smoker blanket

[rigstar]

thanks JZ,
i have read about the fan mod for the 900W finned heater,
i think that is a good idea as well for the dual element,
thanks for reminding me about the fan

[beefmann]

adding a fan or blower to move the air in the box is a  huge help ... by  keeping the  temps  even through out the box

[Fernslinger]

They have this stuff @ Lowes...used some to wrap exposed ducting im my garage instead of fiberglass. I might try making a removable sleeve for my smoker using that stuff...

[JZ]

I am trying my first ribs today and the outside temps are -27*C.

I figured I would give my snuggie a shot at it (but didn't expect it to be good enough in these temps).

I was pleasantly surprised. I preheated the smoker to 220* with a bowl of hot water in it and when I loaded the meat I added a brick that was heated on top of the wood stove. The temps dropped to 200* and held there for quite a while and then surprisingly the temps started increasing and after about an hour they got up to 220*. At 2 hours I opened the door and rotated the racks. Closed the door and the temp only dropped to 208* then started climbing back up. I did not expect it to work this well with the outside temps being as low as they are.

That's the good news ---- the bad news is that the SG did not advance the pucks every time and I had to check it every 20 mins. Sometimes I would have to push the puck advance button twice to get the puck moved. Called Bradley and they suggested cleaning the SG, which I will do once I am finished with the ribs. Gotta go and get them out now to put in foil and then back into the DBS.

[Habanero Smoker]

After cleaning it, don't use any oil on the moving parts. I use powdered graphite. In cold weather it doesn't thinken like oil, or will it collect wood particals that can gum up your system.

[JZ]

Thanks for the pointer Hab's. I cleaned it out and tried it again this morning. Same thing.

I noticed that when I hit the advance button the slider / pusher seems to be binding on the return movement and sometimes will not retract all the way and as such the puck cannot fall down and get pushed forward.

I will take it apart one more time and see if I can find what is causing the binding. If I can't see the problem and determine a fix I will call Bradley.

Is there a way to run the SG without having it connected to the tower? It is -25C outside and I really don't want to be working on this outside. If not I will  have to carry the whole works into my shop.

[Habanero Smoker]

You may also want to check the linkage, to see if that may be loose and causing the binding.

The only other way I know how to test the advance mechanism in the digital; other than to have it connected to the cabinet, is to us a bypass plug. If you ordered the cold smoke adapter, a bypass plug comes with that.

Or you can make one:

Bypass Plug