I just got a new Camp Chef DLT a few weeks ago. I've really only used it once to cook an 11 lb pork butt for Thanksgiving. I was expecting temp swings of somewhere around +/- 20 degrees F. of the target temp. The setting was Hi Smoke which is supposed to average 225. On average, the smoker would cycle anywhere between 150 and 230 and sometimes much lower (130) and much higher (300).
Here's some of the other data:
1. I was using a new bag of Pit Boss Competition pellets
2. I had install sealing strips to limit the heat/smoke escape around the lid
3. The outside temp dropped into the upper 30s overnight (I started a midnight) and went up into the mid-40s during the day.
4. I lowered the chimney cap gap so it was about 0.
5. The fan and auger both appeared to be functioning normal. Now, the fan did not vary in speed but I'm not sure if it's supposed to.
I ended up switching from Hi Smoke to the 250 degree setting and the swings seemed a bit more moderate. In all, the butt took 20 hours to reach 190. It did come out delicious.
So last week I did an afternoon test when the temp was 65. Same pellets, same setting.
This temp cycles went something like this: 159-279-150-329-168-290.
I contacted Camp Chef support who has a reputation of being excellent. A few things they suggested were to use their pellets, (they are even sending me a bag for free) remove the seal installed around the lid as the gaps are part of the design for air-flow and adjust the chimney cap lower when the temperature is cold.
I'm not buying the lid-gap-by-design as it makes no sense to me. Don't you want the lid sealed as tightly as possible to keep heat and smoke in thus regulating the temperature better? I mean, you can by smoker blankets that effectively seal the lid when they are laying on top of the smoker.
Any help anybody can give me would be appreciated since I'm sure I'm not supposed to be getting temperature swings of over 170 degrees at times.
Thanks! Tim
Here's some of the other data:
1. I was using a new bag of Pit Boss Competition pellets
2. I had install sealing strips to limit the heat/smoke escape around the lid
3. The outside temp dropped into the upper 30s overnight (I started a midnight) and went up into the mid-40s during the day.
4. I lowered the chimney cap gap so it was about 0.
5. The fan and auger both appeared to be functioning normal. Now, the fan did not vary in speed but I'm not sure if it's supposed to.
I ended up switching from Hi Smoke to the 250 degree setting and the swings seemed a bit more moderate. In all, the butt took 20 hours to reach 190. It did come out delicious.
So last week I did an afternoon test when the temp was 65. Same pellets, same setting.
This temp cycles went something like this: 159-279-150-329-168-290.
I contacted Camp Chef support who has a reputation of being excellent. A few things they suggested were to use their pellets, (they are even sending me a bag for free) remove the seal installed around the lid as the gaps are part of the design for air-flow and adjust the chimney cap lower when the temperature is cold.
I'm not buying the lid-gap-by-design as it makes no sense to me. Don't you want the lid sealed as tightly as possible to keep heat and smoke in thus regulating the temperature better? I mean, you can by smoker blankets that effectively seal the lid when they are laying on top of the smoker.
Any help anybody can give me would be appreciated since I'm sure I'm not supposed to be getting temperature swings of over 170 degrees at times.
Thanks! Tim
