Twin Eagles Thermometer Repair

[briano52]

My 36" Twin Eagles has grill has a dial thermometer in the hood. After a couple of years of fairly frequent use, the thermometer became hard to read as the glass became clouded with a kinda very light brown haze. I tried to take it apart to clean it. No go. The glass could not be removed and the unit could not be opened. So, I contacted Twin Eagles. Their service department said it was probably steam/fog. They suggested baking it in a low heat oven to get rid of the collected moisture. I didn't think it looked like moisture, but I tried the oven trick. Didn't work.

I don't use the hood dial thermometer much and don't really trust it when I do look at it. However, the Twin Eagles grill is a gleaming, beautiful hunk of stainless steel. I maintain it and keep it polished and shiny. I just didn't like the look of a cloudy thermometer staring back at me whenever I looked at the grill. So, I decided to buy a new thermometer. Then I got sticker shock. Twin Eagles wanted $99 for a new one. Other grill parts suppliers were even more.

I thought I would get generic brand. I know Tel-Tru has a great reputation for high quality gauges, so I went to their site. No luck there. All their thermometers had a 2 1/2" stem (although they cost quite a bit less than $99) The Twin Eagles hood where the thermometer goes slides over the rood of the grill. The clearance is a hair under 2" so the stem had to be no longer than 2". Then I want to Amazon and many other sites. No units with 3" dials and 2" stems were to be found.

I was about to give up. I sat dejected, staring at the thermometer with the cloudy glass. Then I noticed the little ventilation hole in the metal case, just below the level of the glass. An idea came to me. I thought maybe I could clean the inside of the glass with something? I tried inserting a toothpick and rubbing the glass. And, to my surprise, the brown haze on the underside of the glass scraped off. To get it all off, I need a better swab. So, I used a Q-tip. That worked very well once I slightly enlarged the hole in which the Q-tip was inserted. To get to the far side of the glass I used a longer Q-tip from my shop.

At the end of the day, the Twin Eagles thermometer looks goods as new and beautiful Twin Eagles gas grill is gleaming again.

[Jerod Broussard]

Q-Tips to the rescue!! I kept a box in my room for years for cleaning arrows.

[STEbbq]

I love the solution. You should let Twin Eagles know so they can update their customers too.

[LA Pork Butt]

That’s what I call stick-to-it-ness!

[RonB]

Do you think the brown got in through the hole? Maybe you should plug the hole so it won't happen again.

[HawkerXP]

I can't see the before and after pictures.....

Good job!

[briano52]

Do you think the brown got in through the hole? Maybe you should plug the hole so it won't happen again.

Now that is a really good question that I have thought about. The hood is double walled. The little hole was about 1/8". And I haven't really noticed smoke coming out of the grill and moving across that the hood. That said, the little hole appears to be the only way that the dirty stuff could have gotten under the glass in the thermometer. I am going to cover it and see how that goes. My only concern is that the hole must be there for a reason. Maybe to let out expanding air as the thermometer heats up? It does sit on the hood so it is going to get warm when the grill is in use.

Didn't take pictures. Sorry about that.

[GolfGeezer]

The little hole is likely there to allow moisture to evaporate. I have seen dome thermometers “fog up”. They are not air tight, and condensation then fogs the inside. That doesn’t explain where the brown came from, just why there is such a hole.

[briano52]

I figured out the source of the brown haze in the thermometer (with thanks to Ron B). The edge of the thermometer is stepped. The outer sheet metal of the hood has a hole in it that the thermometer sits in. The hole is just under the width of the outer edge of the thermometer. The vent hole in the thermometer is on the second step down. So, the step with the vent hole in it actually sits inside the outer layer of the hood. Because it is inside, the vent hole is exposed to smoke from cooking on the grill. I often grill with the hood down so the smoke is going to wander around and eventually find its way into the thermometer.

To prevent the glass from hazing over again, I could close off the vent hole but maybe that would not be good for the thermometer? The vent hole must be there for a reason. But maybe If I taped off the vent hole, the tape, if necessary, would loosen itself to let excess hot air out of the thermometer?

The color of the brown haze that was on the inside of the thermometer glass is exactly the color that we often see on various parts of our grills and smokers exposed to smoke from cooking meat. So, cooking is obviously the source of the brown haze. Putting the vent hole in the thermometer, where the smoke can get into it, seems like a design flaw. I noticed that Twin Eagles has new model of thermometer available since my grill was made. My grill is about 4+ years old. I can't tell from the little pictures on the Twin Eagles site, but maybe they relocated the vent hole on the current model.

Until I decide to upgrade to the new $99 model of the Twin Eagles thermometer, I have a good supply of Q-tips on hand.

[briano52]

Twin Eagles New Style Thermometer Update:
I found a picture of the new model of the Twin Eagles Thermometer. Below is a side view of the new one. It has the vent hole in the same place as does the old one. I am glad I didn't buy the new as it would eventually have the same hazing issue as does the old model. Although, the new one does have a cool looking black face on it. Old one was white.