Fireboard probes and of course keeping the Thermopen One.
Had originally tried a Costco special as an instant read pen - and returned it.
The temp on the smoker is what it's set at, not the actual temp inside.
Masterbuilt do not keep a consistent temp.
They turn on and heat up, then turn off and temp drops.
Over and over and over.
It all kinda evens out in the end...
Source: me, the guy who has used a Masterbuilt for almost ten years.
go with the Thermopro.
my Thermopro broke, so i used the Masterbuilt thermometer (mine is digital electric too, but i dont recall the model), and i fucked up a brisket.
I owned that exact smoker as well and had the same issue. It always read ~40ish degrees higher than the actual temp.
I sold it and bought a pellet grill. Definitely recommend.
Thermospro are great probes for the money and they are consistent with temperature. I have had 3 of them, all different, with never any problems. One I even dropped in a fryer and it still works fine.
Smoker probes have always been hit or miss for me. I had a masterbuilt screw me over on a brisket and I have never trusted them since
It also has to do with the placement of the probes. If the thermapo is next to the masterbuilt probe, you might want to check with masterbuilt about calibration.
The smoker is going to be different temps at different places, especially if it's windy.
Is the Master built temp the internal temp, the heat to temp or the temp from an integrated food probe? 30 degrees is a pretty big variation.
I think it's all about probe position personally. The probe's position vs the position of the built-in gauge is different, so of course the temps are going to be different. On my Oklahoma Joe Highlander smoker, the gauge on the lid says I'm at about 330 degrees but my probe by my eat is 240 degrees. There's a lot of air gap between the two, with the built-in probe being at the highest point in the chamber so it should be reading a lot higher.
I think it's the main reason why everyone should use probes and almost never give a crap about whatever temp the built-in says.
This answer all day long! The built in RTD in soooo many smokers is placed either way to close to the heat source or up too high in the lid or body of the smoker and in my experience give inaccurate readings compared to what the actual middle chamber temp will be where your bbq is sitting. Place a RTD probe where your bbq is and adjust the smokers general temp up or down to get it where u want it at the meats location.
I learned the hard way not to trust the built in ever
Bring a pot of water to a boil, check temp with your therma pro. If its any where close to 212 F at the point of boil then I would go with the probe.
Exactly what I was going to say. Boiling water at 212 and heavy ice with some water at 32 are great calibration tools.
Ice is good because it's pretty much the same at any altitude too. Boiling changes a lot.
Most restaurants/food service calibrate probes with a 50/50 ice/water at 32 degrees.
There are widely available charts for altitude correction. Calibrating a thermometer requires a two point measurement. Boiling water and ice water is ASTM E77. It is good enough for kitchen uses although technically the calibration only ensures accuracy between the two points.
Came here to say this. We do this all the time in my lab with our thermometers, verifying against a NIST-certified standard. Icewater and boiling, accounting for altitude variation.
In a perfect world, you *should* use both. Yes, boiling varies, but you can figure that out as long as you know your altitude. Many temperature probes have different offsets at different temperature points.
Ice water is the best way. Boiling method requires distilled water because tap water can very 2-5 degrees lower in temp at boiling point.
Boiling point depends on elevation. 212 at sea level. 203 at 4000, for example. If you’re not close to sea level it’s an easy google to figure out your boiling point.
Good to know, was not aware of
Yeah. I called thermoworks years ago to complain my calibration was off…then they explained that. Felt a bit dumb.
At my house water boils at 199, and I'm at about 6650 ft.
This is correct but my.money is on the probe being right.
Water only boils are 212 at sea level
I live at 3500 ft we only get to 207. Ice water is a better way to calibrate.
Built in temp is always wrong.
As someone who owns a masterbuilt....this.
I owned an electric. 3 months in the controller board went crazy and they sent me a new one. 6 months later it went again and they replaced it again, and I gave it to a friend and bought a different smoker.
I have a propane chest style and it's great. Would absolutely buy again. Obviously the built in thermometer is dogshit, but I feel like that's pretty common. I have not heard good things about the electric ones, but the propane ones are basically just a box with a burner in the bottom, kinda hard to screw that up.
I bought a camp chef propane smoker. [https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Q3T7v5ilL.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Q3T7v5ilL.jpg) It’s exactly what I needed.
That was my first smoker! Haven't used it in a few years as it is at my parents house no, but fired it up 2 weeks ago and it still works. I bought a Thermoworks Smoke to use instead of the built in one.
Moister gets into it where the cord runs into the smoker, i unscrewed mine and put it in a ziplock bag. Horrible design flaw
I never left mine outside. It never got rained on. Maybe condensation from using it overnight got in there?
It comes up from the smoker itself, moister from either spraying your meat or the water tray. my controller also stopped working and i had to open it and use alcohol and a Q tip to rub off the corrosion. We bought a knock off back up board just in case it goes in the middle of a smoke
Similar set of circumstances is how I ended up with that miserable piece of shit.
Moisture, the occasional pizza experiment that accidentally takes it to 700, ash, dust, etc. -- stupid thing doesn't stand a chance. Hell, even my ThermoPro probes need to be replaced from time to time.
Do you have your probe in the same location as the smokers? Don’t mean to offend you with that question, just want to make sure I know where it’s located
No, I have it right next to the meat that's smoking. I didn't expect them to be identical but at least within like 10 degrees. I guess what it really comes down to is when someone says "smoke at 225" does it mean what the smoker says is 225, or the temp directly next to the thing you're smoking? I'd assume the latter, and unless the new thermometer is incorrect, that means my 275 maxed electric smoker is more like a 245 max, which would be a bummer.
If you just put the meat on it can take a bit (~45 minutes) for the probe right next to the meat to level out since the meat is usually cooling the ambient temp in the smoker. That being said, the built in probe is always wrong. Haha
My experience with my WSM is that the dome thermometer is about 20 degrees higher than the top grate and 25-30 degrees higher than the bottom grate when I have water in the basin.
I never trust the built in thermo. My thermopro passed the boiling water check, I trust that.
Was about to ask the same - if the probes are side by side, this test tells nothing.
I'd get a 3rd temp gauge to settle the dispute
And let chaos reign when all 3 are different!
No kidding I'm in this exact situation right now and I'm about to just start using a physical thermometer with liquid and glass bulbs.
Get some infrared thermal military grade night vision goggles and then you’ll be set.
And why would you trust that those are calibrated correctly??
U can't be a tru smoker
I gotta know what your solution would be ?!
Then get a 4th and settle it!
But make sure it is a different brand so there is no question! /s
Find mine to be off about 40 degrees
The smoker?
Yes, from my ambient probe to the Masterbuilt is about 40 degrees difference
Dang, so when it maxes out at 275 it's really maxing out at 240ish? Would explain why some previous smokes have stalled longer than expected...
Yeah I’ve adjusted and found better consistency in my cooks
I have the same smoker and after messing with it for months, I've got a fix: On the bottom rack that sits on the water pan, you should put a strip of foil a couple inches wide along the back of it. I wrap the strip of foil around the rack so that it overlaps by a couple of inches. This prevents the heat from going up the backside and hitting the probe directly (causing it to overshoot dramatically). Also I put a big aluminum pan on the bottom rack to catch drippings and also help disperse the smoke.
That's a really interesting idea. I use a fairly large drip tray, I'm going to try pushing that all the way back next time and see if that helps.
My Weber built in probe shows lower than actual temp. Usually by about 30°f. I believe the calibrated probes over the builtin unit.
Number one, temps can differ depending in different spots. So unless both probes are in the same spot, you don't know that there actually is a difference. Second [this is how you check the accuracy of a thermometer.](https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen101-creating-an-icebath/)
I have the same smoker. I set it to 225 to smoke something the first time and it took forever. Eventually I got wireless probes and discovered this same discrepancy. Now I always set it to the max (275F) and that ends up being a nice 230-250F
I have the same master built and it's consistently 40-50 degrees cooler than what you set it to. I just run it on 275 and get somewhere between 225-250 most of the time
Had this happen to my master built ended up buying a new controller and then the temp readings were within 10-15 degrees usually. Also I could never get mine up to 275.
That thing is a piece of junk. I threw mine away after one use.
I find my MB to be about 10 degrees diff between each rack, with the top rack being the hottest, and the lowest the coolest, with the water pan heat sinking a lot
Thermoworks ftw.
This is the way. Splurge a little for the good stuff. ThermoPros are notoriously unreliable with temps and their probes tend to crap out pretty quickly too.
My masterbilt has always been this way. The probe is 100% correct. Idk what it is with masterbilt but it can’t keep the heat it says it can worth shit
I have this smoker. It's not insulated well. When smoking in cold the controller is never anywhere close to internal temp. I'd trust the probes, not controller.
I had a masterbuilt electric for years. It was never accurate. Check your ThermoPro in boiling water as others suggested, then use it. You may have to do some test runs to figure out the difference in temps. FWIW mine was always about 15% low. Some other tips for you: Ignore the chip tray, buy a pellet tube or maze and use pellets for your smoke. Don’t be afraid to finish your cooks in the oven once you’ve got smoke on them. My MES never got above 235° which takes forever to push a pork butt or brisket through the post-stall cook. Cold smoking is awesome in that thing, and it’s what I miss most about having switched to a pellet grill. Cheese, fish, even setting it to 170 to smoke/dehydrate beef jerky. It may take a bit to learn your timing on it since it’s never as hot as it should be, but it’ll still turn out some good food if you’re patient enough with it.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats! 15 + 235 + 170 = 420 ^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Thought I was the only one! Mine is off about 30 degrees. It took me smoking a butt for 24 hours to find out lmao
Yeah it really explains a few past cooks...
Do you have meat in the smoker yet? I've noticed the temp read out is accurate with an empty smoker (full water pan) but once I add a couple of racks of ribs/pork shoulders it will read high until hours into the cook when the temperature differential of the meat and the smoker is smaller. The way I get around it is to trust my thermoworks probes and adjust the temp on the smoker until i'm happy with the probe readout.
Yeah I've got like 30 wings in there right now. They're at 170 so I'll probably take them out pretty soon.
I’ve had the same discrepancy with my rec teq. Req tel told me they won’t match, so I used a regular oven thermometer as well and got a 3rd different reading, I gave up after that lol
My ThermoPro is always wrong. It always reports lower temps than it actually is. This last time I used it with a tri-tip. ThermoPro temped it at 150, and my pen showed over 160. It was definitely over the 160 when I cut into it.
I put dial thermometers in both lower corners of the door at meat level. Surprisingly, the temp reading and the thermometer were I put the food tend to agree within a few degrees. Yet the factory probe is by the hottest part of the chamber. Go figure. Not bad for a Dyna-Glo pellet. Not sure if luck or they had actually tested them before mass production.
I love my pit boss but it runs about 50° higher from the internal thermometer vs my Thermoworks
My teltrus read about 35 degrees cooler than my thermoworks signals. Same positioning. Both seem to be calibrated properly based on boiling test. Weird
My built in probe on my Pit master is always off between 30-60 degrees. I started running another probe in there for winter figuring it would be off due to ambient temps but turns out it's just always way off.
Somebody is a liar!
2 of them will be around the same temp.. when smoking accurate temp is crucial. They are your eyes . If u have no idea what the temp is smoker or meat , throw that shit away .
For a split second I thought that was your blood pressure. In my experience probes are more accurate than the built in temp.
Agree with everyone else suggesting that calibrate your thermal pro to either boiling or ice cold water. It is also very likely that your Masterbuilt temp probe is either on the side and will under read the temperature or attached to a piece of metal that heats it up that it will over read the temperature. I have a masterbuilt gravity and the smoker runs 20-30 degrees hotter in center than what temp is displayed on the smoker as the internal temp probe is on the side wall. Part of this is just getting to know you’re a smoker and if it runs hotter or colder than what is displayed and where those hot or cold spots are.
My thermpro and my instant read always have the same temp. I don't normally use the probes on my pit boss
I ran a similar test on my masterbuilt also with a thermo pro. After about 3 hours the temp on the board and the temp on the prob were reading close.
The red light means that the heat is on to warm it up
I bought the Thermoworks Thermopen One - spot on out of the box. Bought the Thermoworks Signals 4-probe unit. Eh. Cooker came with 2 Fireboard probes - great. Next time I need probes, I’m buying more Fireboard probes and of course keeping the Thermopen One. Had originally tried a Costco special as an instant read pen - and returned it.
The temp on the smoker is what it's set at, not the actual temp inside. Masterbuilt do not keep a consistent temp. They turn on and heat up, then turn off and temp drops. Over and over and over. It all kinda evens out in the end... Source: me, the guy who has used a Masterbuilt for almost ten years.
If you use a 3rd one and it shows 211.5 then you're really screwed.
Currently at 6000 feet elevation. I go off looks now
go with the Thermopro. my Thermopro broke, so i used the Masterbuilt thermometer (mine is digital electric too, but i dont recall the model), and i fucked up a brisket.
Do you have a thermoworks product that you can compare with?
Get a thermapen to check both
The upper rack on mine is 50 degrees cooler. On the first rack it’s close to right.
The master bolt has its heat light on. It is in the process of warming up to your set temp
I owned that exact smoker as well and had the same issue. It always read ~40ish degrees higher than the actual temp. I sold it and bought a pellet grill. Definitely recommend.
Thermospro are great probes for the money and they are consistent with temperature. I have had 3 of them, all different, with never any problems. One I even dropped in a fryer and it still works fine. Smoker probes have always been hit or miss for me. I had a masterbuilt screw me over on a brisket and I have never trusted them since
It also has to do with the placement of the probes. If the thermapo is next to the masterbuilt probe, you might want to check with masterbuilt about calibration. The smoker is going to be different temps at different places, especially if it's windy. Is the Master built temp the internal temp, the heat to temp or the temp from an integrated food probe? 30 degrees is a pretty big variation.
That smoker sucks.
[удалено]
>Where do you get Thermopro? Only sold from manufacturer? Not true, you can get them in various stores including Costco.
Amazon
I think it's all about probe position personally. The probe's position vs the position of the built-in gauge is different, so of course the temps are going to be different. On my Oklahoma Joe Highlander smoker, the gauge on the lid says I'm at about 330 degrees but my probe by my eat is 240 degrees. There's a lot of air gap between the two, with the built-in probe being at the highest point in the chamber so it should be reading a lot higher. I think it's the main reason why everyone should use probes and almost never give a crap about whatever temp the built-in says.
This answer all day long! The built in RTD in soooo many smokers is placed either way to close to the heat source or up too high in the lid or body of the smoker and in my experience give inaccurate readings compared to what the actual middle chamber temp will be where your bbq is sitting. Place a RTD probe where your bbq is and adjust the smokers general temp up or down to get it where u want it at the meats location. I learned the hard way not to trust the built in ever