Temperature issues Please Help

[andy gallaher]

I have the Lowes Master Forge dual fuel smoker. I am using the LP as fuel. Currently the outside temperature is around 25-30 degrees. I am in the seasoning stage of my smoker. According to the thermometer on the door it is not reaching 150 degrees on full power! Surely the thermometer is not that far off is it? I did notice some smoke coming out from the hinge areas. Is there anything I should do? Get some kind of briquettes for it? I am at a loss and do not know what to do. Any ideas? What should the vents be set at?

Andy

 

[imjesse1]

What's the btu rating?
You may have a bad regulator , certainly should go over 150*

Try to purge the regulator, do this by ; turn to high shut off tank and let flame burn out at this point
Try again

 

[davidhef88]

The therm on the door may be that far off.

 

[andy gallaher]

It is a 15000 btu. the flames are completely blue no yellow in them. i did try to purge the line and regulator. doing another trial run. have a different therm inside. 

 

[davidhef88]

How did it do with a different therm?

 

[imjesse1]

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• imjesse1
• Dec 29, 2012

This works great! It might be a nice upgrade!

 

[andy gallaher]

I am at about half power on the flame and running about 225 degrees. currently smoking some chicken thighs for a trial run. tom i have a deer loin to smoke... really i dont think i will need to go up to or over 250 will i ever?

andy

 

[s2k9k]

Hi Andy, You can go hotter on poultry, it doesn't really need low and slow and the higher temps help crisp the skin better. I smoke a lot of wings and do them at 275*-300*.

 

[davidhef88]

Only to crisp chicken skin. I usually crisp mine on a hot grill quick or under the broiler for a few minutes.

 

[imjesse1]

I am at about half power on the flame and running about 225 degrees. currently smoking some chicken thighs for a trial run. tom i have a deer loin to smoke... really i dont think i will need to go up to or over 250 will i ever?

andy

Sounds like your temp issues are a lot better, mind if I ask what got the temp up?

 

[andy gallaher]

Hey guys, I will cook them next time at a higher temp. I am not very satisfied with my results. Oh well first time smoking with this smoker. I just need some time to experiment. Do you guys use a wired external meat therm? The thighs I done tonight the skin seemed kinda rubbery and overall the meat really just didnt taste good to me. Could be the seasoning or that I am not use to LP smoker because i use to use a charcoal. 

I done nothing to get the temp up. The therm in the door sticks at 150 degrees. i bought a cheap oven therm and jus really quickly every hour or so pop open the door real quick and look at it. 

any ideas on fixing or replacing the therm in the door. its an oval therm. or maybe know of a alternative therm somewhere?

 

[s2k9k]

Poultry skin will get rubbery at lower temps, that's why I smoke it at 275*-300*, really helps out the skin. You can also finish on a hot grill or even under the broiler of you oven to crisp it up.

If you think you might be serious about this smoking stuff then a good therm is a must. The Maverick ET-732 is a great therm, it has 2 probes, 1 for smoker temp and 1 for meat temp. It also has a remote so you can monitor temps up to 100 feet away and you can also set up alarms to alert you to different things like too low or high smoker temp or your desired meat temp. 

Amazen Products (a forum sponsor) has them on sale right now with free shipping:

http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MAVET-732

Oh and they also have the best customer service you will find anywhere!

 

[imjesse1]

Yes the maverick ET_732 is great, mine works about 300 feet away, might as well buy one it's a must for LP

 

[imjesse1]

You can buy a replacement therm but u will have to drill a hole

 

[yardbird]

I have a Smoke Hollow cabinet smoker. LP. The door thermometer was way off. Smoke Hollow sent me another one. It's way off too. I use a Maverick for all my cooking now and the door therm is just a decoration at this point.I've gotten quite good at poultry if the rave reviews I get from anyone who's had some are any indication. And I run it hot. I started out trying to do it at 275-ish and got the rubbery skin. REMOVE THE WATER from the water pan. Fill it with sand, or leave it empty or stick a brick in it, but remove the water for poultry. I can run chickens and turkeys at 350 or even higher and they come out excellent! I use apple wood for the smoke on poultry. I did 30 pounds of leg quarters for 4th of July. I don't get rubbery skin, the meat is juicy and fall-off-the-bone tender. 

Protect your smoker from the wind. It's cold here and I did a a pair of 8 pound pork shoulders and our christmas turkey when it was 28 degrees outside with wind around 35 mph. I would LOVE to either get 2 more Mavericks or a unit that takes multiple meat probes. :)

 

[pastorgadget]

I got two Taylor Thems at Lowes for $20/ea (not wirless though which is fine for me) I always hange one probe in the cente or my smoker. The other in the meat I am cooking.  I also have a Maverick for a second meat if needed. This works great for me, I can monitor smoker temp and meat temp and not open the smoker. These Taylors have magnets on the back. Makes it easy. 

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• pastorgadget
• Dec 31, 2012

I read some reviews on this MasterBuild smoker and some had good luck with the provided therm and others not so much. I have had good luck with mine but i use the digital smoker gauge to be safe. 

 

[christw]

I have a Weston smoker and had the same problem. With no help from Weston, I contacted my local gas supplier and found out that the orifice supplied could only produce 9500 btu's. The smoker was advertized as 20,000 btu, so I drilled out my orifice to produce 20,000 btu's and now the smoker works as it should.