Calibration of the internal sensor on the Silverton 810

[Clausl]

Picked up the Silverton 810 @ Costco this past week. I'm an avid cook so I have smoked meat before on both my Napoleon (using a tube) and on my Weber Kettle. I was excited to learn from the manual that you can set it @ 300F and while it may fluctuate it will maintain the heat. I use a Meater Thermometer that reads both the meat temp as well as the ambient temp.

A 4lb pork shoulder that should have been done in 3 hours took nearly 8. I can live without the probe working well but the internal temperature sensor must have been reading the temp off the pyrex dish inside the smoker. While the Meater thermometer said it was only 220F the Traeger thought it was 300F. Seriously... they may just as well put a knob on the unit and use the numbers 1 -10 as I'm going to have watch the temperature closely and adjust the Traeger set point so that it accurately reflects the interior temperature.

I'm a little miffed right now after having spent $2k on this. I made the adjustments and everything came out but I shouldn't have to at that price point.

Has anyone been successful in calibrating the internal temperature sensor?

 

[Slimpicker]

A 4lb pork shoulder that should have been done in 3 hours took nearly 8.

I've done dozens of 4.5lb pork butts before, on some smokers that when not watched careful would get to 300°+... NEVER did one "get done" before 8 hours.

i also own 2 Meaters and if you have then in the TOP of the meat, they will tell you the temp after heat has traveled around your cold meat and almost NEVER be the ambient pit temp...

I'm a little miffed right now after having spent $2k on this

I suggest you spend some time in this forum to learn a few things about your new Traeger.
Start here

 

[Lbeberdick]

Picked up the Silverton 810 @ Costco this past week. I'm an avid cook so I have smoked meat before on both my Napoleon (using a tube) and on my Weber Kettle. I was excited to learn from the manual that you can set it @ 300F and while it may fluctuate it will maintain the heat. I use a Meater Thermometer that reads both the meat temp as well as the ambient temp.

A 4lb pork shoulder that should have been done in 3 hours took nearly 8. I can live without the probe working well but the internal temperature sensor must have been reading the temp off the pyrex dish inside the smoker. While the Meater thermometer said it was only 220F the Traeger thought it was 300F. Seriously... they may just as well put a knob on the unit and use the numbers 1 -10 as I'm going to have watch the temperature closely and adjust the Traeger set point so that it accurately reflects the interior temperature.

I'm a little miffed right now after having spent $2k on this. I made the adjustments and everything came out but I shouldn't have to at that price point.

Has anyone been successful in calibrating the internal temperature sensor?

i have the 810 as well. there doesn't seem to be a method to calibrate the RTD. what i have done is to purchase the Thermoworks Smoke X4 and put ambient probes on each end of the 810 to measure the internal temp. the Traeger is about 30 degrees lower then actual when in the 180 to 300 degree range. when you set the temp to 375 or above the RTD is almost right on. Bottom line, when smoking ignore the displayed temp on the 810 (all Traeger for that matter) and adjust temp based on the aftermarket ambient probes.

 

[RayClem]

Every grill seems to have its own RTD calibration issues. For some folks, the RTD reads lower than the grill temp. For others like me, it reads higher. I have an IW885 and I normally only cook on the top rack and place a drip pan on the bottom rack, which I know affects air flow within the grill chamber. I use a 3rd party temp probe mounted beside my cook just above the top rack.

With my controller set to 225F, the cooking temp will be 220F. With the controller set to 225F, the cooking temp will be 300F. With the controller set to 450F, the cooking temp will be 400F. That is how my grill works, but it is likely that YOURS will be different. You need to learn how your own grill operates and set the temperature accordingly.


BTW: when cooking the pork butt, did you try cooking it unwrapped for the full cook, or did you wrap it when the temperature hit the stall? That normally occurs somewhere between 160-170 F. Wrapping the meat reduces evaporation and reduces the cook time by several hours. Even with wrapping, a big piece of meat like a pork butt is likely to take 8 hours. Once the meat is wrapped, it can absorb no more smoke, so it is OK to increase the cook temperature. I normally bump my grill from 225F up to 275-300F to speed up the cook. Make sure you do not unwrap the meat until it reaches your desired internal temp. When you unwrap it, water vapor will escape and the internal temperature will drop significantly. If you unwrap it too soon, it will take quite a while to get the meat back up to temperature. You can finish you cook anywhere from 190 - 205F depending upon your preferences. I normally target 203F to get pork that will shred easily. If you want to slice it, you might want to take it off a little sooner.

 

[Murphy's Law]

Yeah, I don't believe I've ever done a shoulder in 3 hours either.

But that aside, Traeger is well known for having a large temp off set from their reported temp to reality. For example, if I want to cook at 225 I have to set my Traeger to 235, and it goes up from there. If I want to be at 350 then I set it around 400.

Hate to be so blunt, but lots of people come here with the "...for $2K I shouldn't have to!" but the truth is - you do. Traeger makes a good grill but you still need the right accessories to fine tune the cook.

 

[RayClem]

I am doing two racks of ribs today. One is St Louis style and the other is baby back. I set the controller to 230F to achieve a cook temp of 225 F. They have been smoking for 3 hours. The baby backs just reached 165 F and are ready to wrap. The St Louis ribs are only up to 156 F, so they will take a little longer before wrapping. After both are wrapped, I will bump the controller up to 300F to achieve a cook temp of 275F. It will probably take another 3 hours total to finish off the ribs. The is six hours of cook time for ribs that weigh a little over 1.5 pounds. There is no way that a thick pork butt will cook in less than 6 hours unless you crank up the temperature. That defeats the principle of "low and slow". It takes time to render the fat and break down the cartilage.

It would be nice if I could set the temperature at 275 F to get 275 F, but having to add a temperature offset is no big deal as long as the cook turns out juicy and delicious.

 

[RichardM59]

I guess it's not a big deal to simply adjust the display temp to the actual, it's just that to smoke at 225 and set it for 235 means that you can't use super smoke. It's not available above 225.

 

[Lbeberdick]

I guess it's not a big deal to simply adjust the display temp to the actual, it's just that to smoke at 225 and set it for 235 means that you can't use super smoke. It's not available above 225.

Very true. I have an 810. Have resulted smoking at 180 for a few hours and then raisi g the temp beyond recipe temp for remainder of cooking. If you us 2 after marketemp sensors like THERMOWORKS. you will notice there is a 20 to 30 degree temp difference form the left to right side. If you want any real smoke flavor get a smoke tube.

 

[RichardM59]

Very true. I have an 810. Have resulted smoking at 180 for a few hours and then raisi g the temp beyond recipe temp for remainder of cooking. If you us 2 after marketemp sensors like THERMOWORKS. you will notice there is a 20 to 30 degree temp difference form the left to right side. If you want any real smoke flavor get a smoke tube.

So a little more smoke in the cooking chamber. I do have a smoke tube but haven't used it yet. I was saving it for cold smoking. Thank you for the suggestion!