Weber Modification for Maverick Temperature Probes

[ht01us]

I've asked enough questions for a while. I thought I 'd share a little mod I made today. I drilled 2 holes just big enough to run a couple of Maverick smoke probes from the grate to the exterior. I got the idea from the Weber virtual bullet web site.

I'll attach as many pictures as I can; hopefully you can follow along. (I'm not sure how the picture attachment process works here, so bear with me. I may have to attach them individually in follow up messages.)

I want to be able to have a meat probe without threading the cable under the cover. I also wanted to measure the temperature at the grate rather than the vent because of some of what I've read. I have the large 26.75" Weber kettle and have been concerned that there may be a bigger temperature variation than 35* between the grate and vent. I'll let you know

I am not a handy man by any stretch of the imagination; but once in a while I get brave. I messed up a bit but

First I gathered my tools
- Drill
- Gauge for measuring the probes and drill bits
- Center punch and hammer (with protective glasses)
- A block of wood and a clamp
- A round file (not in picture)
- Dremel moto tool with grinder to file off the burrs
- Some high temp paint.

First I picked a spot under the rim, but over grate.

Next, I laid 3 strips of masking tape over the spot (I had hoped that the masking tape would help protect the enamel). Then I clamped a piece of wood to the inside and made an indentation with a center punch.

Next, I used my newly purchased bolt gauge to measure the size of the probes, realizing that the crimped end near the cable makes it a bit wider. I picked a matching drill bit and drilled a hole.
The hole was just a smidge too small, so I went back to the garage to find a small round file in my old model railroad toolkit. I filed out the hole until the probe fit through. One hole down

I repeated the process for the second hole. I didn't need as much space for this probe so I had less filing to do.

The holes had some sharp burrs on the inside of the kettle; so back into the garage to get my Dremel tool to put on a little grinder to clean things up.

Now for the unveiling. Off came the masking tape. Uh oh. I must have done something wrong on the 2nd hole because a big chunk of enamel came off on the back of the tape.

Good thing I live in western Oregon where it hardly rains so rust won't be a problem. Oh wait, DANG - rust just might be a problem. Oh well, that's why they invented paint, right? I masked the spot and painted inside and out with some Rustoleum high temperature black spray paint.

Before following my lead, you might want to see if it was worth while and see if there are any hints from some real handy men and women out there.

I've got 3 racks of baby backs rubbed and cooling the refrigerator overnight. Tomorrow I'll see how it all works out

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Picture 2: This shows the tape on the grill where I plan to drill the holes.

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Picture 3: The first hole

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Picture 4: Ooops. I take the tape off and see all the enamel on the back.

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Picture 5: Oooops part two. The 2nd hole I drilled (on the left) really ended up with some enamel gone. Definitely more than I had bargained for.

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Picture 6: I've cleaned up the burrs and the probes fit.

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Picture 7: I've masked the kettle making sure to cover the bar that holds the cover, and put on the first coat of paint. I painted inside and out

It was about 95* today, so it dried quickly. I got 3 coats on total.

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[ht01us]

Out of order. A picture of the probe and the gauge I used to make sure my hole wouldn't be too bit. I had planned to use a uni-bit but when the price was more than $25, I figured I'd just use a regular high-speed bit. Maybe that was my problem with the flaking.

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I need an editor!
I also purchased a couple of small magnets; I figure I can slap one on each side of the holes to block air after a cook to help make sure the coals can die out instead of burn out.

[ht01us]

As promised, Here is a picture of the ribs at the end of the smoking process. The ribs turned out very well. I usually use the Texas crutch method of putting in foil with apple juice for about an hour; but I forgot to get apple juice. Nevertheless, they turned out well

I am glad I made the modification because there is a HUGE difference between the vent temp and the grill temp. I had to open the top vents all the way and get a vent temp of 300* to get 227* at the grate. A vent temp of 275* correlated to 212* at the grate.

This means I burned through more charcoal than I had planned and the water boiled off much more quickly.

It was a hot 90* day with not much humidity

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[tatoosh]

I really want to do this for my Thermoworks probes that I use to monitor the grate and the food but I'm worried about whacking enamel off the kettle. I may try scribing the diameter of my cut first before drilling so the enamel has a clean break and ... maybe ... won't chip so much. Fingers crossed. I'm waiting for the charger for my camera to show up so I can take better quality photos than my old cell phone will do before I start the project.

Nice job though and I am sure having the probe holes are very handy. The other mod I really want is to find steel or aluminum cups to fit the charcoal holes in the Smokenator. I really want the water pan hole for feeding the Smokenator and to move my water to the circle cut outs.

[ksu1971]

I was the same way until one day I just did it. I put a couple layers of tape down and started with a small hole and worked my way up to the size I needed. No problems what do every.

[flbuckeye]

I drilled a one inch hole for my Party Q from BBQ Guru. Found a big bit at Home Depot that had a hole in the middle of it. Took two seconds and no flaking, turned out great.