Does my OBS lack the power to heat the box?

[RHOUSER]

I Pre-heated my OBS to 240, I loaded in 5 chicken thighs and a 3.8 pounds rack of baby back ribs.  The meat went from refrigerator to the seasoning pan to the fire.  The meat was cold.  The outside temperature wan 90 degrees, but, the smoker was in the shade.

I got back to 212 and that was it until the thighs were done and pulled off (about 4 hours).  The smoker then went on up to 240.  I was using an Auber WS, no extension cord and tried two different outlets. (Note, I had the smoke generator OFF the whole way so there was no extra heat from pucks or the puck burner).

Is this just the 500 watt element? 

thanks rch

[TedEbear]

When the smoker has a lot of meat in it the 500W element struggles to get up to temp.  That's why a lot of us have added a second element or replaced the original with a 900W element.

You can help things by keeping the SG on.  The puck burner adds an additional 125W worth of heat.  Also, some people wrap a couple of bricks in foil and place them on the bottom rack to aid in heat recovery.

[GusRobin]

Chicken adds a lot of moisture so make sure you keep the vent open. Allowing your meat to rest for 30 minutes after you take it out of the fridge will help also

[beefmann]

that is a good load of  meat and yes it will struggle

[RHOUSER]

Thanks to all that replied. I considered lighting up the puck burner, but, was too lazy to set the R1 value.  What happens if the puck burner is running with no puck in place.  Can it overheat or burn up?

thanks rch

[KyNola]

Many folks including me run the puck burner full time for an additional heat source.  Mine is 6 years old and still running strong.

[GusRobin]

Thanks to all that replied. I considered lighting up the puck burner, but, was too lazy to set the R1 value.  What happens if the puck burner is running with no puck in place.  Can it overheat or burn up?

thanks rch

No

[Saber 4]

I use a homemade puck saver and just reset the burner timer and keep it going, it's also at the end of the smoke that I pull the puck bowl and replace it with a 9x13 disposable pan full of boiling water to help keep from having a big heat loss.