OK, I see. First, the Auber guy is a techy, not a user. lol. Yes, they've done testing with the #2, but as a user with well over 100+ hours of real-world use, and testing different features, I can't disagree more with him about the autotune! The Auber comes programmed for the characteristics of the Bradley smoker, not the SI. They are vastly different, not only in element size, but characteristics of how the controllers operate. You need to Autotune it to the SI.
I believe your first error was trying to autotune with just water inside. I still believe the silicone may be insulating your water; did you put the meat probe in the water to check the temp? When you autotune, you have to simulate actual cooking conditions - that means a good heat sink (like bricks or sand, to simulate the meat load). This is the same problem as checking the temp during seasoning: An empty smoker (and water in insulated pans) will be all over the place - that's a fact. There is nothing inside the smoker, except hard surfaces, to absorb and slowly release the heat.
Next, did you download the autotune instructions, and follow them? If you did not, I highly recommend you do so. Use the method that absolutely works, don't try and reinvent the wheel. That means set the smoker up the way 99% of us use it - foil on the bottom, foil on the smoke box lid, a good heat sink (3-4 bricks or a few pounds of sand in a metal bowl), and a metal loaf pan with 3/4 water. Set the program on the Auber, activate the autotune, and turn it on. This works; I've done it many times, with different smokers and different Aubers.
If you follow this method, you'll have success. Let me know if this doesn't work.
Here's the instructions post:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1869.0
