MAK Temperature Question?

So, I recently purchased a Maverick ET-732. Just for fun I tried to see how close my probes were to each other from a temperature perspective.


I set the setpoint to 220, put all my probes as close together in the middle of the grill as possible.

I recognize there IS going to be a difference in the middle vs where the probe is actually located.

I have allowed the MAK to stablize for 30 minutes. Here are the results

Grill Temp (as defined by pelletboss) 215
Probe 1 = 231 (In Pellet Boss)
Probe 2 = 210 (In Pellet Boss, outlier)
Probe 3 = 230 (Plugged into ET-732)
Probe 4 = 232 (Plugged into ET-732)

It appears that Probe 2 is the outlier of the group, and probably is bad.

To note, I did clean off the smoke, etc from the MAK grill probe.

Isn't 15 degree's a bit much of a temp swing from the stationary probe of the MAK?

Is this a problem or am I missing something?

to be honest with ya i have never thought of probing my 2 star. i just set the grill and let the grill do its own job. all my other grills i would always probe them. to much trouble and i don't need the headaches w/ worrying about it. i have never probe #336 since i have owned her and are much happier. my food comes out great. i am happy camper.

What you really should do is the bisquit test to learn your cooker. It is fun and tasty afterwards....knowing your grill will increase your confidence and results...a kitchen oven is not the same temp[ throughout the oven....you should verify next to the mak thermocouple

Were all your probes food or grill probes? I'm with BP, if you want to test your grill, use biscuits. If you want to test your probes, use boiling water as a reference. Verify a 732 grill probe with boiling water, then test next to your MAK thermocouple probe to verify it....the only place I sweat ten degrees is on the probe in the meat.

That looks about right to me. The grate will be about 20° hotter in the middle from the (almost) direct heat of the firepot. The PelletBoss probe is measuring the air temp that swirls up from the back corner of the unit.

Star1021Scott said:

Isn't 15 degree's a bit much of a temp swing from the stationary probe of the MAK?
Is this a problem or am I missing something?

Click to expand...

I've been right where you are Scott. Before the MAK I had a Weber kettle with a Smokenator attachment that has huge temp differences top to bottom. So much so it was hard to figure out where to keep the temp. So, when I first got my MAK 2 Star I did much the same thing; measured with multiple probes that I had verified in boiling water.

Mostly I got confused.

Now, I just use the MAK temp and probes and don't use the Maverick. The results are in the eating; working with the MAK temps turns out great food.

Instead of the biscuit test, I cooked a batch of beef short ribs. Like biscuits, they are small somewhat uniform pieces that show temp differences in different spots. My cooker definitely is hotter in the middle like Squirt says.

My takeaway is that when cooking big hunks o' meat like pork shoulder or slabs of ribs, the temp differences don't really matter. If cooking smaller things for shorter times, move things around occasionally.

And on a totally different subject, Squirt, even though I've been on this forum almost since its inception, I still do a double take when I see your avatar/icon. At first glance, it looks like a coyote head sitting on a plate. I figure "wow, you can smoke ANYTHING on a pellet smoker". You'd think after all these months, I'd see it for what it really is. I absolutely love it. I'm not hassling you about it; it's more a comment on my eyesight.

I'm finding much more consistancy today with brisket on the MAK, the difference in temp is maybe 5 degrees.

As I thought about this more logically, there are going to be swings throughout the entire cook, especially on a pellet grill as the temp starts to drop pellets are fed, which in turn is going to increase the temp of the grill slightly beyond the setpoint and then stabilizes.

I guess I should stop and think a bit before being overly concerned.

thats what forums are for! panic! Glad its working out better!

Scott, the learning process is long and joyful thing. Enjoy.

One thing I have noticed is that if you put the probe in the meat in a fashion that has it protruding from one end of the meat, instead of in from the top and having the heat obstructed by the meat, it tends to read high. I suspect this is from the end of the probe getting directly heated and the heat wicking down the probe body.

Just a guess, but I always double check with my hand held instant read before I pull anything off.

Looks like all good stuff to me, you guys are really getting to know your MAK's

Trust your MAK it won't let you down