Electric consumption

Well. The Elite has a 750 watt element. If I'm doing my math correctly, a 12 hr. smoke would be 750 watts x 12 = 9,000 watts or 9 kilowatts x
$.145/kilowatt hr = $1.30(your electricity could be lower). Plus a couple chunks of wood. Fuel costs aren't bad.

What about the 12 pack?

the element isn't heating all the time so actual power consumption would depend on temp setting and actually how long the heating element is on. It probably isn't on half the time so the cost can only go down.

Let's not forget the ambient air temp. Just get one of these. I guess it will not help if you do not have a SM150. So I guess you should get one of those too.
Kill a Watt

The heavier your load of meat,the more stable it will be,and hold temps better.

Should be less kicking on,at times.

Ambient??? Crazy, you are killing me. I had to get the webster out for that word. As we all know these smokers are 850* insulated so that should help on ambient air temp.

I'm hoping that if I tell the wife that a gentleman called Crazy Smokin Larry assured me that it would be cheaper to run a FEC than my CS020. She will let me trade-in.

Pags, you sure that cs150 has a 750 watt element?

slk, Is there a reason that you are concerned about the cost or just curious?????

The Elite has a 750 Watt element.

Good point TN Q. I thought about that last night while trying to go to sleep(Smoking on my mind). The element is probably on half the time so the cost would go down to $.65 for the 12 hr. cook. Nothing compared to the 12 pack.

Here's a test I ran using a Kill-a-Watt. I have an 055 which has (I think) the largest element of the residential models at 1200 watts.

Today I did some jerky using the GLH method (where the heck did he go?) and the stats are as follows:

Temp: 180
Time: 3 hrs
Pre-heat: No
Max watts: 1,236
Watts used: 966
# of door openings: 0
Cost: 9.4 cents


It used just less than a kilowatt and in my neighborhood, watts are going for .097/kwh so it works out. It amazed me.

Actual thread is here.

Qnorth,
I think that cs150 may have 1500 watt element, but as your experiment showed the cost of its use would be rather minor. It may also have 1000* insulation.

Q North. That tells me the element is on less than 1/3 the time (966/3600(1200 watts x 3)= 26%. Now that's an efficient smoker. A twelve hr. smoke would cost you only $ .38. Wow.

That device of yours is great. Information is so much better than guessing.

I just bought a Kill A Watt.

quote:

Originally posted by cal:
Ambient??? Crazy, you are killing me. I had to get the webster out for that word. As we all know these smokers are 850* insulated so that should help on ambient air temp.

I'm hoping that if I tell the wife that a gentleman called Crazy Smokin Larry assured me that it would be cheaper to run a FEC than my CS020. She will let me trade-in.

Pags, you sure that cs150 has a 750 watt element?

slk, Is there a reason that you are concerned about the cost or just curious?????

Hey cal, actually the FEC Pulls 5 amps at 120v= 600watts and the CS020/025 is 120v at 7 amps= 840 watts. Actually voltage will vary as well as the time the element is on. The FEC may be better insulated and seal tighter. So yes, it really might be cheaper to run. So when that day comes you can say "Come on honey, Crazy Smokin Larry said its cheaper to run than our old one." lol, If I was you I would leave my name out of it. It will hold water better. Okay, everybody back to your smokers!

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
I just bought a Kill A Watt.

Can't wait to see the results. My guess is it uses an average between 200-250 watts an hour.
I guess the contents will affect the results some. This has become an interesting topic. We should see what it uses with different cuts of meat.

I was just currious as our electric bill has gone sky-high last month and I was smoking 3 of those weekends. About 12-14 hrs per smoke. It won't stop me from smoking, but I may load it up to be more efficient.

We pay 10.3 cents pre kilowat hour based on 1000 killowats. If I am running 1500 wats the rate goes up to 15 cents.

More just on the curious side

Thanks guys
Steve

slk,
You don't show your location???????maybe something to do with the cold weather?

Minnesota...........Cold as it gets

My electric bill was a little higher and I thought it could be from me going out ever hour to log temps on smoker.You know, that house door was opened more than usual.

quote:

Originally posted by slk:
...If I am running 1500 wats the rate goes up to 15 cents.
Steve

The 150 has two heating elements, and it's listed at 1500 watts, sounds like you hit the higher rate.

But buy the meter so you can see actuals.