Chris: You have a very large unit. I don't know if yours has the preprogramed start up cycle to it or not. My SMO66 has it. My unit runs at full temp for around 45 minutes. Depending on how much I have in it, and how cold it is outside, it takes an hour or more for it to finally settle down and stabilize at the set temp. Even then you will hot spots and cool spots on the different racks and areas in the smoker. You will also see it pick up temp by 5 to 10 degrees, when it is heating up and then cool down by that much before it heats up again. This is just the nature of these Smoker Ovens.