Smokin-It User Forum!
Problems and Troubleshooting => Having a problem? Look Here First, or Post Your Question! => Topic started by: Ironhorse07 on March 17, 2013, 04:51:05 PM
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With the contoller all the way on I can only get to about 210 degrees (checked with 3 different thermometers)? An email and 2 phone calls at the begining of last week have generated 0 responses. I am getting a far bit of @#$%ed off >:(
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I am sure Steve will get back to you. I know he was away on smoker business and returned last week so he is probably catching up on messages. He is very good about returning calls and emails.
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With the contoller all the way on I can only get to about 210 degrees (checked with 3 different thermometers)? An email and 2 phone calls at the begining of last week have generated 0 responses. I am getting a far bit of @#$%ed off >:(
Ironhorse07,
We apologize for not getting back to you sooner. Steve has been out town for over a week on business. but I talked with him last night about this. Steve did tell me that he would send you an email last night or today. Please let me know if his emails are not getting through to you.
Thanks,
Ben
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Ironhorse,
I just had a thought that I read on another site. Are you running your smoker off an extension cord? According to what some poster had cautioned, this can affect temperature as would sharing the outlet with another electrical appliance.
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Ironhorse,
I just had a thought that I read on another site. Are you running your smoker off an extension cord? According to what some poster had cautioned, this can affect temperature as would sharing the outlet with another electrical appliance.
I initially had the same issue. No matter what I couldn't get up over 175. Turns out the power strip I was using was severely limiting the current- I discovered the issue when plugging in the smoker caused the exhaust fan I was using on the same line to sag drastically. Once I replaced the strip with a dedicated cord all was well.
I will say Steve offered to send a new thermostat. I had feared that I damaged it rolling the unit over on top of the knob while unboxing it by myself. Turns out it was just the cord. There's not a lot that can really go wrong with it! It's an insulated box with a thermostat and a heating element. If it's producing heat, then by deduction there's little else that could be wrong with the actual unit besides the thermostat. But since a smoker like this is often sitting out in the yard or on the deck, running off a long cord I would suspect that's the issue.
Have you tried putting a thermometer probe down the vent and monitoring the temp over time? Not saying you're measuring wrong, just trying to help troubleshoot. It's natural for the temp to have fairly large swings.
Lastly, what's the ambient temperature where you're using the smoker? While it's pretty well insulated I imagine that in very cold temps you may have trouble getting up to the max temp. I've used my #3 down to around 20 or so with good results. In fact, it's about 15 degrees right now and I'm running four racks of ribs.
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I think that Steve specified the longer than normal electrical cord to avoid using extension cords which can affect the heating of the element. A nice touch.
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Been busy myself this week. Steve did contact me by email yesterday. Yes I have verified with 3 different therms plus cook times over 3 hrs/lb. No I am not using an extension cord. Ambient temps have not been an issue and the controller does cycle on and off. So either the controller or probe is in error just need to figure out which one. Anyone know off hand if the probe is rtd thermocouple?
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I would ask Steve which style is used and see what he recommends.
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Where are you measuring the internal temp? Near the unit's thermocouple? Have you made sure the thermocouple of the smoker isn't covered/blocked or damaged? I'm not sure what else to suggest. If the outlet is good and you're measuring the temperature near the middle of the unit then maybe you got a bad thermo.
I'm confident Steve will fix you up, though.
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I am having the same problem on my Model #1. I have the dial turned up to 250 and can only get an internal temperature of 195. I verified the thermometer is working properly as I tested in my oven inside my house. I have smoked ribs for 5 hours and they do not come out as tender as I want. I know you can smoke with 195 but it will take longer than I want. How do I get a higher temperature inside? I want to get to 225-235. I have read others on here that go the other way where their smoker goes to hot. At least they can turn their temperature down. I am not using an extension cord, power strip or anything to impede electrical resistance. Outside temperatures have been on the 70's. My union electrician friend verified my 120v outlet is performing properly. Could I have a weak thermostat or heating element? I was told to put a washer on top of the hole to retain heat but I don't think I should have to do that.
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hi guys , did any of you get a satisfactory end to your temp issues?
Zed
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It appears to have gone cold ;)
I have some of the same concerns!
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The #2 is on my purchase list, but the temp issues keeps popping up on the forums. I will wait a watch for a few months before I do anything... :-\
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Ironhorse07,
Did you get your temp problem solved?
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Appears the trail has gone cold. I hope he didn't have a defective smoker that led him to give up! I know mine is very consistent, and the temp swings are nothing like I see posted from others (20-30 degrees at most). Hopefully, Ironhorse07 hasn't given up! :-[
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I hope he will give us an update. On the 4th I cooked two 7# butts for 16 hrs
and only got to 185d with temp swing from 185d to 237d.
Thats a 52d swing. Whats with that. Thinking maybe Ironhorse07 may
have some info for me or should I contact Steve.
The #3 and stand I purchased are fantastic, but, the temp swings
I don't like. :-\
FYI: door was keep shut for entire cook.
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I hope he will give us an update. On the 4th I cooked two 7# butts for 16 hrs
and only got to 185d with temp swing from 185d to 237d.
Thats a 52d swing. Whats with that. Thinking maybe Ironhorse07 may
have some info for me or should I contact Steve.
The #3 and stand I purchased are fantastic, but, the temp swings
I don't like. :-\
FYI: door was keep shut for entire cook.
I'm wondering if this is a common theme with electric smokers, and analog dials. I would like to see a digital controller that would cycle the element on and off in a more precise manner (like our electric ovens do). But, I've mentioned before that I believe the temp swings are not that big a deal at the end of the day (smoke). The temp may swing, but it always seems to average-out to be correct (as far as the cook timing is concerned). I've only actually monitored the internal temp of my unit a couple of times, and it was "within acceptable range." I find stressing-out over cooker temp too much - personally. I'd rather focus on internal temp of the meat, and how it's looking when I open the door to spritz or just evaluate. That tells me more that all the analysis of internal temp of the smoker. ...maybe I'm not analytical enough, but I focus on results.
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Okay ... on this issue I think Shakespeare said it best: "Much ado about nothing."
When I was researching smokers to purchase, I noticed the temp swing issue on all analog units (ex: the SmokinTex website's FAQ section noted swings of 45 were normal) and there seems to be no difference with the analog Smokin-Its. Yes, a computer controller would provide much greater precision ... but at much greater cost and with a greater likelihood of catastrophic equipment failure.
If you search Google with the search string "electric smoker temperature swing" you see similar concerns about non-digital Cookshack Smokettes, Bradley, Masterbuilt, SmokinTex, etc. I can say from my own experiences that wood burners and charcoal burners also face temperature swings, especially if you're not babysitting them with a careful eye and a heavy hand.
Yes, if you're seeing abnormally low temperatures with a failure to match set temp using conditions similar to the seasoning process then a little customer service call might help. Otherwise, you're best off looking at meat temp as your primary indicator. Water pans will definitely help stabilize your temp swings, as will keeping it under cover from direct summer sunlight, too small or too large a load, keeping the door closed, and other incremental strategies ad infinitum. Long story short, you'll see some variance but it's nothing the well-insulated Smokin-Its and many similar competitors can't handle.
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When i had the pork butt on the 4th, the temperature swings were well above what I thought was possible. The smoker hit 270 and then back down to 220. I caulked it up to the ambient temps and the foil. It certainly could be the quantity of meat in the smoker. I would recommend trying ribs and see if the problem still exists. Good luck!
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My only concern was prior to purchase that the smoker won't hit the required temperature. I was hoping if I set it at 250 then the inside temperatures will average out to 250. Lets say swings between 225 and 275.
Luckily mine does that so I'm happy. There have been a very few (rare) documented case where the smoker just couldn't reach temperature and Steve has sent out new control units.
Also to keep in mind that the more you load up the units the less heat will rise to the top and hotter the bottom will be. Keep that in mind when you load up the smoker with different cuts of meat.
ie: put larger cuts on the bottom if you want them done at the same time as smaller cuts on the top.
Alternatively you can swap the racks every couple of hours.
Zed