How far off is your RTD?

[midwest]

I am fairly new to Traeger's and pellet grills in general. I have been BBQ's for a long time and decided to give this a try. I have had my 780 since last summer and so far have been very happy with it. The only complaint I have (as many do on here from my reading) is the internal temp. of the cook chamber Last night I was cooking some chicken and had my temp set at 375. After about 1/2 hour I got curious and stuck my thermopen MK4 through the grommet and into the cook chamber. In less then 2 seconds it shot up to 450 and then went blank. I am not sure what the max temp on the thermopen is but it appears my RTD could be 100 degrees or more off. I know most people say they are not accurate but is this big of a temp difference normal in your guys experience?

 

[Slimpicker]

The area right inside that grommet is where a lot of HEAT rises for the main level... (bad spot to check for that) mine reads way high there too. So that is NOT an accurate place for reading your pit ambient temp.

You do, however, need a 3rd party probe in your pit right by your RTD if you want to really know how far OFF your grill is.

 

[midwest]

Thanks I didn’t realize that. My wired food probe is pretty accurate compared to some people’s. Mines usually within 3-4 degrees when I check it with my MK4

 

[Murphy's Law]

My Traeger probe for the pit temp is pretty accurate at 180 but starts to really fail at around 225 and above. It's about 30 degrees or so off at higher temps.

I have no idea how far off my Traeger meat probe is because I have no idea where I last left it!

 

[midwest]

I totally forgot that in 2019 I got a Thermopro dual probe thermometer for Xmas. I had never used it and it was sitting in a box on the fridge. I know they are not the best but I tested the grill probe in a cup of ice water and in a pot of boiling water and compared with my MK4 and it was within a couple of degrees. So I know it is fairly accurate. Next time I fire up the 780 I'm going to see how it reads compared to the RTD.

Its not in the budget to get a Fireboard right now but if I know about how far off my RTD is I can make some adjustments.

 

[Slimpicker]

WISE ^^^^^^^

 

[JamesB]

I totally forgot that in 2019 I got a Thermopro dual probe thermometer for Xmas. I had never used it and it was sitting in a box on the fridge. I know they are not the best but I tested the grill probe in a cup of ice water and in a pot of boiling water and compared with my MK4 and it was within a couple of degrees. So I know it is fairly accurate. Next time I fire up the 780 I'm going to see how it reads compared to the RTD.

Its not in the budget to get a Fireboard right now but if I know about how far off my RTD is I can make some adjustments.

The problem with the Traeger meat probe is the are usually pretty close at boiling or freezing ( not usually both without recalibration) but wildly off at temps in between.

 

[RemE]

I totally forgot that in 2019 I got a Thermopro dual probe thermometer for Xmas. I had never used it and it was sitting in a box on the fridge. I know they are not the best but I tested the grill probe in a cup of ice water and in a pot of boiling water and compared with my MK4 and it was within a couple of degrees. So I know it is fairly accurate. Next time I fire up the 780 I'm going to see how it reads compared to the RTD.

Its not in the budget to get a Fireboard right now but if I know about how far off my RTD is I can make some adjustments.

That's all you need, just map out the temp difference and you will know what you have going. The grill's set temps are stable and repeatable but may be high or low compared to a better thermometer. Once mapped you can add notes to your recipes.

 

[C.Rosin]

My temps were pretty close to the probe on a separate thermometer that I stuck in there. The top shelf was hotter than the lower and middle shelf, but it wasn’t drastic. The temp on my external thermometer shot up way faster when heating up, but once the grill was at temp they were about 3-5 degrees off from each other. Good enough for me. Same goes for my meat probe. Once I calibrated it, it was just a few degrees off. Close enough until I need to pull the meat off. Then I start probing with a thermopen.

 

[midwest]

Hoping mine is pretty close, still haven't had it on since I found the other probe I plan to check it with. I just trusted it until I started reading about how far off some peoples are. I have done a few chuck roasts lately and they seem to be taking longer then they should so I am curious.

 

[Slimpicker]

Hoping mine is pretty close, still haven't had it on since I found the other probe I plan to check it with. I just trusted it until I started reading about how far off some peoples are. I have done a few chuck roasts lately and they seem to be taking longer then they should so I am curious.

Typical of my 575... up to 25° lower than the Traeger RTD
But I basically compromise when they get that way... nothing really tells you what heat is coming up around your meat actually... so it's all a matter of relativity. You are basically using most of these probes for 'range' temps that you 'imagine' your meat is at.

 

[BobbyQ]

I usually locate the Fireboard probe at the rear of the lower grill on the same side as the RTD. I was getting up to 25 degrees difference but since I fixed the cracked ceramic on the RTD the temps are much closer. More like 10-15 degrees. I'll be keeping track on future cooks. I got a replacement RTD from Traeger JIC but I'm not looking forward to replacing it. I tried loosening the screws once and they are frozen solid.

 

[Murphy's Law]

At 180 I am pretty balls on, but once I climb past 225 I get to be about 25 or so over my Fire Board.

 

[midwest]

So maybe I am one of the lucky ones. I finally used my grill tonight and stuck in the thermopro. From start up to over 400 degrees it was within 5-10 degrees of the Traeger probe. I did move it at one point from under the RTD to the side by the chimney and there was about a 40 degree difference in temps. On the right side both were reading 375 and once moved to the left I was between 330-340. Do you guys see swings that big from one side to the other. On the RTD side my my RTD is a little low so when I had it set to 225 it was reading between 230-235. I would rather it be low than high, I would rather things go a little faster than slower and I can keep an eye on meat temps with my MK4.

 

[Slimpicker]

So maybe I am one of the lucky ones. I finally used my grill tonight and stuck in the thermopro. From start up to over 400 degrees it was within 5-10 degrees of the Traeger probe. I did move it at one point from under the RTD to the side by the chimney and there was about a 40 degree difference in temps. On the right side both were reading 375 and once moved to the left I was between 330-340. Do you guys see swings that big from one side to the other. On the RTD side my my RTD is a little low so when I had it set to 225 it was reading between 230-235. I would rather it be low than high, I would rather things go a little faster than slower and I can keep an eye on meat temps with my MK4.

What you need to do now is figure what your temp will be with the meat in the middle... and cook