WOW!

[Tar54]

I decided to put the ambient temp probe in for this smoke as I suspected my last Boston got done waaaaay to soon...like in 7-8 hours and the texture was not right..my suspicions were confirmed! 40 degree temperature swings! I backed the dial off from the 220 setting to 190-195 for it to avg. a 200-210 box temp...this appears to be the magic number as I just pulled this Boston after a 20.5 hour run at 180 internal temp and it was melt in your mouth tender and delicious! I am glad you guys turned me on to the Fireboard or I would not have discovered this so easily!  Attached is the Fireboard graph when I pulled it.

 

[old sarge]

Pretty wild swing.  Now that you have tis dialed in, should be smooth smoking from here on out.  And the butt loos great, bark and all.

 

[Tar54]

Pretty wild swing.  Now that you have tis dialed in, should be smooth smoking from here on out.  And the butt looks great, bark and all.

I was very disappointed in such a big temp swing...I will have to run the ambient probe from here on out and take notes since the knob settings mean nothing.

 

[old sarge]

You have a three year warranty.  Shoot Steve an email or give him a call and let him know about the 40 degree swings. He should be able to help you out.

 

[DivotMaker]

I agree, Rick, that's one helluva temp swing!  Should be around 15-20, not 40!  See what Steve thinks.

 

[SconnieQ]

My first reaction was that 40 degrees didn't seem that odd. Seems like I recall temp swings in the 30-35 degree range. The swings seemed larger at the beginning of the cook, then got smaller as the box temp stabilized. I just used a Maverick back in the day, so I don't know for sure. It's odd that your temp swings are consistently large throughout. I haven't bothered to use an ambient probe to check the box temp in a really long time. When I get my Fireboard, I'll have to monitor the box temp and see.

 

[SuperDave]

Mine over shoots by 40 and drops to 10 - 15 under before climbing again.  I think I could get that close with sticks but I wouldn't ever give up my analog for a D model. 

 

[Tar54]

I agree, Rick, that's one helluva temp swing!  Should be around 15-20, not 40!  See what Steve thinks.

I am going to do that...the Boston survived this wild swing but my concern is about smaller items...I had to make 2 adjustments  during this smoke to get a degree of stability...I do not want to have to do this everytime...

 

[Grampy]

I may be in the minority on this one but I never monitor the box temperature on my analog #2 and never have had an issue. I think you will drive yourself crazy trying adjust the temp up or down to maintain one constant temp. Over the course of a smoke the fluctuation in temps will average out in the end. Don't over think it. 

 

[JustChillin]

When my #2 was new, I had some 30-35 deg swings. Bought an Auber to stabilize the swing for smoking salmon but for ribs, briskets and butts, I just set it and let it do its thing. Like Jimmie, I don't worry about the temp swings and the results are always stellar.

 

[Tar54]

I may be in the minority on this one but I never monitor the box temperature on my analog #2 and never have had an issue. I think you will drive yourself crazy trying adjust the temp up or down to maintain one constant temp. Over the course of a smoke the fluctuation in temps will average out in the end. Don't over think it.

It is not over thinking when the prior Boston was done in 7 hours with a internal temp of 180 and when I pulled it...it was tough...it was very apparent that it had cooked quickly..prior to this I had not installed the ambient probe...I decided to do so this time to see why the previous Boston had smoked in record time...once the smoker was powered on the internal temp of the Boston sky rocketed to well over a 100 degrees in less than a hour...at that rate it was going to be done quicker than the prior Boston! This isnt my first smoker rodeo and I do not want to constantly watch one either! If you will notice from the graph the ambient probe was not put in till I noticed the temp rising out of control...I am sure the box temp was much higher than a 40 degree swing initially...I understand the nature of a analog vs the 2D I had and expected and anticipated temp swings but not of this magnitude.I spoke with Steve and there is a way to adjust the knob to bring the set point temp in line...what I experienced was not normal as the first 2 Bostons ran approx.13-15 hours respectively and came out fine....I will run another one or two through it and see what happens with the internal temps before I make any adjustments.

 

[Walt]

On occasion members have had extremely rapid smokes. The cause was usually due to the box probe inadvertantly being inserted into the protien. I.e. the protien was placed too high in the smoker. This causes the unit to think the box temperature is the IT of the protien. Therefore the unit stays wide open and never regulates. I can see how that would be easy to do. Might not be your issue but i thought I'd mention it. Good luck.

I didnt notice your graph prior to posting. It doesnt appear this was your issue.

 

[Pork Belly]

A couple years ago there was much talk on here about temp swings. I believe temp swings sold a bunch of Auber units.

There are two camps on this those that tolerate it and those that need to control it. I am Analog only, I put it in and walk away. I will not check box temp ever. I either monitor the IT or simply comeback after a set amount of time.

40 is a big swing but it has been seen before.

 

[cookingdude555]

My auber purchase was driven by the ability to go to higher temps. I never minded the temp swings.