how to calibrate a IBBQ-4T

[caplanner]

on Amazon for 50% discount yesterday so I bought one. Arrived today thanks to Prime....

I've searched the internet and this site but can't find any directions on how to calibrate it - what am I missing?

Roasting a whole chicken at 375 - it says 375 ambient on the traeger and 345 on the IBBQ-4T. I want to be sure the traeger is 30 degrees off before making an adjustment to the temp. using probe 1 for ambient temp and probe 4 for chicken.

Thank you

Mark

 

[Murphy's Law]

Your external thermometer will come calibrated. I’d put the ambient probe near the Traeger probe and adjust the temp on the grill until the IBBQ reads out your target temp. Don’t really worry about the temp your Traeger probe is reading.

For example, if you want to cook at 375 try setting the Traeger to 375 and let the grill stabilize and see what the IBBQ reads. I’d the IBBQ reads 340 the bump the Traeger up -30 degrees.

Once you do this a few times you will have a pretty good idea of the offset. And a note of caution, the grill could be off 10 degrees at 200 degrees and 40 degrees off at 400 degrees. The oddest tends to increase the higher the temp.

 

[Big Man Dan]

I've had the IBBQ-4T for a couple of years now and I LOVE it! I assume you are also using the companion app on your phone. My favorite feature in the app is the trending/graphing feature that allows you to watch all 4 temperatures on one chart. I find this trending feature most helpful in identifying the stall region and when I'm coming out of it.

With regard to temperature differences between the IBBQ ambient and the Traeger internal, get the probes as close together as possible to check the actual temp variance. The temp will vary considerable at different locations inside the grill space so proximity is important. You may choose to put your ambient probe near the cooking surface once you've checked the variance. It's all up to you. Frankly, I don't know if it matters an awful lot. When I first started I would fret about temperature and temp variance a lot. Now I just cook and it almost always turns out good.

 

[RayClem]

The Inkbird should be calibrated. However, you might want to check the calibration, you can prepare a ice water bath with water and crushed ice. Put all four probes into the bath at the same time and make sure they all read 32F / 0C.

You can also check the temperature of boiling water, but remember that the temperature you get might differ depending upon the elevation of your home and the hardness of your water. The higher the elevation, the lower the boiling point of water. The harder the water, the higher the boiling point of water. So do not be surprised if your result is above or below 212F / 100 C.

While the exact temperature of the cooking chamber is seldom critical. When cooking protein, just a few degrees internal temperature difference can affect the doneness. Cooked chicken is not considered safe until the internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 165F. If the thermometer is reading 5 F higher than actual, you might be consuming chicken at 160F. That might not hurt you, but if the chicken is contaminated with salmonella, it might.

 

[caplanner]

I've had the IBBQ-4T for a couple of years now and I LOVE it! I assume you are also using the companion app on your phone. My favorite feature in the app is the trending/graphing feature that allows you to watch all 4 temperatures on one chart. I find this trending feature most helpful in identifying the stall region and when I'm coming out of it.

With regard to temperature differences between the IBBQ ambient and the Traeger internal, get the probes as close together as possible to check the actual temp variance. The temp will vary considerable at different locations inside the grill space so proximity is important. You may choose to put your ambient probe near the cooking surface once you've checked the variance. It's all up to you. Frankly, I don't know if it matters an awful lot. When I first started I would fret about temperature and temp variance a lot. Now I just cook and it almost always turns out good.

Thank you Dan. I'll put them close together and near the Traeger ambient probe. Glad to hear it is working for you - I wasn't impressed reading the documentation but it is simple to use so that is good.

 

[caplanner]

Your external thermometer will come calibrated. I’d put the ambient probe near the Traeger probe and adjust the temp on the grill until the IBBQ reads out your target temp. Don’t really worry about the temp your Traeger probe is reading.

For example, if you want to cook at 375 try setting the Traeger to 375 and let the grill stabilize and see what the IBBQ reads. I’d the IBBQ reads 340 the bump the Traeger up -30 degrees.

Once you do this a few times you will have a pretty good idea of the offset. And a note of caution, the grill could be off 10 degrees at 200 degrees and 40 degrees off at 400 degrees. The oddest tends to increase the higher the temp.

Thank you for the information - I calibrated the Traeger meat probe and it seemed to be close to our thermapen MK4. I wanted something with more probes and felt like I shouldn't pass up the 50% discount. instead of measuring on the grate, in the lower position, I'll measure up by the Traeger ambient probe.