Question re Using a Probe Thermometer in a Kettle

[JeffJ]

My favorite cooking device is my Weber Performer with all of it's accessories, including the Smokenator. I got a Maverick for Christmas and while I've used it in my WSM 14.5 (which I also got for Christmas) I have yet to use it in the Performer. All of my cooks in the Performer since Christmas have been higher heat and I just used an instant read to make sure I got the internal temp just right on whatever I was cooking.

Sooner or later I am going to do a low and slow cook that exceeds the capacity of my 14.5 WSM which means the Smokenator will be utilized. My question is, how to get the probes where they need to be in the kettle. I absolutely refuse to drill a hole into my kettle and routing the probes through the lid vent seems like a non-starter. I poked around Youtube and have seen people just put the probes right onto the grate (I've seen it done on WSM videos too) and just gently set the lid down so as not to crush the probe feeds.

My big question is: Is this a bad thing to do? Can it damage the probe lines?

My other thought was running the lines up through the bottom vents which will always be open during a long cook. I just don't know if the lines are long enough for that. Any advice/tips/wisdom that can be shared will be greatly appreciated.

[johnsteen]

you can buy 6 foot probes. I drilled holes in my WSM and used silicon grommets sourced from Grainger. They are high heat and cover the bare metal of the drilled hole. Still using the 3 foot probes here.

[Moscuba]

First, you need ambient thermo "probe", not the probe meant to be submersed in the item being measured. I simply use foil formed with a wide bottom and a thin top. Us something sharp (not the ambient probe) to make a hole, put the probe in squish the foil around the probe base and wire leaving the probe mostly exposed to the air. I use a black office binder clip to hold the foil to the grate. Careful with the wire if putting between the lid and kettle. Drilling would be preferable (need a really good drill bit though).