Help with GMG

[joshv155]

I am new to smoking food and purchased a Green Mountain Grill DB model. I have been trying to follow the directions in the manual as far as time and heat to cook the food but it is taking way more time than I anticipated. 

For example. Smoking some chicken breasts tonight and it say to cook at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Well I have cooked them for about an hour and they are still a tad pink inside. 

I had put tin foil under the grill and over the heat shields (I think that is what they are called) so that I can just throw out the tin foil every few times I grill. 

Had the same issue with some new york steaks the other night. Cooked them an extra 45 mins or so before they were done. 

Would the tin foil be causing an issue as far as getting the food done ? The read out says the temperature is where I set it......

What am I doing wrong ? thanks. 

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I have the same smoker ! Are you foiling the drip pan ? If so, on the far left side in the middle there's a small hole... Are you covering that as well or puncturing it with your finger ? That hole is where the temp sensor reads out to the control panel ! If it's blocked, your smoker will not run correctly !

 

[joshv155]

I think I have covered that and have not punctured it. What exactly does this do when I have it covered ? Read the temp higher than it is or just not let the heat into the area where the food is ? 

Thank you for helping me. 

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Happy to help ! When I foil my drip pan, I always take my finger & puncture that hole... That hole is right by the temp sensor which controls your smoker temp. If it's covered, your smoker will not read the correct temp of the chamber (cooking area) to the control panel which will give ya erratic temps !

 

[joshv155]

So I can't find a hole anywhere. Its dark out and I am using a flashlight. There is a small section near the middle of the pellet hopper where there is a small cylindrical piece is sticking out. Is this the sensor ? There is no hole on the drip pan itself that I can find. I am going to pull out my manual and see what I am missing.....

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Ok, just between the bottom of the grill & the cooking area the big kinda heavy pan, some call the drip tray or grease tray. Page 6 of your manual shows this. To the far left right in the middle is the hole, bout nickel sized. When installed that hole sits right by the sensor in the middle of the grill just underneath your cooking grates !

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Looking at the pic, it may be just a like half circle indent on the very end of the left side. Mines almost two years old, so not sure if they may have changed the design a bit or not !

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Also make sure your heat deflectors/wind shields are installed correctly.... If your using them (they are optional) ! If they are installed backwards, that will cause ya some temp issues as well ! One more quick thing is under the hopper, there's a small fan... make sure it's free to spin or it'll mess with ya too.... I know I'am kinda throwing a lot at ya, but I will help ya get this figured out !