# Problem with Green Mountain Daniel Boone probe



## jzucker

Love the smoker but the probe temperature reads way too high. I smoked some chicken thighs last night on my 3 day old smoker at 225. I was expecting a 2 hour cook until the meat reached 165F. It reached that temperate in about an hour according to the built in probe. I was suspicious so I double checked against my thermopop which is accurate to +- 2F and I know from experience produces exactly the temperature results i need for meat "doneness". I've been using the thermopop for about 6 months. Anyway, the thermopop registered 150(ish) with the probe at the same point as the GM probe.

Anyone else have this issue?


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## bregent

IMO, this is a common problem with 'leave-in" probes, particularly when used with smaller cuts of meat. The exposed metal on the probe conducts heat from the grill and gives false high readings. This is less of a problem with larger cuts where the probe can be fully inserted which leaves less exposed surface. To make sure it's not a calibration problem, test both probes with boiling water.


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## bregent

IMO, this is a common problem with 'leave-in" probes, particularly when used with smaller cuts of meat. The exposed metal on the probe conducts heat from the grill and gives false high readings. This is less of a problem with larger cuts where the probe can be fully inserted which leaves less exposed surface. To make sure it's not a calibration problem, test both probes with boiling water.


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## jzucker

bregent said:


> IMO, this is a common problem with 'leave-in" probes, particularly when used with smaller cuts of meat. The exposed metal on the probe conducts heat from the grill and gives false high readings. This is less of a problem with larger cuts where the probe can be fully inserted which leaves less exposed surface. To make sure it's not a calibration problem, test both probes with boiling water.


From what I understand, only the last inch of the probe detects heat so I don't think that is the problem. GM seems to think the probe is defective and I received an email today saying they are sending a new one out. Today I made a pulled pork and it was done when it registered 198F. When my thermopop registered 198, the internal probe register 210 so it seems to be somewhat linear in behavior so far.


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## bregent

jzucker said:


> From what I understand, only the last inch of the probe detects heat so I don't think that is the problem.


The probe is made out of metal which conducts heat very well. The thermister is located at the tip, but heat applied to any part of the probe will influence the reading. In fact, the probe will conduct heat from the grill to the inside of the meat, raising its temperature along its path.

The probe (or control board) may very well be defective, but in my experience, the 'leave-in' problem will always register several degrees warmer than an instant read - the more metal that is exposed, the greater the difference.


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## jzucker

bregent said:


> The probe is made out of metal which conducts heat very well. The thermister is located at the tip, but heat applied to any part of the probe will influence the reading. In fact, the probe will conduct heat from the grill to the inside of the meat, raising its temperature along its path.
> 
> The probe (or control board) may very well be defective, but in my experience, the 'leave-in' problem will always register several degrees warmer than an instant read - the more metal that is exposed, the greater the difference.


12 degrees warmer is a bit more than several degrees.


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## fbi van outside

Do yourself a favor and wait until Black Friday sales are out. Grab yourself a ChefAlarm or Maverick temp probe. The probes that come standard with some units are not accurate.

I'm waiting to see if Thermowork's new Smoke series will be on sale. It has dual probes to measure both meat and grate temps. Plus it's wireless up to 300'.

http://www.thermoworks.com/Smoke


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## jzucker

FBI Van Outside said:


> Do yourself a favor and wait until Black Friday sales are out. Grab yourself a ChefAlarm or Maverick temp probe. The probes that come standard with some units are not accurate.
> 
> I'm waiting to see if Thermowork's new Smoke series will be on sale. It has dual probes to measure both meat and grate temps. Plus it's wireless up to 300'.
> 
> http://www.thermoworks.com/Smoke


Yeah, I've been looking at the smoke for a while. I really would like something that's wifi or bluetooth enabled so I can use my smartphone. But one of the reasons I got the wifi version of the GM is for the temperature control so I'd like to get that working. I'll at least wait and see if the new probe they're sending me works more accurately.


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## jzucker

got the probe and tried it today. The new probe was reading off by 100 degrees compared to my thermopop. I switched back to the original probe and am getting the same behavior. Additionally, I'm getting intermittent failures to connect to both the GMG and wifi networks. When the wifi drops, my phone can't find a GMG network even standing next to the grill. Clearly the control board is faulty (as I suspected, vs. the probe) . VERY DISAPPOINTED. This grill has been nothing but problematic. I paid close to $1k with the cover, insulator, etc. 

I'm very close to returning the whole thing and getting Camp Chef PG24.

#problemswithdanielboonesmoker


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## prairiemoon

Had similar problems with my GMDBG when it was new. GM support sent me a new wi-fi controller with instructions on how to calibrate it with a digital grill thermometer. I did that and the temp is right on now. 

I gave up trying to connect the controller to the internet so I could monitor/control it remotely. I just get it point to point with my iPhone and use it around the home. I suspect my connection problems are "pilot error" as I am 80'yrs old and computers don't like me.


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## MadTyMom Smokin

I have a new GMG Daniel Boone and the hopper won’t stop because the sensor is reading very low although I KNOW the temperature is very much higher than it reads. We have the 1 piece grease tray, with the half moon on one end and circle on the other end. Customer service said that the half moon should be on the chimney side and circle side should be on sensor. Should it be literally “sitting” on top of sensor or just pushed up right onto it?


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## Ishi

MadTyMom Smokin said:


> I have a new GMG Daniel Boone and the hopper won’t stop because the sensor is reading very low although I KNOW the temperature is very much higher than it reads. We have the 1 piece grease tray, with the half moon on one end and circle on the other end. Customer service said that the half moon should be on the chimney side and circle side should be on sensor. Should it be literally “sitting” on top of sensor or just pushed up right onto it?


It can only be one one way. The grease tray needs to fit on both ends. Once seated properly the sensor will be under the hole. 
If you have your grease tray lined with foil make sure you open the hole with your finger so nothing is blocking the sensor.


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## MadTyMom Smokin

Ishi said:


> It can only be one one way. The grease tray needs to fit on both ends. Once seated properly the sensor will be under the hole.
> If you have your grease tray lined with foil make sure you open the hole with your finger so nothing is blocking the sensor.


Thank you very much


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## talan64

When my GMDB was new, the wi-fi board shorted out within 3 days.  The second I turned the power switch on, boom, it tripped the GFI.  I talked to their support, for maybe 15 minutes, and they agreed it was faulty, and send a new one.  2 days later, with new controller installed, everything was fine.  I tested my built in probe with 3 other iGrill probes, all were withing 1-2 degrees.  Wi-Fi connected right up, and I can control it from anywhere.  There's nothing like checking temps when I run to the store.
I've been using my GMDB for about 3 months now and I am VERY pleased with ease of use, and the results.


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