OBS temperature question

kinyo · August 30, 2010, 07:43:20 AM

Hi all!

Did my first smoke in my new OBS this week-end. I did some chicken drumsticks & sausages.

Put some rub on the chicken and left it in the fridge for 24h. Got the smoker to 260f and put my chicken inside. I left the smoker at the highest temp possible & open the vent completly.

I smoked the chicken for 1h40 with apple wood and left it for an other 30 minutes with no smoke. I finished them on the grill with a bit of bbq sauce.

Everyting turned out very good! Chicken was moist with a good smoke taste.

My question is: Why after that i put my chicken in the smoker the temperature would not go more than 200-210F. I got the chicken out of the fridge 1h before so it was not too cold. Is it because the vent was fully open or the OBS thermometer is really not accurate?

Empty & with vent close it took 20-25 minutes to get it to 260F.

Thank

Kinyo

ps: next time i will try to post some pics! ;D

Wildcat · August 30, 2010, 07:53:34 AM

IMHO you have 2 things at play. 1 - The chicken acts as a heat sink until the moisture goes away and the meat temp gets higher, and 2 - the door temp gauge location is in probably the coolest place in the cabinet when meat is in the smoker. Keep in mind what is heating the smoker.

KyNola · August 30, 2010, 09:13:18 AM

Funnily enough, keeping the vent wide open actually increases the temp in the tower as it lets the moisture escape. Otherwise, the trapped moisture would hold down the temp. As Wildcat said, remember that you're heating with essentially 5 100 watt lightbulbs.

FLBentRider · August 30, 2010, 09:34:00 AM

Do you have the OBS on an extention cord?

What gauge?

kinyo · August 30, 2010, 10:07:10 AM

Yes i have an extension but i'm not sure of the gauge.

Can the extension be an issue?

FLBentRider · August 30, 2010, 11:44:58 AM

We have seen where a light duty extention cord can be a problem.

The "heavy duty" ones don't seem to be a problem.

kinyo · August 30, 2010, 12:17:29 PM

Will check my extension, thanks!

I will also probaby get a Auber PID, that may help.

Habanero Smoker · August 30, 2010, 01:10:03 PM

One other question. How much chicken did you put in the smoker? With a large load, that will slow the recovery time also.

kinyo · August 30, 2010, 01:54:44 PM

I had about 20 drumsticks & 6 sausages.

Habanero Smoker · August 31, 2010, 01:39:09 AM

Quote from: kinyo on August 30, 2010, 01:54:44 PM
I had about 20 drumsticks & 6 sausages.

That is a fairly large load for chicken with skin. That will tend to slow down the temperature recovery time.

kinyo · August 31, 2010, 04:11:07 AM

Thank for the info!

ArnieM · August 31, 2010, 07:41:01 AM

Quote from: kinyo on August 30, 2010, 12:17:29 PM
Will check my extension, thanks!

I will also probaby get a Auber PID, that may help.

The PID will maintain a temp if at all possible. It won't make the cabinet any hotter.

mow_delon · August 31, 2010, 07:45:08 AM

the Extension cord should not make any difference in your case. Smoker got to 260 in 25 minutes with nothing in it. All that was going on here was the chicken was in the smoker near the temp gauge in the door. that is not a reliable place to take accurate cabinet temp readings.