How does outside temps effect your box temp?

DivotMaker

DivotMaker

New member
As the weather's getting colder, we've had a lot of comments on how the outside weather effects our box temps during smoking.  I smoked a turkey when it was 20-degrees outside, and did not notice a problem.  I did not run the smoker probe on my Maverick ET732, but the time came out to what it should have been for the size of the bird.

Any thoughts on how external temp effects our smoker box temps?
 
I read a review from a guy from Toronto on the smokin' it site and he said his model #1 worked great at -40 degrees Celsius.  It never gets that cold here in Colorado, no problems so far this month.
 
With all the insulation, I don't really think it matters. I thought maybe it could effect the overall start up since the smoker started out colder than normal. But maybe throwing in some large rocks heated on a grille first and closing the smoker might help "preheat" the smoker.
 
I GOT IT! To fix the temp swings, we could just put in freshly microwave chicken pot pies! Those things are thermonuclear....should keep the smokers running steady for days.  :P
 
I send an email to Steve this morning asking it something is going on with mine.  I am going to test my smoker this morning.  Its almost 60 outside to see if I get close to 250.
 
All-
The test is complete.

The outdoor temperature in NNJ is 55 degrees.

I set the smoker to 250 degrees and in 25 minutes the #3 hit 257 degrees. 

Verdict:
The outdoor temperature does play a role in the internal temperature of the smoker box.  This means you will most likely have to add time to the smoking process.

A side note based on my calculations I has heat lost approx. 6-9%, 235 vs. 250/257 in less than 45 degree temperatures.


 
I'm also auto tuning and recording PID values based on ambient (well blocked from elements). In this manner hopeful for a cheat sheet of sorts to punch in based on outside air temp.
 
I smoked 3 racks of ribs on Saturday with an outside temp of 31F, but I moved the smoker just inside of my garage because of the forecast for 2-4" of snow during the day (which turned out to be a bust, but that's another story).    I had my Maverick on the top rack middle with 4 baked potatoes and the ribs underneath and the #2 set for 225F.    Normally the smoker is up to temp within 30 minutes, but this time I was only at 180F within 30 minutes, and it was over 1 hour before the first cycle on heating shut off, but the Maverick was only reading 210F.    I realized that with the garage door up, the slight wind was blowing over the #2, so I decided to shut the garage door and run a fan inside the garage.  This enabled the Maverick to reach up over 230F on the next heating cycle.

Given what I thought was a slow first hour of heating, I thought I would need more time for the ribs, but they were actually done at 5.5 hours!  So, it could be that the Maverick set high in the box was responding to the outside temp while the smoker was actually hitting the 225F mark.    If I need to smoke again at freezing temps, I will place the Maverick further  down in the box instead of the top rack and will continue closing the garage door after the first hour when most of the smoke needs to escape.

So, while more research is needed, at this point I am of the opinion that the SI smokers will work fine in cold temps.
 
We did our first smoke yesterday.  When we were seasoning it, the ambient outside temperature was in the 40s and our #1 got up to 225 quickly and maintained that temp for 3 hours with no problems.  When we started our smoke yesterday, it was in the 20s with a 15 mph wind gusting to 25.  While the ambient temp eventually climbed to the low 40s, the wind stayed steady.  We set the #1 to 220 but after 6 hours the meat only reached 160 degrees, so we ended up finishing the roast --a 6# bone-in pork butt--in our oven.  I think the wind may have been a factor and next time, if weather condition are similar, I think we'll either raise the temp or allow some additional time.  Regardless, the results were deeee-licious!
 
Did the inside temp in the smoker reached 220F or so?  The 160IT for a butt after 6 hours could be very normal given the stall time for a butt (normally stalls for hours at around 160-170IT) even with the smoker set for 225F or so. 
 
Steve's right - you're butt was probably in the stall.  Large cuts will hit a period of "evaporative cooling," called the "stall."  You'll even see the internal temp drop a few degrees.  While a little disconcerting, it's normal.  During the stall is when the internal fat and connective tissue is breaking-down, making the meat yummy and moist.  It would have finished in the smoker, probably about 9 hours total.  Next time you smoke a large cut, just let it ride through the stall.
 
We did not know about the stall.  Thanks for the info -- we'll let it ride next time.

PS -- we smoked a 6 lb. bone in turkey breast on Christmas day.  Brined it in a maple-syrup bourbon brine, then rubbed it with our secret ingredients and more maple syrup and bourbon ( lost a little to the chef!!).  It was stupendous!  We love our new smoker!!
 
great smoke!

you know sometimes ingredients need to be tested to make sure they are of quality for the cook. sounds like you did yourself a favor by testing first! LOL
 
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