# RTV Silicone Cooking Chamber Probe Holders



## dr k (Apr 13, 2015)

Just a quick thread about those of us that use Permatex RTV Silicone to seal cable/probe joints.  After the first use of the silicone the thread portion of the cap broke off the top so I put a piece of plastic over the opening and screwed on the threaded portion to hold it tightly in place and put it in a zip lock bag.  I haven't used the tube of silicone for a couple of years and the top 1/4 of the tube solidified.  I cut through the tube with a sharp knife, leaving a solid plug as a cap for the tube and put it back in the zip lock bag since the rest a the silicone was liquid.  I sliced the plug I removed into two disks and made a couple of probe holders.  I just pushed a tooth pick through the center of each disk to make a pin hole and pushed the probe through for a snug fit.  It's 700*F Permatex Ultra Copper RTV Silicone that sits on the grates or for vertical smokers it can hang from one disk laying flat on the rack.  I may make some half dollar diameter molds out of plastic, since the silicone will peel off non porous surfaces after is solidifies. 













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__ dr k
__ Apr 13, 2015


















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__ dr k
__ Apr 13, 2015






-Kurt


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## dr k (Apr 20, 2015)

I filled an empty tea light with RTV silicone to make a puck which works as a thermometer holder up to 700*F.  It takes a week for it to set up though.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			


















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__ dr k
__ Apr 20, 2015


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## sjohns (Jul 7, 2015)

Thanks for the ideas, I was looking for something like this. I would of thought a company would have ceramic ones out there. Tired of using an onion which won't stand up to hours of smoking a brisket.


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## dr k (Jul 7, 2015)

sjohns said:


> Thanks for the ideas, I was looking for something like this. I would of thought a company would have ceramic ones out there. Tired of using an onion which won't stand up to hours of smoking a brisket.


I've been laying the RTV silicone probe holders on the rack and pushing the probe through them from underneath so the probe hangs, taking up less space on the rack where the food is and keeping the probe cables out of the way.  I'll be making a couple more like this one and slide it closer to the tip.  So the tip is at food level.













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__ dr k
__ Apr 20, 2015






-Kurt


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## oddball (Jul 7, 2015)

Why not just use a steel grill attachment:


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## sjohns (Jul 7, 2015)

Ah.. I thought someone would have made something like this. That's exactly what I was looking for.. Thank you OddBall


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## crankybuzzard (Jul 7, 2015)

OddBall said:


> Why not just use a steel grill attachment:


Not as much fun!  This way you get to make a mess and be creative.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Also, the metal ones like you have in the link won't work on all grates.  In my cold smoker I have small expanded metal...


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## lonestarmedic (Nov 9, 2015)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> Not as much fun!  This way you get to make a mess and be creative.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I hate spending $7.00 to $10.00 for that little "A" clip for the probe. And sometimes it does not fit where you want it. I like the tea-light container trick.

Bet I can make a bunch of silver dollar size discs. And I like the idea of one on top of grate and one below. Hang the probe vertical and take up less

space. Also, I have noticed if I get a drip of something on the probe, it will change the reading. Had a chamber probe positioned under the edge of a fattie

once. The dripping bacon grease drove the probe temp crazy.

JB


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## floridasteve (Nov 9, 2015)

Thank you for sharing!  I have a bunch of small plastic disposable sauce cups that I got from Sam's. I'm going to fill one today!
:points:


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## dr k (Nov 10, 2015)

FloridaSteve said:


> Thank you for sharing! I have a bunch of small plastic disposable sauce cups that I got from Sam's. I'm going to fill one today!


Thanks for points.  Today I did a Chuckie on the second from the top rack and put the pucks on the empty top rack .  I threaded the four probes through the vent.  I pushed them through the pucks and they just hanged from the top rack at the height I wanted to keep the wires out of the way.  I think thicker is better for holders since they won't lose grip when hanging from underneath.  No pilot hole needed just push through.  I let the RTV set a couple weeks at room temp then ran a knife around the edge to make sure the tip came clean before pulling it out.  If in a hurry, I guess these can be baked kinda like an engine that it was meant for.

-Kurt


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