Would an Auber help?

[Twancho]

This past weekend I smoked a 6 lb turkey breast with my SI3. I have the standard controller right now. The temperature swung between 215 and 235. No problem with that. I understand that's normal but after 4 hours the meat probe temperature stalled at 153 and stayed that way for 30 minutes. During that time I tuned the controller dial all the way up and the smoker temperature only got up to 239 and the meat temperature never budged. I verified the temp with a second probe and it was at 153. It was getting to be dinner time so I took it out and finished it in my oven.

My first smoke was two racks of ribs several weeks ago and the average temperature was around 205/210. After 5 hours I ended up taking them out and finishing those in the oven wrapped in foil

1) Is this normal?
2) would an Auber help this?

• Tweet
• 

[swthorpe]

When I do turkey breasts of 6-7#, I always experience a period of time where the IT stalls, usually in the 155-160F range, so to me that part is normal from what you have said.   I usually need 4 hours or so to finish at 6-7# turkey breast to an IT of 165, and typically I am setting the smoker to 225F.

The other part of your story is concerning...I can't explain why your smoker temp only got to 139F if you move the temp setting to 250F.   This leads me to think that your heating unit may not be working, but I would suggest another smoke to confirm this.   The other temps you mentioned for the turkey breast, assuming you were set at 225F, seem about right.   I am not sure where you had the temp set for the ribs, but 205/210 would be low if you were set for 225F.

The other test I would suggest is to ensure that your ambient temp probe is calibrated...you could test this by checking the air temp in your house (should be close to the setting in your house) or try boiling some water for a test to make sure it reads close to 212F.    The other thing I have noticed with my smoker temp probe is that it will sometimes read lower than the actual temp in the smoker because I have it sitting on the top rack of the smoker rather than on the rack with the meat.   Just some additional thoughts...

[SuperDave]

I'm pretty sure that it is physically impossible for the smoker box temp to be at 139 and the meat internal temp to be at 153.  Please clarify.

[gregbooras]

Just my 2 cents, but if you are sure your probe is displaying the right temp, I would put a probe in the box without food and see what temp you hit.

Greg

[Twancho]

I'm sorry guys, the 139 was a typo. It should have been 239. My apologies

[Twancho]

I guess my main concern is that when I turned the controller all the way up, the max temperature it ever reached was 239°. Is this what you guys experience?

[SuperDave]

I guess my main concern is that when I turned the controller all the way up, the max temperature it ever reached was 239°. Is this what you guys experience?

No, that's a glitch.  I believe that I've read some posts where this is adjustable at the knob.  Look in your owner's manual or give Steve a call.

[gregbooras]

Here is a link to adjust the temp

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1219.msg5104#msg5104

Greg

[Twancho]

That sounds like it may work. I'll try adjusting the knob. Thank you guys for the information! I'll let you know how it works

[swthorpe]

239 sounds better, but it should be higher if you set the knob all the way to 250.   I would check your remote thermometer to make sure it is producing accurate readings as well.  As I said earlier, when I put the box therm on the top shelf, I see lower readings on occasion than the actual temp in the box.

[Barrel99]

I have noticed with the #3 that with a large mass, not the weight, like a turkey breast, that the max temperature doesn't seem to get as high. Since I don't do many turkeys or breasts, I have never monitored it to see the pattern. For regular smokes, ribs, chicken, etc., the temp goes higher.

[DivotMaker]

Tom, are you certain the max temp never got above 239?  The analog (stock) controller will vary as much as 20+ degrees, so I'm wondering if you watched it constantly, or did you just periodically check it? 

I would recommend putting a few bricks or a pan of sand in it, to act as a heat sink, and check the box temp again - while watching it almost constantly for awhile.  You'll see the highs and lows.  These controllers should "average out" to the set temp.  Try adjusting the dial, and then test it like I described.  It is possible you have a bad controller, or element, because your cook times are WAY too long!

[Twancho]

Thank you Tony. I actually was watching it constantly. It did swing around 20 degrees but the highest it got was 239. I think I may need to adjust the dial. I'm going to try that this weekend. Thank you all for the suggestions! I'll let you know how it works