Just received my new Amerique. Only problem was a newly designed woodbox with an un-updated owner's manual. Manual said that the box had to go all the way back to touch the back wall. No way that was going to happen. A quick call to CS brought me up to speed. Got it all lined with foil and started the seasnoing process with a 5 lb. chunk of pork shoulder that I liberally seasoned. The fellow (Dave?) I spoke with at CS suggested I set it on 250. Three pieces of hickory. I'm just gonna let'er rip until this evening. With any luck, I'll have killed two birds with one stone. Get the unit seasoned and MAYBE have an edible piece of meat tonight!!
I know all of you CS owners know this, but I just had to say how impressed I was with the way the unit was packed and shipped on a pallet. Not even a scratch on the cardboard!! I have read so much about the quality of construction of CS products, but was still blown away by the attention to detail in workmanship and the quality of the materials.
Looks like it might rain this evening. I have the AQ under eaves of the roof and I found a cardboard box just the right size to cover the electronics. I covered the box with a plastic trash bag and taped that in place to hold it so the box is now waterproof. (I hope). Made sure I didn't cover the vent holes.
I had to use a 25 ft. extension cord from the garage to the AQ but I bought a heavy duty 12 Ga. that is rated for 1875 watts so here's hoping that will be sufficient until I get the electrician out to put some outlets on the patio where this unit and my Trager smoker live.
I'll let everyone know how the first meat came out. I'm not expecting too much as this is the first run and the AQ had not yet seasoned.
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