I've been grilling and smoking food as a hobby for about 25 years (more so in the last 15). I have eight or nine grills and smokers, mostly Weber stuff. My BBQ skills are about the same as my driving skills: "above average".
(For the humor impaired, that's a tiny lil' joke.)
I like to learn about BBQ, try new recipes, etc. And I love to put on BBQ's for friends and family. I've built a reputation among friends and family as turning out some pretty good BBQ. But in all honesty I don't consider myself any more than a backyard griller. There are some truly great barbecuers out there, and I'm not one of them.
About ten years ago someone recommended Tel-Tru to me and I installed a BQ300 on my (pre-2009) Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Tel-Tru thermometers weren't available on Amazon, so I ordered it direct.
The Smokey Mountain is a great smoker, but works all the better with an accurate thermometer. There's none better than Tel-Tru. They are relatively expensive but worth every penny. Tel-Tru is my go-to brand for outdoor thermometers.
This thermometer is appropriate for any thin-walled grill or smoker (up to 1/4" thick) that you're willing to drill a hole in. I can't comment about it's suitability for a porcelain or ceramic cooker. I know that kamados can run much hotter than the range on this thermometer (500 degrees F). I'm sure there's a more suitable (Tel-Tru) thermometer for kamado-style or other thick-walled cookers, in terms of design and temperature range.
Some hardcore grillers and smokers will tell you that the only way to fly is with super awesome, fast reading digital probes and whatnot. I think that "going all in" with remote digital probes, forced air controllers, etc. takes all the fun out of BBQ. If you want pushbutton convenience from your BBQ appliance, then have at it. There's nothing wrong with that at all; it's just not for me. A simple thermometer is about as far down Crutch Lane as I want to go. I just feel better knowing how hot things are during the cook, and having a thermometer on my main smoker has been a great learning tool for me.
If you read any BBQ forums, you'll find strong opinions about analog thermometers. Some "internet experts" assert that analog thermometers are wildly inaccurate and/or inconsistent. That may be so (and they may really be experts). I made the mistake of trying a few "value priced" thermometers, so I get it. But it ain't so for this thermometer!! The lesson here is not to avoid analog thermometers, it's DON'T BUY CHEAP STUFF. When I got my Tel-Tru, I tested it in boiling water. It was dead on accurate. Ten years later it is STILL dead on accurate. This is one case where you get what you pay for.
I've had occasion to check out a few BBQ competitions. I've seen the same or similar BQ300 thermometers in use by contestants there, including some who really knew what they were doing. That carries some weight with me.
The thermometer mount is a 1/2" NPT fitting. I marked and drilled a pilot hole in my Weber, covered both sides with blue painter's tape (to try and avoid chipping the porcelain, although I'm not sure how likely that is), used a uni-bit to drill out to the right size, then cleaned up the edges with a reamer (by hand, light pressure). Tighten, but don't overtighten. It took me all of 5 minutes, and I ain't that handy.
Most people think my smoker came from the factory with the Tel-Tru installed. The black face with white markings and zones is a great match for Weber's black porcelain finish, and for that matter I think it would go well with just about anything.
Keep in mind that these thermometers are accurately and consistently measuring temperature where they're installed. That's different from the temperature surrounding your food! Mine is mounted fairly high in the lid of my Smokey Mountain Cooker. It's about 25 degrees higher than the top grate and 35-40 degrees higher than the bottom grate, for the way I usually set up the smoker. Your mileage WILL vary. For shorter cooks I look for no higher than 240 degrees on the thermometer; for lower and slower stuff I look for 220. I take that difference into account deciding where to put food on the grates, or to determine if I should switch top and bottom, etc.
One more tip for wood/charcoal cookers: don't use the thermometer as an excuse to constantly fool with your cooker. Let it get up to temperature, then make small adjustments if necessary. BE PATIENT. Let things stabilize. Especially for low and slow smoking, get it stable and open the smoker as little as possible.
Tel-Tru makes their products in America. That matters to me. It matters every bit as much that they make very high quality products that stand on their own. Tel-Tru justifies our pride in the "Made in U.S.A" label, and I'm happy to count myself a customer.
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Best thermometer you can get for your smoker.Made in the USA & far superior to the other thermometers on the market.
I bought a different highly rated thermometer and saved about $20 bucks I promptly ruined about $70 of meat because of inaccuracy in it's temp range (after I calibrated it with boiling water @ 212 degrees).
The Tru-Temp thermometers are precision instruments.
The hole required for the thermometer is a little larger (1/2 inch) than other brands.
I got the additional installation kit which consists of a machined nut & washer for about $6 Tel-Tru Thermometer Installation Kit for replacement barbecue thermometers.
Five Stars *****
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