The more I study how pellet grills actually work the more disappointed I am that i purchased the Campchef. The materials that came with the grill says " Simply select what temperature you want and the grill will control the temperature within 15 degrees of the selected temperature." With the type of controller Campchef is using it is not possible to come close to this spec. However based on the packed in materials I was lead to believe that it would perform this way. If it had a PID controller it might be possible.
If it had a PID controller in it, then plus or minus 5 degrees would have been not only possible, but the norm.
I'm sorry for your disappointment in your purchase. But it's looking like the only way to get what you are looking for, might be to clean the slate and start from square one with a different purchase.
I just feel like I was sold a bunch of baloney by them.
Well, at least to this observer, it doesn't look like, and most definitely does not smell like "baloney", from what you're describing thus far.
No, from what you're describing, it sounds as though it has a much different aroma than "baloney".
But on the bright side, you are at least in the "B" section of the dictionary in your description. Thus it would seem that you're at least warm in your assessment.
You may just simply need to go a little further down the alphabet in your second letter selection after the "B", in order to nail it.
On a serious note, many times, and with many endeavors, doesn't have to be cooking, but many other endeavors that may come to mind, whenever optimal results are discussed, sought and desired, "procedural repeatability", "consistency" or words to that effect, are also often times used.
If your temps are bouncing all over the place, it might be 20*-50* variance this time, next time, depending on climate/enviormental considerations, day vs night or overnight cooks, it might be more than that, even considerably more than that, well then it's going to be up to you as to whether or not you'd classify that as "consistency".
But to top all of that off, IF you do get a bad result, and we all do from time to time, well then if your temps were bouncing all over the place, you're left to wonder "did my wildly swinging temps have anything to do with this bad result?"
Conversely, when or if you get a good result, well did you get a good result "in spite of" temps that saw 100* swings?
I would be fine with 20-50 degrees, but 100 degrees is garbage, and my old traeger with all of the issues it had it never flamed out during a cook, and certainly not almost every cook. I'm learning that the temp swings really won't matter, but once it goes below 190 I hold my breath wondering if the thing is gonna flame out and then jet up to 400 degrees to compensate.
I looked into a savanah stoker or pellet pro, but I don't think I want to dump another 200.00 into this grill.
If what you're saying is that you are reluctant to throw good money after bad, well then yeah, I can see that standpoint.
That $200.00 could be put with whatever you can get for your current grill, to go towards something that perhaps you'd be more satisfied with.
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.
