smoke

The 500 burns so efficiently that you typically won't find as much smoke,or smokering, as you might in a stickburner.

At 300*,you won't find much at all.

On the FEC 100 s we tend to start cooking big meats down around 160* for a few hours,and then kick it up.

Some folks might start chicken down around 250* and then kick it up to well above 300*,to finish.

I'll leave it to some of the 500 guys to give more specifics.

The 500 has two burners and some feel you get more/plenty of smoke with that...BUT

at 300 you're burning the pellets so efficiently you won't get as much.

Try a more traditional temp (225) and see what it gives you for SR. IF not enough, try a few hours lower temp, then move it up in temp; you could even go with say a 4 to 6 hour lower temp and up to 275 to finish. Lots of options.

Also remember SR is a function of a lot of things. Colder meat going would help.

Do you use a lot of rub? Rub can hinder smoke penetration.

Another way to get more smoke flavor that I use in contests is to take some split logs and lay them on top of the heat shield. You can find a temperature that will make the logs smolder, releasing more of a smokey flavor.