Inconsistent burn and hot/cold spots- Is this normal?

[davepays]

I've had a #1 for about 4 months now and have probably run it for 500-1000 hours so far (primarily making chipotles for a chipotle sea salt that I produce) and have noticed the following inconsistencies.  Is there something wrong with my smoker or is this to be expected?

1.  The wood (apple and/or pecan chunks) burns very inconsistently throughout the burn box.  The chunks near the door don't really burn at all, the chunks toward the middle burn moderately and there's a spot 2/3 of the way back that burns completely and then I have to push the unburned chunks to that spot.  I don't generally open the door more often than once every 2-3 hours, sometimes longer.

2.  The heat inside the box is incredibly variable.  If I have 3-4 shelves loaded with a single layer of jalapenos and a temperature set at 165, the peppers in rear right corner will start to burn on the bottom in a few hours, where the ones in the rest of the smoker box will remain raw and firm (total smoke is 36-48 hours).  The heat pattern appears to be far hotter in the right rear and progressively cooler radiating out from that spot with a dramatic difference between right rear and left front.

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[DivotMaker]

Hi Dave,

Welcome!  Great to have you with us.  Sounds like you're pretty much using your smoker for commercial use, right?  Here's my nickels-worth of 2¢, for what it's worth...

First of all, what's the source of your wood?  If you are getting wood from the "big box" stores, or lumber yards, you are probably getting really, really dry wood...these smokers hate that!  Look at a good source for quality smoking wood, like smokinlicious.com.  Really good moisture content, and more consistent burns.

Heating elements, in all electric smokers, have hot and cold spots...nature of the beast.  We have all learned to place our wood in the smoke box according to where it works the best.  Everyone has to "learn" the zones in their particular smoker.  I suggest you always place your chunks where they perform the best.  You shouldn't need to be covering the whole box, for what you are smoking.  Are you weighing your wood?  We generally work in ounces, depending on the smoke we are doing.  It's very easy to over-smoke anything in these smokers, as they are tight and efficient.  Most people are blown away that it can only take 6-7 oz of wood for a whole pork butt or brisket!  2 ounces, for things like peppers, is not uncommon at all.

Your analog #1 may not be the best choice for what you are doing.  The analog controller inherently has 15-20° temperature swings.  For what you are doing, this may explain the heat zones.  Not a problem for ribs, butts and briskets, but may be for you.  If the #1 is suiting your size needs, I would suggest adding an Auber PID controller to the mix.  It will maintain your constant 165 perfectly.  The analog's temp swings "average out" to the set temp, which is fine for meat, but not so good for anything that's more "temperature-sensitive."  I'm a big fan of the Auber, and the D-model smokers, for that very reason!  All of them are NSF-Certified for commercial use.

If you are producing that many smoked peppers, you might consider upgrading to the 3D, at some point.  Not only would you be able to produce about 3-4 times the peppers at one time, but you would also have the super-accurate PID controller integrated.  If I were going to use the smoker commercially, especially for low-temp smokes, I would strongly consider the 3D or 4D.

Hope this helps, and feel free to clarify anything I may have been wrong about.

[davepays]

Thanks, I appreciate the pointers.  I bought the #1 as a trial and will likely be upgrading to a larger unit next season.

[SuperDave]

Dave, getting even heat in small place like a #1 is very difficult due to the closeness of the inconsistent heat of the element. When cooking in something as small as a #1 consider a diffuser on the bottom rack.