My OEM Thermometer is toast. I don’t rely on it since I use my Signals for my my smokes, but I’d still like it to read in the neighborhood of the electronics. What have people used to replace their analog? I have seen photos of one that appears to be about 4” in diameter. Can you still put the cover on with that big thing sticking out?
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From everything I’ve heard, Tel-Tru Thermometers are the gold standard for BBQ thermometers. I found this Amazon review from someone who installed it on their 22” WSM. Hope this helps but I’m not sure about the cover fit afterwards, I’d think it would still fit ok if I had to guess.
Ready to smoke some ribs now!
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2018
Mounting this to my Weber Smokey Mountain 22" Bullet Smoker dome lid wasn't too hard. However, I deducted a star for not including the installation Kit (A nut and a washer that seem to be proprietary and unavailable and multiple different hardware stores). The installation kit costs an additional $9.95 [EDIT: As of 7/18/2018, it is now $12.95!!!] for parts that probably cost less than a $1 to make (probably even less than that). It is my opinion, and the opinion of others who have reviewed this product that the kit should be included with the price, even if the price was raised $1-3 dollars more. For that reason, I deducted a star from my review.
With that being said though, the product itself is fantastic. I have used it twice now to smoke chicken wings the first time and ribs the second time. In both cases, I was able to monitor the temperature quite well - way better than the factory installed temp gauge - and I am extremely happy with the performance of the product. The numbers and dial are easy to read, and because the stem sticks down 4", I feel like I'm getting a much better idea of what the temp is inside my smoker. Remember to subtract approximately 10-15 degrees off the dial to account for what the temp is on the grate(s) if you are using a Bullet Smoker like the WSM. Otherwise, you'll be ready to smoke to your heart and bellies content with this bad boy!
Side note: if you remove the factory thermometer housing on the WSM, you can order high heat silicon from Amazon to plug the other hole that is left over. I don't like my smoker to leak smoke/air anywhere that wasn't originally intended. This helps to maintain temperature control.
UPDATE 7/18/18: Now that I’ve been using this product for a while, with my 22” Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, I wanted to let all of you who are considering this product know that you will definitely need to account for the difference in temp at the dome as compared to the top grate. The difference is about 25 degrees in my experience. So, with that being said, when I’m adjusting vents and coal, I’m usually aiming for 250F on the Tel-Tru dial at the top of the dome, and that puts me at 225F on the grate where my ribs are at. I’m not sure what the secondary grate temperature would be at that point, but since most of my smoking is at the top grate, I’m okay with that for now. Aside from that, I’m still very, very happy with the thermometer itself and would most definitely recommend it. My only complaint, which was mentioned before, is the cost of the installation kit, which is now $12.95 for a nut and a washer. So keep that in mind if you decide to purchase one of these.
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I was going to suggest the right size of Tel-Tru as well and pick up any extra parts from Lowe’s.Comment
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After the Weber thermometer failed for the second time, I ended up going with one from lava lock. Has been working fine for the last 5+ years. But the Tel-Tru above looks like a better option.Attached FilesComment
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I've installed Tel-Tru thermometers on a few different cookers over the years, and that is definitely the way to go. Some can even be calibrated.Comment
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Whatever thermometer this is on T-Roy’s WSM!
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Tel tru hands downComment
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I do believe that the Tel Trus are available with different shaft lengths, so there should be no problem - just get one with the same length shaft as your current thermo.Comment
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