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.
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.