Doing something wrong?

[imajesusgeek]

Hey everyone, I just got an OBS this weekend and am loving it.  Only thing is it appears that I only get heat when I have briquettes smoking.  Few days ago, I got the smoker up to 220 and put the shoulder in put enough briquettes in for 4 hours of smoking and went to bed.  When I got up around 6, walked outside and checked the temp.  I found the temp was down to 175.  Put some more briquettes in and the temp went back up.  I have the smoke generator plugged into the wall and box linked from the generator.  Is this normal that it will only heat only while smoking?  How can I correct this?

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi;
Welcome to the forum.

From what you are reporting, you have the generator plugged into an outlet, and the cabinet (box) connected to the outlet in the generator. Check to see if the heating element is glowing red, if not check the fuse located in the back of the generator to see if it blew. If the fuse is blown, you can plug the cabinet directly into an outlet, until you get the fuse in the generator replaced. If it is burnt out contact Bradley.

If the generator is turned on, then is shouldn't matter if you have bisquettes laoded or not, the generator will produce heat. It may have been coincidence that the temperature began to climb when you added more bisquettes. It's not clear how much time had elapsed since you place the butts in the smoker, and the time at which you observed the temperature was down to 175°F. The smoker will loose heat when you open the door to load meat, and the mass of the meat will absorb a lot of the heat. It will takes a while for the smoker to recover.

You stated you have the OBS, after placing the butt in the smoker, where was the temperature adjustment set at? For something like a butt you want it all the way to the right - as a precaution back off a hair some members have reported a dead spot if moved all the way to the right.  The heating element is controlled by a rheostat, not by a thermostat. As you cook/smoke you will have to adjust the slider to the left; as the cabinet heats up.

I hope this helps.