Weber Modification for Digital Thermometer Probe Wires
Aug 8, 2014 13:04:07 GMT -5
iceman, pilfjd, and 3 more like this
Post by rangerone on Aug 8, 2014 13:04:07 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
The Smokenator is a wonderful product, and works perfectly with a Weber kettle. In no time, you will be able to easily adjust and maintain temperatures for all your meat smoking. What goes really well with a Smokenator, is a multi-probe, digital thermometer. One probe sits on the grill and gives you the kettle cooking temperature, and the other is inserted into the meat and gives you the temperature of the meat. Knowing the cooking temperature at grill level allows you to make any necessary adjustments to the air flow vents of the Weber to keep the Smokenator maintaining your desired cooking temperature. The meat probe thermometer will let you know exactly when the meat is cooked to perfection.
However, what to do about those pesky wires? You can run them over the bowl of the kettle and sit the lid on them, but when I have tired this I had too much air leaking and it was difficult to maintain a proper temperature. I have also heard that the wires can become damaged from being "pinched" between the bowl and the lid. You can run them through the lid vent, and I did this for a while. I found this to be VERY inconvenient whenever it was necessary to lift the lid. Someone told me you can run the wires through the bottom vents, but this would get in the way of sweeping ash during longer cooks. I researched all the different kettle modifications that I could find on the web, and came to the conclusion that the best solution for me was to drill a small hole in my kettle and add a metal grommet. I considered adding a high heat resistant silicone grommet, but they only seem to be safe up to around 500F or slightly less. When I use my kettle for grilling, I might get close to this temperature and melt my grommet. That is why I decided to stay will an all metal solution.
Over the next several posts, I will show you how I did this modification to my Weber, starting right now with the hardware required.
The above picture shows a 1/16" drill bit I used to drill the pilot hole. It is a Split Point tip that starts on contact so it does not skip or skid around. Next is a step drill bit that I marked off with a marker at the approximate hole size I would need. Under that are two sizes of light fixture nipples. I was able to use the smallest one. Two hex nuts to hold the nipple in place, and a cap to seal it up when not in use are the last items.
The above picture shows my Weber kettle. I use the Smokenator on the left, and I put my digital thermometer on the shelf on the right. So I wanted to drill my hole on the right side of the kettle.
The above picture shows the pilot hole I drilled. Because the meat probe I use is quite long and has a 90 degree bend, I had to make sure that the hole in the kettle would be just above the level of the side table to ensure that I would be able to fit the probe in. I used my cordless drill (18 V) on high speed. Only apply a light to medium pressure to avoid cracking the porcelain finish on the bowl. Some people recommend putting layers of painters tape over the area before drilling, but I did not find this necessary when using the Split Point tip bit to drill the pilot hole.
Continued in the next post...
The Smokenator is a wonderful product, and works perfectly with a Weber kettle. In no time, you will be able to easily adjust and maintain temperatures for all your meat smoking. What goes really well with a Smokenator, is a multi-probe, digital thermometer. One probe sits on the grill and gives you the kettle cooking temperature, and the other is inserted into the meat and gives you the temperature of the meat. Knowing the cooking temperature at grill level allows you to make any necessary adjustments to the air flow vents of the Weber to keep the Smokenator maintaining your desired cooking temperature. The meat probe thermometer will let you know exactly when the meat is cooked to perfection.
However, what to do about those pesky wires? You can run them over the bowl of the kettle and sit the lid on them, but when I have tired this I had too much air leaking and it was difficult to maintain a proper temperature. I have also heard that the wires can become damaged from being "pinched" between the bowl and the lid. You can run them through the lid vent, and I did this for a while. I found this to be VERY inconvenient whenever it was necessary to lift the lid. Someone told me you can run the wires through the bottom vents, but this would get in the way of sweeping ash during longer cooks. I researched all the different kettle modifications that I could find on the web, and came to the conclusion that the best solution for me was to drill a small hole in my kettle and add a metal grommet. I considered adding a high heat resistant silicone grommet, but they only seem to be safe up to around 500F or slightly less. When I use my kettle for grilling, I might get close to this temperature and melt my grommet. That is why I decided to stay will an all metal solution.
Over the next several posts, I will show you how I did this modification to my Weber, starting right now with the hardware required.
The above picture shows a 1/16" drill bit I used to drill the pilot hole. It is a Split Point tip that starts on contact so it does not skip or skid around. Next is a step drill bit that I marked off with a marker at the approximate hole size I would need. Under that are two sizes of light fixture nipples. I was able to use the smallest one. Two hex nuts to hold the nipple in place, and a cap to seal it up when not in use are the last items.
The above picture shows my Weber kettle. I use the Smokenator on the left, and I put my digital thermometer on the shelf on the right. So I wanted to drill my hole on the right side of the kettle.
The above picture shows the pilot hole I drilled. Because the meat probe I use is quite long and has a 90 degree bend, I had to make sure that the hole in the kettle would be just above the level of the side table to ensure that I would be able to fit the probe in. I used my cordless drill (18 V) on high speed. Only apply a light to medium pressure to avoid cracking the porcelain finish on the bowl. Some people recommend putting layers of painters tape over the area before drilling, but I did not find this necessary when using the Split Point tip bit to drill the pilot hole.
Continued in the next post...
