Mod for temperature probes, and rookie mistake

[kexodusc]

I figured I'd post the mod I did to the used OTS 22.5" I picked up last week to accomodate the temperature probes on my Maverick ET 733 without fussing with the lid, vents, or risking wire damage. 


I can't take credit for any ideas, just the rookie mistake 100% of the inspiration came from posts here in the WKC forums or here.


Things started well enough, drilled a pilot hole, used painters tape to map out my target (good idea), and finally got to use the step drill bits I got for Christmas. 





This is really a great mod because I was able to use spare parts left over from different lamp/light assemblies I've collected over the years as the grommet.





Fits like a glove!  Just go slow when drilling.  See my mistake yet?  I found a work table second hand that I'm picking up later this week.  I figured centering the cables on the table might come in handy and save precious cable length.



Arrragghhhhh!!! Idiot!  It doesn't quite fit in straight on.  I should have raised hole half an inch or so, I went lower to avoid the upper lip thinking it'd be safer.  What a dope. 

Thankfully, once you take the handle off, the thing slides through no problem at all!





Pretty easy to slide both probes in and out.  I might add a second one somewhere else on the kettle.  For now, I'm licking my wounds.  Could have been worse.  If you're doing this to your precious Kettle, give some serious thought to placement. 





The cap really does make a tight seal.  If anyone's wondering, after a few cooks there's a lot of black stuff on any exposed metal already. Consensus seems to be that it stops any rust worries.  Time will tell.


Anyway, it works a lot better than fussing with the wires.  Might need to mod the handle assembly now when I attach the work table.  Hope I save a bit of grief to anyone else looking to do something similar. 

[CharliefromLI]

If you shorten your lamp pipe you may be able to get the probes through on an angle as desired.

[kexodusc]

Thanks, I tried that.  Not a big deal, really, other than the handle being off.  It gets a bit warm to the touch but not burn-your-hand warm. 
Plan on putting one in my 18" too, won't drill in that location though. 

[Hogsy]

What's wrong with running them under the lid? I haven't heard of anyone damaging wires. I've been doing it the same way for years with the same probe/wire and haven't had any damage. I prefer to do this as there's no stuffing around getting the wires through a hole, you don't have to worry about the wires sitting above the fire, when you've finished cooking you just take the probe straight out of the kettle and don't have to bother about removing the probe from a hot kettle
Also what do you do when using the snake method...... It means your limited to where you can set up a snake so the wires don't come in contact with direct heat.

[Peaspurple]

I use the notch method on my WSM's. On the WSM you notch the center piece on the kettle you could just notch the lid. It would have the same outcome. I stole these pics since I am to lazy to go out in the heat.