A question about box temperature?

[hunt0168]

So I have a new model 3D that I have used 3 times now. I have only made snack sticks and a failed attempt at pepperoni thus far.

I have noticed when checking the internal temp on my sticks and pepperoni that the sticks hanging toward the back of the box were reaching the target temp before the sticks hanging towards the front the box. The difference was 4-5 degrees measured with a thermoworks ThermoPop quick read probe.

Some info on the process... 5 lb batches hung from standard rack positioned as high as possible. Pretty standard smoke sequence of 125f for 1.5 hrs no smoke, raised to 135f & added wood w/ smoke for 2 hrs. Raised temps 10 deg each hour until 175f and let it roll until IT of 152 was achieved. The James' Jerky Dryer was used start to finish. Outside temps were low to mid 20's. Wood towards back of wood box complete ash. Wood towards front mostly ash. A little piece of charred wood remained on one smoke.

The question/s... Is this temp differential front to rear normal/typical? Can the jerky dryer have any effect on the heat consistency within the box?

Also, I used the provided meat probe for the pepperoni batch and programmed the unit to end when IT of 155 was reached. I watched as it did this and pulled a measurement with my quick read probe immediately and it showed an IT of 151 in the same piece that the unit was reading from. Would you consider this normal or should I consider a recalibration of the controller?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[old sarge]

Hi Bob - If you look at the smoker in the same way as an oven, the temp is pretty even throughout. It is not unusual though to bake something, like cookies or biscuits and find some are done and some need a few more minutes; thus the need to rotate the pan at some point during the baking process. Don't know if you need to calibrate.  The wood toward the back of the woodbox going to complete ash may have contributed to a slightly faster cook time than those in the front. You may want to rotate the sticks since you do indicate that you open the smoker during the process.  But it sounds like you had success.  It will be interesting to see how you do with a large cut, like a butt or brisket.  Sticks don't have a lot of mass for retaining heat, and those in the front may have cooled somewhat when you opened the door to add wood while those in the back were a little more sheltered.  But overall, I think the smoker worked well.

 

[hunt0168]

Thanks for the reply Sarge. I did open her up to add wood but it was at such an early point in the process that I didn't suspect it to be an issue. Actually on the very first batch of sticks I smoked, I loaded the wood at the beginning. My reasoning was that the wood couldn't possibly get smoking at such a low temp. I was wrong! Haha! It made sense after I saw the smoke exiting the jerky dryer though. That heating element was just doing what it was supposed to and getting the box up to temp. I'll continue to play and learn and monitor.

 

[old sarge]

And have fun!