# Temperature variaion and Food Volumes



## headgeek (Aug 1, 2015)

I am new to smoking and have done about 15 different smokes following Jeff's book and this forum and most have turned out pretty well. I have a MES 30 2nd Generation and a Maverick 733. When I put the Maverick in the empty smoker and set the temp the temperature on the control panel and the Maverick are close -- within 5 degree and they bounce around a little.

I put in about 2 pounds of county spare ribs and the temperature on the Maverick was about 15 degrees lower than the MES. So to get 225 I had to set the MES to 240. Now I am smoking a 7 1/2 lb Butt and the temperature difference is 50 degrees. I set the MES to 250 and the Maverick is showing 200. I know there are hot spots but is there something about the volume of food that affects the temperature? In the case of the Pork Butts I tend to believe the Maverick because before I had it I set the MES to 225 and it took forever to get my Pork Butt to 205 (which of course would be the case if my smoker temp was really much lower)

Any thoughts or am I just imagining things. Thanks.

Roger


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## cal1956 (Aug 1, 2015)

well think about it ...if you put in a little bit of  cold meat , not much will be effected , BUT  load a LOT of cold meat and it simply has to make the smoker cooler


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## headgeek (Aug 1, 2015)

Yes that is logical but why does it just affect the Maverick and not the Control panel? The control panel is just another thermometer. I would expect both to go down when I put in that big old Pork Butt. But only the Maverick responds dramatically with lower temps. That's the puzzling part.


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## clfergus (Aug 3, 2015)

I am in the same boat/ Have a new MES 30 and a Et-732.. When I run the smoker without food my ET-732 shows  approx 8-12 degrees higher than the MES readout. When I cooked my ribs and chicken this weekend I was between 30-40 degrees lower on my ET-732 than the MES readout. To cook at 225-230 I had the MES running at 265.


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## mummel (Aug 3, 2015)

I would trust the Mav.  The MES prob is at the back and get's blasted by the rising hot air while the element is running.  It's also way delayed (like 50F on startup, see Bears thread about this). 

But over time they should get pretty close to each other.  After about 2.5 hours, things should settle down.


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## bmaddox (Aug 3, 2015)

The temp difference can also vary based on where the meat is located. If you have a pork butt above the MES temp sensor and the Maverick probe a few inches away from the butt then that could cause the difference.


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## floridasteve (Aug 3, 2015)

Same thing here.  I wonder hor hard it would be to move themes sensor from just below rack 3 to just below rack 1??  Wouldn't think it'd be that hard IF you had easy access to the back if the liner.  Hmmm... I'll have to check on that.


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## GaryHibbert (Aug 3, 2015)

I have the same problem with my MES 30 Gen 1.  The temps are almost identical to my ET 733 until I put in the meat, then it immediately shows a difference--although not as severe as yours.  I just know that I'll have to raise the temp setting on the MES bit by bit, until the Maverick and the MES agree.

Gary


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## GaryHibbert (Aug 3, 2015)

mummel said:


> I would trust the Mav.  The MES prob is at the back and get's blasted by the rising hot air while the element is running.  It's also way delayed (like 50F on startup, see Bears thread about this).
> 
> But over time they should get pretty close to each other.  After about 2.5 hours, things should settle down.


Hey mummel, do you have the *link* to this??

Gary


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## bmaddox (Aug 3, 2015)

And from my experience on my Gen2, don't plan on ever figuring it out. My MES has a mind of its own. I thought I had it down to a science but spent most of the afternoon yesterday adjusting the set point up and down because it kept over-running by 30-40 degrees. At the end of the day, as long as you are monitoring the actual temp and adjusting the set point accordingly everything will be fine.


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