# ANY GMG DANIEL BOONE OWNERS???



## oonighttrain (Jun 5, 2019)

i just got a daniel boone and am having what i feel to be major temperature differences and swings.. its like it is possessed.. with the grill set at 150, my thermo works thermometer says its 130, set at 165, thermo reads 145.. seems to be 20 degrees off.. but, when i leave the grill alone awhile set at 165, i come back to look and the grill itself reads 140.. what the f...??  im starting to think i just pissed away $700.. i had more luck keeping  a consistant temperature with my char griller akorn with a party q fan..


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## 6GRILLZNTN (Jun 5, 2019)

Where are you placing the thermoworks grate probe?


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## Jabiru (Jun 5, 2019)

A few people have had the same issue, firmware upgrade usually fixes.
Contact GMG support and they will most likely say to update the firmware = fixed.


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## oonighttrain (Jun 6, 2019)

ive tried placing the probe far left, in the middle and far right. all have given me very close to the same results.


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## oonighttrain (Jun 6, 2019)

5GRILLZNTN said:


> Where are you placing the thermoworks grate probe?





Jabiru said:


> A few people have had the same issue, firmware upgrade usually fixes.
> Contact GMG support and they will most likely say to update the firmware = fixed.



im going to call this morning, hopefully there is a fix.


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## bregent (Jun 6, 2019)

oonighttrain said:


> i just got a daniel boone and am having what i feel to be major temperature differences and swings



Everyone has their own idea of what a 'major' temp difference/swing is, but being around pellet grills for many years I'd call what you are seeing minor. I know folks that are perfectly happy with swings of +/- 50 degrees. I've seen some that spike 100F over set point at times. Some pellet grills do have smaller swings, GMG's tend to have a bit larger one. Swings of 20F won't hurt you. And as I mentioned in your other post, I believe you can adjust the offset to match a 3rd party thermometer.

Also realize that the difference in temp between where the GMG RTD is, and the grate can be quite a bit different, and running without food can also change things.


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## bregent (Jun 6, 2019)

OK, I found the temp calibration note on Pelletheads. Unfortunately that site is down, but here's a cached version:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c....php?topic=40293.0+&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


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## oonighttrain (Jun 6, 2019)

thanks for the input.. my concern is that if i put a brisket on set for 165 degrees, the real temp may really be 145..


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## SlowmotionQue (Jun 6, 2019)

oonighttrain said:


> thanks for the input.. my concern is that if i put a brisket on set for 165 degrees, the real temp may really be 145..



Well I don’t think you’d try and cook it at 165*. But I do see your concern. 

Let’s say that you’re cooking something at what you think is 250* but you’re really cooking at 210*. It’s going to take you longer.


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## BigW. (Jun 6, 2019)

I have a GMG also, but without wifi.  Keep the 3rd party therm on the rack and adjust temp up to get the cooking temp you desire.  If you want to smoke at 225*, may need to set GMG to 245*


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## Jabiru (Jun 6, 2019)

BigW. said:


> I have a GMG also, but without wifi.  Keep the 3rd party therm on the rack and adjust temp up to get the cooking temp you desire.  If you want to smoke at 225*, may need to set GMG to 245*



Incorrect. The fix is update the firmware not set a different temp to get the right temp, arrrgh. These units usually are spot on to what temp you set. 

I set at 180f I’ve got 180 in the centre of grill every time, my temp swings are so minimal it’s not noticed. Maybe 1-2 f on a bad day.


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## oonighttrain (Jun 6, 2019)

Jabiru said:


> Incorrect. The fix is update the firmware not set a different temp to get the right temp, arrrgh. These units usually are spot on to what temp you set.
> 
> I set at 180f I’ve got 180 in the centre of grill every time, my temp swings are so minimal it’s not noticed. Maybe 1-2 f on a bad day.



i called gmg today, the guy told me to move my heat shield 1/4" more to the right. i asked about an update, he didnt think that was the problem. . after 4 plus hours of of observation again tonight, i have the same issue.. the grill reads one temp but my thermo works smoke consistantly reads 20-30 degrees less until the fan of the grill kicks on, then the temp will go up to close to the set temp but drop back down.. therefore, i have constant 20-30 degree temp swings..


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## SlowmotionQue (Jun 6, 2019)

oonighttrain said:


> i called gmg today, the guy told me to move my heat shield 1/4" more to the right. i asked about an update, he didnt think that was the problem. . after 4 plus hours of of observation again tonight, i have the same issue.. the grill reads one temp but my thermo works smoke consistantly reads 20-30 degrees less until the fan of the grill kicks on, then the temp will go up to close to the set temp but drop back down.. therefore, i have constant 20-30 degree temp swings..



That’s crazy.  How are you supposed to trust the temp that the grill is reporting to you?

How long have you had it?

Can you return it?


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## bregent (Jun 7, 2019)

oonighttrain said:


> therefore, i have constant 20-30 degree temp swings



When most folks talk about swings, they are referring to changes above and below a center point. So if your grill is dropping 20-30 degrees from setpoint, then it's swinging +/- 10-15 degrees from center. That's reasonable for a pellet grill and how most operate. You home gas or electric oven probably has much greater swiings, yet cooks food fine.  You also have a temperature offset of 10-15 degrees. Have you tried to calibrate it? Did GMG remove that feature?
See if this helps:  
Look around minute 3:57


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## oonighttrain (Jun 7, 2019)

bregent said:


> When most folks talk about swings, they are referring to changes above and below a center point. So if your grill is dropping 20-30 degrees from setpoint, then it's swinging +/- 10-15 degrees from center. That's reasonable for a pellet grill and how most operate. You home gas or electric oven probably has much greater swiings, yet cooks food fine.  You also have a temperature offset of 10-15 degrees. Have you tried to calibrate it? Did GMG remove that feature?
> See if this helps:
> Look around minute 3:57




great point!! and wow! thanks for the calibration info!! GMG didnt even mention that to me!! im trying it out right now but, my grill is up to 35 degrees off, the app only allows for a 20 degree adjustment.. ill keep you posted. testing now..


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## oonighttrain (Jun 7, 2019)

im wondering if when you set a calibration (in this case -20 degrees), does it hold that setting forever or do you have to do that everytime yoiu use the grill?


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## bregent (Jun 7, 2019)

You're welcome. Not sure why they didn't mention it, but tech support folks often just read from a script. Remember you're looking for an average temperature - that's what the food is cooking at. And average doesn't necessarily mean the point right between the highest and lowest readings, because it might dwell at the higher end longer than lower. The actual temp that most PID grill controllers provide is a temp averaged over time, not instantaneous. That's why most folks prefer to just trust the grill's display then rely on a thermometer that is going to bounce around. For peace of mind you could get the Thermoworks Probe gateway which will give you graphs that will show you over time what the Probe is reading. It's not cheap, and is redundant since you already have a grill with Wifi.


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## oonighttrain (Jun 8, 2019)

spoke to the folks at GMG yesterday, they told me there is a firmware upgrade available and walked me through the steps in order to upgrade. my grill would not connect to my home modem after numerous attempts so, they are sending me a new controller.. dissapointing because the grill is 2 weeks old.. 

ive seriously spent hours every night when i get home from work watching what this grill does set at different temperatures, doing research etc.. so tonight i took all things into account, the difference in temperature, setting that difference on the gmg app and accounting for an average temp.. so, i set the grill at 255 which, according to my notes the past few days should average the temp of the grill at about 225-230.. i trimmed and rubbed a brisket last night, put it on the grill at 8am this morning. after 5 hours it hit 151 degrees and i wrapped it tightly in foil.. at about 4pm it was at 203 degrees so i wrapped it in a towel and put it in a cooler for 2.5 hours.. i unwrapped it hoping it would be the best brisket ive ever made..  much to my dissapointment, it was the same as last weekend.. dry and tough, definately not how its supposed to be.. i have smoke numerous briskets before on my chargriller akorn, they have been fantastic.. this is really frustrating. this grill is supposed to be a set it and forget it operation for the most part, thats why i bought it.. i sure am hoping it is the temperature fluctuation that is causing this..


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## ostrichsak (Jun 9, 2019)

So you set your grill to 255 degrees and then cooked it for a length of time that would be Good for it if it were 225 degrees and then were surprised that it was dried out and overcooked. Am I missing something here?


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## oonighttrain (Jun 9, 2019)

ostrichsak, you have to read the whole thread to understand whats going on..


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## bregent (Jun 10, 2019)

oonighttrain said:


> at about 4pm it was at 203 degrees so i wrapped it in a towel and put it in a cooler for 2.5 hours.



OK, so are you pulling the brisket when it reaches a specific internal temperature, and not going by feel?


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## oonighttrain (Jun 10, 2019)

well.. i pulled it at 203 assuming it could gain a few more degrees while wrapped in a cooler before it would cool down..


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## bregent (Jun 10, 2019)

oonighttrain said:


> well.. i pulled it at 203 assuming it could gain a few more degrees while wrapped in a cooler before it would cool down..



You need to pull a brisket when it is probe tender, not when it reaches a certain internal temp. Briskets are done as soon as they are tender, and IT does not determine when that occurs. This has nothing to do with temperature fluctuations, you are most likely just over cooking these. You can use IT as a rough indication of when it's getting close. I start to check around 190, and usually in my pellet grill they are done between 193 and 198.


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