otis857
Smoke Blower
China tool central, aka Harbor freight hole saw kit. They wont last long, but will do the trick for a while before they go dull.
What temp was the smoker running? I've had mine running when it was 10 degrees out and 225 was any where from 1/4 to 1/2 on the temp dial depending on the wind. I've also maxed out my Maverick (350+) when I cranked it up in similar weather. There may be something wrong with yours, I seem to recall reading about that somewhere and Masterbuilt fixed whatever it was.I smoked some fatties and a brisket earlier this year and had the same issue with keeping temperature. Air temp was in the 40's with a breeze. The fatties took 5 hours vs 3.5 hrs on a warm day. The brisket never got over 140 degrees in 8.5 hours. Decided to throw it out (painful) since it did not meet the 4 hr danger zone. Waiting on a warmer day before I attempt that again.
Having the XL since Xmas, I have found the problems that everyone else has. I sealed the door with wood stove gasket from Lowes, added a bent plate to the door to keep the drippings from dripping out the bottom all over the deck, added a 4" steamer tray (hotel pan) for a water pan/drip tray and replaced the chip pan with a cast iron frying pan sitting on a gas range burner grate. The other thing that was bothering me was the height that the unit was sitting. I built a stand with side tables to make it more accessable, more mobile and more usable. The other thing is I connected it to our buried propane tank for the house, so I didnt have to worry about running out of gas during a smoke.
I have done several sets of ribs, chuckies, butts and a few chickens and all came out good.
Over all I think it is a good smoker for the money.
This is what I did after having my flame blow out overnight and ruin 15lbs of pork butt. Now, I intend to still use propane for the hotter cooks, like turkey etc. But, for an overnight cook... Initially, I tried it with one element in the center, but I could only obtain 200deg with cold meat so I added a second element. I figure this way if one element dies overnight, I'll be safe until I can swap it out and won't loose the meat. Anyway, I have some casters to add as well later today.