- Mar 16, 2015
- 252
- 81
As some of you may know I a few months ago I modded my Masterbuilt with a Auber controller and new smokestack. For those that would like to see this mod it can be found here.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/260975/its-alive-the-auber-masterbuilt-hybrid-the-frankenbuilt
Fast forward a few months and I got the modding itch that needed scratching. I never liked the offset heater element that Masterbuilt uses. While I understand they went that route so that wood chips can be added to the smoker while cooking I had no use for the chip loaded as I use pellets in a pellet tray. Since I wa going to flip the heater element I needed a new heat deflector/water pan. I was recently given a few baking pans and among them was an enamel pan that was the perfect size for my project. I flipped the element over afte having to drill out new holes for the mounting bolts. With the element flipped I disassembled the old chip load and mounted the chip loaded bracket to hold the old chip loader in place. This will let me open the loader in order to let air in to help dry out jerky and close it while doing sausages. I used the old chip/heat shield brackets to support the new water pan. Here are a few pics that show the mod.
With the mod complete I wanted to see what the temperature was on all 4 rackets. While the Auber controller maintains dead on heat in the smoker there were still variations between the racks in my old setup. I preheated the smoker for an hour at 170 deg. and rotated the racks every 30 min. to ensure stable temperatures All measurements were taken with a Thermoworks Smoke and ChefAlarm using 3 pit probes. Here are the results
Rack 1 left side 163 - middle 167 - right side 169 Bottom rack
Rack 2 left side 165 - middle 168 - right side 168
Rack 3 left side 165 - middle 169 - right side 169
Rack 1 left side 165 - middle 169 - right side 169. Top racks
As you can see the right side is a little hotter then the left side but the surprising thing is the bottom rack is slightly cooler then the top rack on the right and middle spots. I redid the test for the bottom rack and the results were the same. I'm very happy with this mod so next week another batch of jerky.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/260975/its-alive-the-auber-masterbuilt-hybrid-the-frankenbuilt
Fast forward a few months and I got the modding itch that needed scratching. I never liked the offset heater element that Masterbuilt uses. While I understand they went that route so that wood chips can be added to the smoker while cooking I had no use for the chip loaded as I use pellets in a pellet tray. Since I wa going to flip the heater element I needed a new heat deflector/water pan. I was recently given a few baking pans and among them was an enamel pan that was the perfect size for my project. I flipped the element over afte having to drill out new holes for the mounting bolts. With the element flipped I disassembled the old chip load and mounted the chip loaded bracket to hold the old chip loader in place. This will let me open the loader in order to let air in to help dry out jerky and close it while doing sausages. I used the old chip/heat shield brackets to support the new water pan. Here are a few pics that show the mod.
With the mod complete I wanted to see what the temperature was on all 4 rackets. While the Auber controller maintains dead on heat in the smoker there were still variations between the racks in my old setup. I preheated the smoker for an hour at 170 deg. and rotated the racks every 30 min. to ensure stable temperatures All measurements were taken with a Thermoworks Smoke and ChefAlarm using 3 pit probes. Here are the results
Rack 1 left side 163 - middle 167 - right side 169 Bottom rack
Rack 2 left side 165 - middle 168 - right side 168
Rack 3 left side 165 - middle 169 - right side 169
Rack 1 left side 165 - middle 169 - right side 169. Top racks
As you can see the right side is a little hotter then the left side but the surprising thing is the bottom rack is slightly cooler then the top rack on the right and middle spots. I redid the test for the bottom rack and the results were the same. I'm very happy with this mod so next week another batch of jerky.