probe on my 3D died

[40 caliber]

I don't know what happened the 3D is barely 6 months old but the probe is reading the meat at 12-21 degrees F. i just took it out of the fridge so i knew it wasn't frozen. Luckily , i bought a back up probe and lost 2 minutes of smoker time 

luckily DM had told me about it in another post. below is the info he gave. me. I immediately ordered 2 more since the shipping is the same for one or  two. i am glad i did it but if anyone knows if there is a check to do to see if i can save it, let me know. I wanted to check as it's a $30 replacement part and $5 shipping.
if you dont have one, you may want to get one for $34 before you need it.  Does anyone know how i could have ruined it? I am careful cleaning it, but i do wash down the whole wire.

I'm not sure if Steve has them for sale yet, Tom, but I'll check.  They are available at www.auberins.com.  It's the GPH model meat probe.  The cord is longer, but it's the same.  Our D model probes have a shorter cord.  Doesn't hurt to have an extra one on hand, just in case!

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[SconnieQ]

Are the probes excluded from the warranty? That would not surprise me I guess. On my probes, I only wash the part of the probe that has made contact with the meat. I don't go anywhere near where the probe and the wire connect if I can help it. If you are wiping down the wire, you risk moisture getting in that joint. Also, if you are wiping the wire while holding the probe, you might be "pulling" on the wire, which could compromise the connection over time. Sounds like you are careful though, so could just be a bad probe.

[Donmac]

Is this the probe needed for the 3D?

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_29&products_id=448

[SuperDave]

Is this the probe needed for the 3D?

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_29&products_id=448

Yep, that looks like the one. 

[DivotMaker]

Are the probes excluded from the warranty? That would not surprise me I guess. On my probes, I only wash the part of the probe that has made contact with the meat. I don't go anywhere near where the probe and the wire connect if I can help it. If you are wiping down the wire, you risk moisture getting in that joint. Also, if you are wiping the wire while holding the probe, you might be "pulling" on the wire, which could compromise the connection over time. Sounds like you are careful though, so could just be a bad probe.

Probes have a 90-day warranty.  I guess it's because there are so many ways the user can cause failure.  I am very careful with mine, and have probably used a dozen of these, over the last several years, and have only had one failure. 

[Jax]

I had a problem with my probe (maybe) today as well.  I put 13 jumbo turkey legs on between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m., placing half on the 2nd rack and the other half on the 4th rack.  I put a water pan in, stuck the probe in a larger leg on the bottom shelf, and set the box temperature to 240 and the temperature to the meat at 170.

A little after 2 o'clock, I called my wife to ask her to check on how things were progressing.  She said the box temperature was holding steady at 240 and the probe was indicating 130.  I thought to myself there was no way the temperature could have reached that high in an 1-1.5 hours.  A little after 3 my called saying the cooking cycle had concluded.  I thought no way, so I told her to turn off the smoker and I would come check.

My first thought was that I did not insert the probe in fully or based on watching a youtube video recently, the density of the bone in the meat may be giving causing the temperature to misread.  When I reached the house and opened the smoker, I noticed the meat was not completely done, so I emptied the water pan and replaced the water, emptied the oil pan (both were overflowing), changed the racks and re-entered the probe into one of the larger legs. 

I turned the smoker back on and made sure the temperatures were still the same and monitored it for about 20 minutes.  I noticed that as the box temperature went up, so did the probe (running about 10-20 degrees below the box temperature).  Once the probe temperature hit 160 and the box temperature was still about 185, I figured something was wrong.  So I recycled the smoker to cook at 240 while I return to finish some work at the office. 

That was about 4:30 when I left.  I am leaving for the day, so I will check in about 30 minutes.  My probe worked perfectly last week, so I am not going to be quick to say that is the problem.  Thoughts?

[SconnieQ]

I don't understand with turkey legs (at 240 by the way) how your water pan could be "overflowing". Please describe in more detail what you used for a "water pan"...where you put it, what you put in it, and how full it was when you started the smoker. And what are you calling the "grease pan"? The pan that slides under the smoker? Doesn't seem possible that this could be overflowing with grease from TURKEY LEGS. This is the kind of post that makes me glad I do not have a D model, things shutting off when they probably should not. But... I also have a basic understanding of different meats, and how they are expected to cook, at what temp, and for how long. Turkey legs need some rendering. At 240, your times don't seem unusual. I would smoke turkey legs at 225 though. They benefit from low and slow, unlike white meat turkey. Okay, I'm ready for A MAJOR tongue-lashing from my D model and Auber friends! Is it a probe placement problem?

[Jax]

I don't understand with turkey legs how your water pan could be "overflowing". Please describe in more detail what the water pan is...where your put it, how full it was when you started the smoker. And what are you calling the "grease pan"? The pan that slides under the smoker? There is no way this could be overflowing with grease from TURKEY LEGS. This is the kind of post that makes me glad I do not have a D model, things shutting off when they probably should not. But... I also have a basic understanding of different meats, and how they are expected to cook, at what temp, and for how long. Turkey legs need some rendering. At 240, your times don't seem that unusual. I would smoke turkey legs at 225. They benefit from low and slow, unlike white meat turkey. Those basic concepts make this post AND my head hurt. Okay, I'm ready for A MAJOR tongue-lashing from my D model and Auber friends!

Water pan to keep the meat moist.  It was a regular cake pan which I half filled to start the cooking, and yes the grease pan that slides under the smoker.  There was a lot of juice in those legs but they were jumbo. 

***UPDATE***

Lessons learned on multiple levels.  First I agree with you Sconnie, and should have trusted my intuition.  I read a chart on another forum that said you should cook turkey legs for 4-6 hours 240/165.  I thought that was too high.  But when I read a chart from this forum it said 250-170-175, I thought Ok.  I think 220-225 for 5-6 hours is the better way to go.  I let the legs continue to cook until 6 o'clock.  They had dried out some but still juicy.  Taste like ham . 

Secondly, no means no.  Since I was cooking that many legs which are huge in size, I used 4 chunks of wood which is way too much.  3 chunks is more reasonable for the 3D. 

Third and finally, apple juice and brown sugar don't mix unless you want your poultry skin dark.  Next time I will either use brown sugar and water or apple juice and white sugar to allow my skin to brown up.  Still unsure if my probe is malfunctioning or if the meat actually had been cooked.  I suspect for now that it was cooking to fast which is why I will go to a lower temperature the next time. 

[parkgt]

I clean the braided wire of all my temp probes with 70 or 90% isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel without issue.  It will also clean the probe body very well.  You will be surprised how much stuff comes off it you haven't tried it before.