New Owner- ran into a problem on 1st attempt

mastiff0Member

Hey guys,

I just picked up my Cookshack yesterday- set out to the store with a SM025 in mind but picked up a floor model SM009 that they were clearing out for bargain.

Yesterday afternoon I seasoned it, and wasted no time in putting a 8lb brisket into the smoker at 4am this morning.

All morning it was doing great, virtually matching the temperature log in the brisket101 faq (I am using a remote thermometer for the meat). I left at 10:00 with the brisket at 168, and got back two hours later to discover that the meat was now registering 160F. The smoker wasn't on either (I have a little device that measures amps from an outlet) . Heres a breakdown of what I tried:

12:00 temp had dropped to 160, and smoker off. Open smoker and fiddled. Smoker turned back on

12:30 meat temp up to 166, but smoker turned off again. Raised temp control to 250F. Turned back on.

1:00 meat temp up to 170F, but smoker turned off again. Shaded the smoker with a big umbrella, and smoker turns back on.

1:30 Meat now registering 179F. I open it and do a temp check with a hand digital thermometer and it reads 169F

Alright, so I think the problem is that
the smoker (black exterior) is on my back patio and is getting the full Texas midday sun. Since the thermocouple in the unit is mounted to the wall, I think the sun is heating the outside, and this heat is making the thermocouple register high. So it shuts itself off thinking that it is too hot. And that would be fine if indeed the sun was allowing the smoker to maintain its 225F, but with the meat temperatures decreasing, I think the sun is giving it a false reading.

That explains why the smoker keeps turning off, but what about my meat temp readings. I guess if the smoker thermometer is giving false readings because of direct sunlight, then the remote thermometer could as well. Except that once I shaded the smoker, the smoker starting acting more normal. The remote thermometer, on the other hand, continued to increase in temperature and is way off my other thermometer.

I have checked these two thermometers before, btw, and they do register similar temps usually. So has anybody had a similar experience or any suggestions? Maybe the sun has nothing to do with it, but something has made both the smoker thermo and the remote thermo read inaccurately.

6/20/101:49 PM

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tim-in-azMember

Not famillar with your unit but are you sure its actually shutting off? Mine cycles quite a bit to try and hold temp that its set too.

That first signifigant drop could have just been a false temp and when it dropped to 160 it might have been the actual temp.

Wish I could be more help but like I said not famillar with your model-- I have the AQ.

Hope someone else chimes in to help you out.

Good luck and hope your able to finish your cook..

6/20/102:26 PM

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mastiff0Member

quote:
ish I could be more help but like I said not famillar with your model-- I have the AQ.

I guess I was calling it "shutting off" and not cycling because the meat temps were lower. Cycling would still be increasing meat temperatures.

The SM008 was the predecessor to the SM009 I believe.

As of 3pm, the remote thermo is reading 199 (maxed out) and the hand thermo is reading 182. I have the smoker set for 250 but its still off more often that non right now.

6/20/103:03 PM

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tim-in-azMember

You probably hit a plateu where it hangs at one temp for a long period of time.

6/20/103:19 PM

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cal 2Member

I'm with Tim on the plateu, if you want to set and just watch the temp, smoker cycling on and off it will drive you to drinking.

I'm a thinking that it doesn't need to be on as much when it has gotten the meat and smoker hot. Opening the door will cause it to cycle different and add 30 minutes to your cook time.That is for every time you open the door.

The plateu will cause the smoker to rise at first in temp and the meat will actually drop in temp. This can last 2-5 hrs before it will start the climb again.

Here's where ya will need to trust us and your smoker.Set the temp, make sure it starts smoking and go and enjoy the extra time that you have earned. This is usually when I like to have a drink or two and tell everyone how hard it is to make awesome Que!!!

6/20/108:04 PM

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Former Member

Welcome to the forum.

I would call CS and talk to them about it. They will help you out. Your idea about the direct sun sounds plausible to me, but it would still be a good idea to run it by the CS folks.

As for the meat temp going down, that can happen when you hit a plateau. It's normal. Happened to me recently:
http://forum.cookshack.com/eve...91028883/m/645103524

I was stuck in that plateau for hours.

6/21/101:05 AM

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newbiejimMember

The difference between 08 & 09 is one is black paint outside and one is stainless outside. Same unit.

6/21/101:41 AM

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Former Member

When you say the "smoker was off" are you saying it was set and turned itself off.

Are you on a GFCI plug, sounds like you know enough that wasn't the issue.

The smoker design isn't an issue, it's the same basic design for years and hasn't really show to have issues (from the sun) as you describe.

There is 800 degree insulation in the smoker and cooking in direct Oklahoma sun (or in Alaskan winters) doesn't impact how it cooks for the most part.

Typically, if there are issues, it's during the first couple of cooks, so just call CS and talk with them, they'll take care of you.

6/21/108:20 AM

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mastiff0Member

Thanks for the help guys.

I ended up cooking the 8.4lb brisket for 12.5 hours. At this point I was ignoring the temp readings from my remote thermometer in the meat (it had been telling me the meat had hit 200F hours before). When I took it out I measured it with a regular digital thermomemter and it read 194F- a little too hot I guess.

This combined with opening the door a lot checking the temperature made the brisket a little dry. It also didn't have as much smoke as I'm used to (used a little under 3oz wood).

From all of this, I think that I had just used the "set it and forget it" method, it would have probably come out better. By watching over the smoker by checking its amperage to follow cycling and reading the meat temperature, I think I was getting some false readings and tried to involve myself too much in the cooking.

I'm thinking that I inserted my remote thermometer too deep into the meat (had it vertical in the meat instead of inserting it horizontally into the side of the meat) and as the meat shrunk during cooking, the thermometer tip might have started to read meat surface temperature instead of temperature at the center of the meat. That would explain why the temp readings started to rise way too fast at the end of cooking and settle over 200F.

I knew about meat temps hitting a plateau and not moving for several hours, but I didn't know that the meat temps could actually drop. This is good info.

6/21/109:08 AM

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thousandoakieMember

Yep, me thinks you over-thought it! The 009 is a little workhorse and seems to have verrry few problems. You'll calm down on the next smokes I'm sure.

Anymore, I just stick a remote thermo into the thickest parts of whatever I'm smoking (sometimes multiple thermos, by the way), ignore the whole thing until the buzzer goes off and then, "Hey! It's food!!"

6/21/1011:11 AM

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Former Member

I too had the same problem and I did call Cookshack. They told me that the controller can in fact overheat and shut down if its in direct sun on a hot day. They sugested putting it under a overhang or putting an umbrella over it. When I got it in the shade, no more problems. This info should be in the manuel so others don't have to learn the hard way! My brisket still turned out great!

8/31/108:49 PM

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smokinmaineiacMember

quote:
Originally posted by mastiff0:
Thanks for the help guys.

I ended up cooking the 8.4lb brisket for 12.5 hours. At this point I was ignoring the temp readings from my remote thermometer in the meat (it had been telling me the meat had hit 200F hours before). When I took it out I measured it with a regular digital thermomemter and it read 194F- a little too hot I guess.

This combined with opening the door a lot checking the temperature made the brisket a little dry. It also didn't have as much smoke as I'm used to (used a little under 3oz wood).

From all of this, I think that I had just used the "set it and forget it" method, it would have probably come out better. By watching over the smoker by checking its amperage to follow cycling and reading the meat temperature, I think I was getting some false readings and tried to involve myself too much in the cooking.

I'm thinking that I inserted my remote thermometer too deep into the meat (had it vertical in the meat instead of inserting it horizontally into the side of the meat) and as the meat shrunk during cooking, the thermometer tip might have started to read meat surface temperature instead of temperature at the center of the meat. That would explain why the temp readings started to rise way too fast at the end of cooking and settle over 200F.

I knew about meat temps hitting a plateau and not moving for several hours, but I didn't know that the meat temps could actually drop. This is good info.

For large pieces of meat I just set it and walk away. I take the item out when the probe tells me the meat has hit my IT goal.

Don't drive yourself nuts by looking at the smoker temp ups and downs.

Keep good notes, it's done when it's done, and KISS.