Probe holes??

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smokinclt

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jan 24, 2013
220
14
Charlotte, NC
Getting my new 60 original tomorrow and didnt even think to ask about probe holes on this thing. Anyone have one that can tell me either if it has any kind of port or if you just do under the lid? or drilled it?? 

Appreciate any info. 

Thanks,

Doug
 
ok no hits but I just put them under the lid. I was worried about the weight and the flashing cutting or damaging the probe but the cord held up fine. 
 
I wish I saw this earlier, but you hit it on the head. I would not suggest drilling a hole for the probe.

My probe cord has held up well, but they are also cheap to replace.

Chris
 
I did drill a hole and it works great. I drew a pencil line in the millde of the grill under the closed door, opened the lid and measured from where the line was down to the top of the grate and and divided by two so I stayed in the middle. Drilled a 1/4" hole and deburred it on both sides. Now the probe wires are out of the way and I can close the door
 
Or you could do like I do and screw out the Lang thermometer and put your probe wires in there. When I replace my probe wires I will order the 6' replacement wires as opposed to the original 3' because I unplug my wires from the transmitter if I must open the door during my smoke so as not to drop the transmitter or bend my wires and break them. Very little smoke is lost through this opening.
 
Or you could do like I do and screw out the Lang thermometer and put your probe wires in there. When I replace my probe wires I will order the 6' replacement wires as opposed to the original 3' because I unplug my wires from the transmitter if I must open the door during my smoke so as not to drop the transmitter or bend my wires and break them. Very little smoke is lost through this opening.
Trying to be politically correct here but are you serious, you must be new to this stuff, That is wrong in so many ways I don't know where to began
 
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Dont worry about political correctness and yes i am new to this STUFF but this works well for me. I had asked when i ordered my lang and it was not ben that i talked to, to put me a well in the back of the smoke chamber but it did not get put in. Its ok my Lang works great.
 
Nice to see so many replies.. I thought I might been asking a really dumb question
huh.gif
.. For now definitely gonna stick with the wires under the lid. They have held up for 3 day long smokes so I am pretty sure that they will make it through. I was mainly concerned because of the weight of the door and it pinching through the wire. So far so good. 

Thanks Y'all!

Doug
 
I dont have words, I am at a loss. You remove a tel tru to run wires, Really...........
 
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Gary,

Maybe you can take a little time and explain. Personally I have been running mine under the lid and have had no issues so far. Have done 12 racks ribs, 2 chickens and 2 pork shoulders and about 40 ABT's in the last 2 weeks. I am pretty convinced that I will keep it running this way. Now IF I do have issues I may look into drilling holes. All  that said if you enlighten us we all gain knowledge. If you post a comment we all kind of scratch out heads and wonder why. Well at least I do. 

Personally I rely on the thermo in the unit for cleaning only. I prefer a good digital (I use 2 of the Maverick ET-732) over an analog any day. 
 
Once you have had a cooker like a Lang for a while you will realize the only thermometer you need most of the time is the Tel True you have on it. Digital probes are great too, but running them under the door is eventually going to wreck them, they are fragile. and unpluging them to open the door because you removed the Tel Tru for me is well not an option. I drilled a hole for when I need them and it works great, that is what I said in post #4 but once you have had your cooker for a while and get used to fire management, that is the learning curve, that and buy a Thermapen. you will probably realize you dont need them very much at all.
 
Thanks Gary I appreciate the response. At some point I may put some probe holes in this thing but for now the probes are holding and no issues. I agree with what you said and I too do that with some things but with large cuts and chickens I like the constant monitoring. Lets me pull at exactly the right time. Also if I am using the top rack I can get an accurate temp read of that as well. Which has been pretty helpful the one time I did use it. Its a bit warmer up there. All that said given enough time on the same cooker i am sure I could do it without the probes. So far fire management has been too easy on the Lang. Its quite a cooker and almost makes it too easy. 
 
I just run my probe wires under the door, as long and you don't dog the latches closed you'll be fine.  If your worried about damaging the wires, you can always drill a couple of holes in the chamber body below the door opening. My cousin drilled several 1/2 holes in his chamber to run his probe wires-he'll run as many as 6 thermometers at a time, especially when he has a boat load of butts going.  If he is only using a single pass through, he'll put cork stoppers in the other holes. 
 
I have three 1/4" holes in the body of my smoker, two in front on each side of the door and one in the back right in the middle.  They are just above grate level.  If I'm not using them I just plug them.  My Tel-tru is about 25 degrees off, so to say it is the only one you will need could be bunk in some cases.  I wouldnt recommend running the leads through the door, be too much of a hassle.
 
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I have only have had my Lang for a couple of months and I am planning on getting me "The BBQ Guru CyberQ WiFi" and my thoughts on the probes is: If you have a warmer box like mine does and you get the 6 to 8 ft probes you could run them thru the top off warmer box and thru the bottom to the meat, all you would have to do is leave the damper opened on the warmer box and adjust your temp with those dampers left open so you can smoke
 
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