Temp problem

[dert]

I just got the #3 and will post some temp curves as I have multiple temp recording probes.

Doing my first smoke now and notice the unit holds temp *too well*?

Tying some salmon now and the box temp is well above the set point. Had to turn it down a couple times and open the door to get a longer colder smoke...

Using 3 oz of alder chips from HD. I think the initial ramp up caught them all and they are the culprit for the higher than set point temps.

 

[suya]

So, got my Maverick and tested temps with the new control unit. Bad news, it was still a mess :-( Temps were going up to 296 when set at 225!

I had to smoke some ribs last week so I thought I would attempt to manually make adjustments. I wanted to smoke them at 225 so I set the temp to 200 and used a pan of water. With this set up, the temperature in the chamber would go up to 235 and come down to about 200 before heading back north. Inaccurate settings aside, Is a 35 degree swing normal?  

 

[spresso]

35* swings are reasonable. if you check your oven temperature swings (if you have an electric oven in your kitchen) you'll see similar swings. 

when i get my # 3 i hope i get similar performance to yours. that is the temps are a little higher than your set temps , that way you can actually crisp chicken skin at the highest setting. 

it would be a lot worse if let's say your swings happened 30 degrees below the set-point. 

my advice,  just set it at a lower settings and monitor the average temps with your Maverick. 

also my guess is that any pan in the lowest shelf settings will get the thermostat to cycle quicker,  you may not even need to put water in it. the pan effectively traps some of the heat at the lower area of the oven where the temp probe is thereby getting it's temp up faster.....

as soon as I get mine , i'll do some simple mods i have in my mind and let you guys know of the results. 

Zed

 

[smoke happens]

So, got my Maverick and tested temps with the new control unit. Bad news, it was still a mess :-( Temps were going up to 296 when set at 225!

I had to smoke some ribs last week so I thought I would attempt to manually make adjustments. I wanted to smoke them at 225 so I set the temp to 200 and used a pan of water. With this set up, the temperature in the chamber would go up to 235 and come down to about 200 before heading back north. Inaccurate settings aside, Is a 35 degree swing normal?  

35* swing is within the acceptable parameters I would expect for an analog electric smoker.

This is really no big deal for most meats, unless you start getting into sausage or more delicate types of cooking that require better temp control at lower temps. This is why a PID is on my wish list, so I can do better at sausage making (I need all of the help I can get).