Dome thermometer replacement...

[binarypaladin]

I remember when I originally got my 22" Weber and I thought to myself, "What a good idea. A thermometer right on the dome."

Then I read this Meathead book and started hanging around here and realize it's all a terrible, terrible lie. Later use of a step drill, a grommet, and a multi-probe thermometer fixes that issue.

However there is still that thing up there. Can I replace it with something useful? I find that modding my grill is almost as fun as the cooking.

Oddly, when I think about getting another cooker, I'm actually considering just tricking out another Weber! (Or maybe get a Smokey Joe since my daughter is very excited about helping. Can't teach them too soon!)

[Mr. Bones]

Them Smokey Joe's ROCK!!!
An' I bet yer Daughter will have a blast usin' it, when yer not!!!

[binarypaladin]

We'll see. Thing about 5-year-olds... almost every whim and desire is ephemeral. If she's still interested in a month or two though, I think I'll need to see about a pink Smokey Joe, or purple... or whatever her favorite color is that month.

[Huskee]

I wouldn't bother replacing it with another dial thermometer, if that's what you're implying. I've tested my two Weber dome thermometers and they're both spot-on in boiling water, so they're accurate...BUT...they're reading falsely high due to where they're located. You replace it with another bi-metal, but more expensive, thermometer, and it too will still read falsely high due to where it's located. A good thing to do is to make some notes of what that thermometer reads when your grate-level probe reads 225 & 325 (or whatever your favorite cooking temps are), then if your digital leave-in ever fails, you can still use your lid thermometer as backup and just do the simple math.

For instance, if using the SnS, with a grate temp of ~225F, your dome therm (positioned over top the coals in the SnS) will usually read about 75F higher, so ~300.

[EdF]

Yeah, been there, done that. Listen to Huskee.

[binarypaladin]

That was my first thought months ago but between the book and the articles that seemed like a pretty clear failure to launch. At this point I'd be happy to replace it with something decorative rather than misleading!

[HawkerXP]

My Weber has the removable type temp probe. I test it in, boiling water / icy water every so often and it still comes up good. I know its not going to give me temps at grate level but its still good for giving me an easy read as I point it toward a window which keeps me from running outside to look at my DOT or ChefAlarm.

[MBMorgan]

Replace it with one of those turkey popup "doneness" indicators. Don't forget a pic. It won't tell you anything useful but it'll give your daughter something interesting to watch ... and that aforementioned pic will almost certainly guarantee you a mention in the next newsletter ... or even a spot on the cover of Meathead 's next book!

[binarypaladin]

Haha. No, I wasn't implying any kind of a temperature probe. I get that the position just isn't useful regardless of the quality of the thermometer. It just bugs me having something that's mostly useless there. Since it's over the coals on the SNS it goes give me a vague idea about heat over the coals themselves, but thing particularly useful.

MBMorgan I think you're on to something. I'm pretty sure Meathead actually mentioned painting it black in one of the articles I saw, although I sense there was mostly sarcasm there.

[Huskee]

Maybe a BMW or Cadillac logo hood ornament?

[DWCowles]

Maybe a BMW or Cadillac logo hood ornament?

Ford ornament will be better 😊