Heat Loss.

[wonko the sane]

This may sound like an insane question, But if anyone can help me out, I'd really appreciate it. I have my OBS in an unheated garage, and anytime I open the door(of my pride & joy), to mop, or check on the creations I'm smoking. I can very quickly lose 80 to 100 degrees, due to the fact that I need to keep the garage door partially open so the smoke doesn't permeate the house. If I get a small space heater to keep the garage warmer, will that damage the OBS, or melt the seals, or cause any other problems for the OBS? The recovery time to re attain the required temperature is quite lengthy, and the time will only increase as the temperature in New York decreases. Any advice would be greatly appreciated I thank you all in advance.   ???

[FLBentRider]

My first reaction was "if you're looking your not cooking!"

Using a remote probe thermometers will help minimize the door openings. I don't mop or flip stuff in my OBS. I do rotate racks every four hours or so.

The space heater should not harm the smoker, assuming you're not pointing one of those forced-air jet engine types at it.

You may want to consider the second element mod.

[TestRocket]

You can find more info about the second element Here

[beefmann]

you may also consider this heater mod

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.0


http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17304.0

along with this Timer and PID