Congrats! I got mine last week and so far it works like a charm. I didn't even have temp spikes in mine, but the temp would settle about 20 degrees below the 300 mark. I didn't worry because I knew it was in the break in period. So far I have cooked chicken, ribs, and 2 butts on it and they came out great. Now the FEC settles about 8-10 degrees below what I set it. I threw in some other temp gauges on different shelves and on different place amongst the shelves. Some places were hotter then others. I layed a temp gauge onto the actual FEC therm gauge and they both read the same.
You just have to trust in the FEC, the company and the people who make them. Everything balances out within the cooker, types of meat, density, quantity, temp of meat when placing it in the cooker, placement on FEC, etc. Just look at it as "a little magic happens" mindset. I'm one of those compulsive people who sometimes want the temp to say 250 exactly all the time if I set it to 250 and by god it's going to say it!! Every FEC is different and each one has it's own personality. I know a guy who cooks on two side by side and each one cooks a little different and has it's own way of getting the food done right. He just cooked on them, got to know the cooker and went with them. This should be part of the fun in owning your new cookshack!
I sometimes fret over the little things and I will re-read the forums and articles and they help me realize that little things happen when you involve raw fire, wood, electronics, moving parts and 100 lbs of meat dripping grease all over. Rest assure if anything is wrong it can be fixed, people can give you tips that will make the difference in the world.
In conclusion, I bet your oven at home has a bake mode and a set temp gauge and when the oven reaches the correct temp the light goes off. Who here has ran temp guages on different racks and levels to see if the oven your about to cook your apple pie on is really 350? Nobody I bet. I bet there is temp differences, flucuations, hot spots, cold spots, etc. We just trust that GE has made our kitchen oven correct and start cooking on it. You should also with the FEC. So if you just bought one, have fun and may it bring your tons of good times. For those of you still thinking about it, do it, and you can thank me and all the other frequent poster here who wouldn't lead you down the wrong path.
BBQ Bryan
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