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13 replies

New Smokette 009 - Thermostat Concern

A alanpilcherMember
I've had my Smokette 009 for about a month and have done cornish hens, chops and chicken breasts. Times seemed a little long but not really worrisome. This weekend I did my first two butts, one at a time. Because of the results I'm now very much concerned about the thermostat.
Butt #1:
Size: 7.5lb
Prep: Rubbed with Mustard/CS Rib Rub, Refriged 24hrs.
Setup: Middle rack; 3oz Apple, 1oz Hickory; digital probe, not touching bone. Door not opened during entire smoke.
Ambient Temp: 39F
Butt Starting Temp: 35F
Thermostat Setting:225F
RESULT: After 25hrs meat temp was only 176. I gave up and removed the butt. It resembled a small meteorite. Managed to salvage 36 ounces of eadible meat from the center. Rest looked like some sort of carbon/leather/roofingTar composite. Obviously I had done a cremation rather than a smoke. Thought through my setup. Smoker was on a workbench about 50' from outdoor 20amp outlet. I used a 50' 30amp rated power cable from my camper. Figured there just couldn't be enough voltage drop to matter. That was before cremating the butt. I rethought, moved the smoker to the outlet and experimented with another butt.

Butt #2:
Size: 7.25 lb
Prep: Rubbed with Mustard/CS Rib Rub, Refriged 12hrs.
Setup: Middle rack; 3oz Apple, 1oz Hickory; digital probe, not touching bone. Door not opened during entire smoke.
Ambient Temp: 45F
Butt Starting Temp: 41F
Thermostat Setting:225F
RESULT: After 12.5 hrs meat temp was only 174F. Cranked thermostat up to 250F. After 13.5 hrs temp was still only 176F. At than point I chickened and removed butt from the smoker, wrapped in foil, towels and have it in my cooler now. I just couldn't stand the idea of cremating 15lbs of good pork in one weekend. The second butt looked a little black on the outside but at least didn't look like a meteorite when it came from the cooker. It was also noticeable heavier than the 1st butt, indicating it's probably in much better shape. It'll have a better Carbon/meat ratio!
After cooling down smoker I ran the following test, empty, from a cold start:
Digital probe laying on middle rack.
Thermostat set to 225F.
Ambient temp 45F.
Door closed. (I know, I know. But some people. . .)
Digital readout hit 200F in 25 minutes.
Hit 225F in 30 minutes.
Heard thermostat click off at 266F.
Readout peaked at 273F at 41 minutes and held that for 4 minutes before starting to drift down. I got tired of waiting and gave up before the temp came anywhere close to drifting back to 225.

So, given all that, do I have a thermostat problem on my new smoker or is there some operator malfunction?
All tips, tricks, warnings, suggestions, advice, jokes, etc. gratefully accepted.
SmokinLawyer
afpilcher@charter.net (work)
lmpilcher@charter.net (home)
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S smokenqueQ'n n Brew'n
There are a couple of options, as I see it.

1. Call CS.. they have great support.
2. The first thing I would do is to go to WalMart of some place where you can find a veriety of cooking supplies. I found a LONG stemmed thermometer at WM that fits nicely down the top smokehole of the CS. I checked it for calibration by immersing the tip in boiling water.. I was concerned about that end.. not the cold end Smiler . The box is at about the right temp.. (there are some pretty good temp swings in the box). Some strongly suggest you check this during a cook and the box has a chance to "stabalize. Once you are certain that the box gets up to temp properly.. call CS if there still seems to be a problem.

If you call before the internal temp check.. they will probably want to know that info.

Another thought might be to put the tip of the thermometer into a small cup of water and put the setting on 200, for instance.. the water will provide a buffer to the temp swings.. and should get up to temp relatively rapidly. If you have the long neck thermometer.. you can still put it down the hole and not have to open the box.. cuz every time you open it you set the temp back significantly..

Hope that helps
FM Former Member
You know, there's probably a joke in there about Smokin' a Lawyer...but we'll be nice today.

Welcome to the forum.

Just because a dial says a particular temp, doesn't mean, at your house, it is that temp. Could be voltage, could be other things.

Sometimes owners use extension cords and the voltage drops.

Turn it to 225, empty and then using a remote probe or other probe THAT YOU'VE TESTED and know is accurate.

Then we'll go from there.
FM Former Member
SmokinLawyer

I think you are ok. You are going to have temp swings but in the end it all averages out. Mine swings from about 190-260 when set at 225. I think the 50' cord was a problem on your first butt it will affect the smokers operation. I use a 10' cord because it is the smallest I could find. Here is an example of my smoke times:

Butt - 8lb
thermostat setting - 225
start butt temp - 40
finished butt temp - 195
Cook Time - 18-19 hours

This is pretty average for me. The outside of the butt will look like a meteorite but the inside is nice and tender.

Once the butt hits 160 internal temp it will sit there for 2-3 hours before it starts climbing again. This is when the tissue inside is breaking down. Once it does start climbing again you will notice that the temp does not rise as fast as it did before it hit 160. Usually only about 3-5 degrees per hour.

I hope this helps a little.
A alanpilcherMember
Thanks for the ideas, guys. I'll test the calibration of my digital thermometer and re-run the empty box test with the probe in a cup of water to damp out the temp swings. I like that idea. I'll report back what I observe. By the way, the second butt turned out fine, even though I chickened out and pulled it out of the smoker way below 190F. Got nearly 5 lbs of pulled meat from it. Virtually no waste at all. Mixed in the 36 ozs we salvaged from the meteorite and nobody'll ever know the difference!. Live and learn.
FM Former Member
From what you have posted so far, I do not think anything is wrong with your smoker. The first butt was overcooked and your probe was either defective or touching bone or stuck clear through the other side. The second butt was not in the smoker long enough to get done and again your probe or unit is defective. Every butt or shoulder I do comes out looking like a meteorite and the black 'bark' on the outside is my favorite part. Have you ever done BBQ pork before?
FM Former Member
Hey Smokin' or CS

I know that on my smoker (not a CS) even though it is insulated my cook times increase quite a bit when it's cold outside. Has anyone ever done an experiment to see what effect Ambient Temps have on cooking times on a CS?

My bet would be on the probe malfunction. If it's digital I would change the batteries and/or inspect the probe for damage.

Mark
FM Former Member
IronSteve

Ribs usually take me about 6-61/2 hours. I made my best ones this weekend. I did 12lbs (3 slabs). I upped the temp setting to about 235 and let them go for a little over 6 hours. I had been using 225 for about 6 hours and they weren't quite getting to where they needed to be.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by Mark in Missouri:
[qb] Hey Smokin' or CS

I know that on my smoker (not a CS) even though it is insulated my cook times increase quite a bit when it's cold outside. Has anyone ever done an experiment to see what effect Ambient Temps have on cooking times on a CS?

Mark [/qb]
Well, don't know about your smoker, but the CS's have 1000 degree insulation in the walls. Outside temps have negligible effect from my own tests. The only effect will be whenever you open the door and the cold air rushes in and cools it off.
FM Former Member
I have taken explicit notes on 99% of cooks I have done in the last 2 years with my smokette. I always write down the temp of the meat (usually 35*F) and the outside temp. It sometimes does take a little longer on 200 or 225 degree cooks if it is very cold outside, or who knows, it might just be coincidences of the meat.
FM Former Member
Late posting on the subject, however, I would make one more suggestion. I would take the meat from your fridge and let it spend at least 4 hours getting up to room temp. That way the core temp will be higher without starting your meteorite process.

By the way, I have noticed little difference in texture and outcome when cooking a butt for 15 or 24 hours. I routinely put one in around 4:00 pm on a Saturday and remove at 8:00 am on Sunday. The outside has a good deal of bark, however, it does not appear to be interstellar in nature.

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