Bad temp sensor?

Chili Head

New member
I noticed the last couple of cooks on my MAK seem to have went faster than usual. Tonight I checked the temps with two different probes. One was placed on top of the upper rack dead center and the other was placed on the bottom rack dead center in the cooking area. The two probes I put in were 1-2 degrees apart but almost 50 degrees higher than the set temperature of 350 on the MAK.

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When I placed a sensor close to the MAK probe the temperature was over 460. I think that could have been the hot air blowing directly on the sensor from around the grease tray.

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The MAK sensor was clean and I was burning hickory pellets. Is there a proper way to test this to be sure the sensor is bad?
 

squirtthecat

New member
You can check it with a coffee cup of boiling water... Just unbolt the sensor and quickly (while the MAK is lighting) dip the tip in.

You'll have to work fast so you don't smoke yourself!
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
The TC in the mak measures the overall temperature from it's location so there will be differences when measuring from other locations.
If you test it against another device you would need to tie them together in the same location.
Basically this was the safest most average temperature placement we could find for the TC, different temperature settings will yield different temperatures around the pit based on heat from the pan, air flow etc.
 

RickB

New member
I checked mine against a maverick about the same area you had yours and was less than 10 degrees off. Yours does not seem right.
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
Recheck with one clip to the MAK one with a alligator clip and put the other one near the middle . Start about 225 then 325 and then 425.
And see the results. Let stabilize for 20 minutes at each temp.
 

Chili Head

New member
Here's an update.
I placed a probe next to the MAK probe and got a difference of 18 degrees at 225 and 325 with the MAK temp showing higher at each set temperature. An 18-20 degree lower temp difference while cooking at 425 isn't an issue I don't think so i didn't test at that temperature. I tested the probes I used in boiling water and both were spot on.
The other day when I tested it wasn't as controlled as today's test. When i first posted this my set temp was never achieved and the MAK was chugging through the pellets. With the temp actually being lower than the set temp less pellets are being burned and I can set the temp higher to adjust for the difference. The probe with the highest temperature was in the exact center of the lower grate directly above the fire pot.

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Looks like I was worrying for nothing.


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