It did it again… smoker failed mid session. Throw in oven or throw in trash? (Internal 110°)

[mike243]

A pellet smoker gives less smoke and flavor the higher you go, smokers having issues at 225 more than other temps is because more folks run that temp, if 1 is going to have a problem a higher temp will get you there faster, a lot of time pellets cross up and stop feeding from what I have read over the years, A good remote therm with a high and low alert will save the day no matter what smoker your using. In the 8 or so years I been running my PB I had 1 pellet feed issue and I caught it quickly, I have done a pile of overnight cooks without issue, but I also run a remote therm to keep track of it, I also been known to set my alarm for 2 hours and look at the temps then reset go back to sleep. Sure it gets harder to do it as I get older but have pulled a lot of overnighters feeding wood and charcoal. I prefer pellet for nighttime use, been know to run 4-6 hours charcoal/wood then switch to pellet to finish to keep the smell out of the house.

 

[jcam222]

Our website host, Jeff, turned me on to smoking butts at 300°. Takes about 4-5 hours that way, and no noticeable difference in texture or flavor.

Hot and fast is the way to go on butts for sure. I'm team 275 up to the wrap and 300 after.

 

[luvcatchingbass]

Before I had a pellet (which I don't trust mine for anything at the moment) I used to do pork butts and briskets with plans to serve around 11am-1pm for football games. What I did and never any complaints was start at around 7pm at the latest and run 225-275 if I could in the cold till 11pm-1am and if I was going to take any naps just set an alarm at about an hour or so if I figured things could coast a little. Then pork butts went into a crockpot on med or low and brisket into the oven in a pan covered in foil at around 225-250. Get up in the morning around 7am make coffee and figure out hiw things we're going and make adjustments from there

 

[bbk357]

thanks for all the info guys.

I’m going to be taking down the Traeger and investigating this weekend. My initial thought is an auger/feed issue. We have experienced crazy temp and moisture variants in Ohio and I have a feeling my pellets were the cause since they were in there for a few weeks.

If I get it going, my plan is to try a smoke at 300° and maybe put a side tray of chips to help with the flavor.

I’ll report back after my “fast and easier” morning pork butt smoke :)

 

[schlotz]

Beware, wet pellets can turn into something almost like cement which can freeze up an auger. Having gone through this once (because I was lazy) I now never leave any pellets in the smoker. My MAK has a pellet dump door plus I let the smoker continue to burn up what's in the auger tube until it quits.

 

[civilsmoker]

Here is a fast method that workes every time…..
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...simplified-and-reliable-dinner-timing.325427/

 

[civilsmoker]

Oh and here is the brisket version as well!
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-simplified-and-reliable-dinner-timing.331064/

 

[bbk357]

Beware, wet pellets can turn into something almost like cement which can freeze up an auger. Having gone through this once (because I was lazy) I now never leave any pellets in the smoker. My MAK has a pellet dump door plus I let the smoker continue to burn up what's in the auger tube until it quits.

Good to know.
My hopper does a good job at keeping the water out. And I have a cover for it. But we were super cold and snowy for weeks. Then warmed up to 60’s. Rain.. lots of moisture in air. Then it froze to the single digits. So I really think it’s an auger issue. I’ll try to keep it empty especially in the winter months.

 

[schlotz]

In my case, the pellets sat in the hopper for approx 2 months (late Feb into Apr). Lots of rain during that period. While the lid keeps the water out, the moisture still finds a way and that was enough for those within the tube to fall apart and eventually reform into a hard mass.