GMG Daniel Boone Prime need to vent

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DonBaldy
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GMG Daniel Boone Prime need to vent

Postby DonBaldy » Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:45 pm

I'll preface this by saying this is my first pellet so I'm still very ignorant. There's a lot to like about this grill, but the temp control sucks. I know I'm doing something wrong but can't figure it out. First I'll set the temp to 225. No matter what at grate level it's always reads at least 20 degrees higher and often as much as 30. No matter what adjustments I make to calibrating through the app it sends the grill temps through the roof but the app still reads 225. Matter of fact the app always says its 225. It never fluctuates from what it's set at....ever.

3rd party thermometer is Thermo works Smoke and the probes test dead on in ice water and boiling water. Right now I have a brisket flat on the smoker sitting on a shelf. The ait probe is on the shelf. The grill is set to 225 and it app says its 223 but the thermoworks bounces between 235 and 250. What am I doing wrong and would someone be able to provide me an idiot's instructions on how to calibrate?
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Re: GMG Daniel Boone Prime need to vent

Postby 02ebz06 » Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:29 pm

You are not doing anything wrong.
The problem is most likely the fact that the RTD is not near the cooking area.

I have a CampChef PGXXL-PRO and it had the same issues.
The RTD is on sidewall by the controller, about a foot away from center of grill (usually right over burn pot) where you normally cook the food.
First Pork Shoulder I cooked ended up dry with a 1/2" thick bark.
I put my Smoke thermometer on the grate where I normally put the food (no food in grill) to test, and it was 25 degrees higher.
Explains why pork shoulder was over cooked.

So you have a couple options:
1) Test grill in different spots to know where the differences are and lower (or raise) Set Temp to compensate.
2) Buy a 3rd party controller that has the ability to calibrate the Set Temp to the Actual Temp. ***

*** I don't know what (if any) are available for your grill.

I bought the Savannah Stoker, but I am unsure if it is compatible with your grill.
LSG 20x42 Pellet Smoker (on order), CampChef PGXXL pellet smoker, Emozione Pizza Oven, CampChef Griddle
DonBaldy
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Re: GMG Daniel Boone Prime need to vent

Postby DonBaldy » Sat Sep 19, 2020 12:57 am

02ebz06 wrote:You are not doing anything wrong.
The problem is most likely the fact that the RTD is not near the cooking area.

I have a CampChef PGXXL-PRO and it had the same issues.
The RTD is on sidewall by the controller, about a foot away from center of grill (usually right over burn pot) where you normally cook the food.
First Pork Shoulder I cooked ended up dry with a 1/2" thick bark.
I put my Smoke thermometer on the grate where I normally put the food (no food in grill) to test, and it was 25 degrees higher.
Explains why pork shoulder was over cooked.

So you have a couple options:
1) Test grill in different spots to know where the differences are and lower (or raise) Set Temp to compensate.
2) Buy a 3rd party controller that has the ability to calibrate the Set Temp to the Actual Temp. ***

*** I don't know what (if any) are available for your grill.

I bought the Savannah Stoker, but I am unsure if it is compatible with your grill.


It is on the side wall. I'm not a grill designer, but why do they do this? Shouldn't it be closer to the actual cooking locations?

There is a way to calibrate the temp based on readings from a 3rd party thermometer, but I'm not smart enough to use it properly. No matter how I adjust it. I'm simply going to have to adjust the temps based on the readings from my thermometer.
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Re: GMG Daniel Boone Prime need to vent

Postby Papa Tom » Sat Sep 19, 2020 11:29 am

Don you are suffering from unrealistic expectations probably from the sales info provided very common with new pellet grill owners.
Cooking devices usually do not provide a precise or constant temperature. Go test your home oven.....
I have been pellet cooking for more than 20 years so I have a bit of experience.
There has been a movement to PID (fuzzy logic) electronic controllers that do a better job of holding consistent temps. I almost built one of these devices to upgrade my cooker but realized that the temperature fluctuations are the result of smoke production (or maybe stated vice-versa) and tossed the PID since smoke cooking was the objective.

Yes you do need to learn the characteristics of your cooker where the hotter and cooler spots are then use that information while cooking you probably don't need to change anything with the cooker (although I have been guilty of minor changes).

Relax and enjoy while learning..
tarde venientibus ossa....
DonBaldy
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Re: GMG Daniel Boone Prime need to vent

Postby DonBaldy » Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:41 pm

Papa Tom wrote:Don you are suffering from unrealistic expectations probably from the sales info provided very common with new pellet grill owners.
Cooking devices usually do not provide a precise or constant temperature. Go test your home oven.....
I have been pellet cooking for more than 20 years so I have a bit of experience.
There has been a movement to PID (fuzzy logic) electronic controllers that do a better job of holding consistent temps. I almost built one of these devices to upgrade my cooker but realized that the temperature fluctuations are the result of smoke production (or maybe stated vice-versa) and tossed the PID since smoke cooking was the objective.

Yes you do need to learn the characteristics of your cooker where the hotter and cooler spots are then use that information while cooking you probably don't need to change anything with the cooker (although I have been guilty of minor changes).

Relax and enjoy while learning..

Thank you kind sir. I suppose you're correct and yes I am still learning with a very long way to go.

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