I'm the proud owner of a new S&S Deluxe kettle, given to us as a cabin warming gift. The new kettle is still in the box but will be assembled in the next few days. I've been using a Weber 22" master touch equipped with an S&S deluxe insert for several years. I'm curious if any of the "veteran" users here feel the need for using a silicone grommet in the probe port to aid in temperature control. I've had to do a lot of fiddling around with the vents on the Weber to get it to run under 270° consistently. From what I've been reading on this channel, the S&S kettles are more than capable of consistently holding 225°- 250° without too much muss & fuss. I'm looking forward to doing some more serious smoking with our new toy, any coaching is greatly appreciated!
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Congrats! You will like this set up. Look at the posts by ecowper for some great tips and reviews. -
Congrats Wes on the new kettle. I have both an SNS Kettle and the Weber Master Touch. There’s no need for a grommet on the probe port. There is a small movable slider which covers the hole when not in use. You can also move the slider to partly close when you have a thermometer cable running through it. I think you’re gonna like the SNS a little more than the Weber, mainly for the additional features it has. The SNS also has a 1†smoke hole for a little more refined air flow or to use with a thermostatic controller. You can actually just close the bottom vents and open the smoke hole for low and slow cooking. I do that and adjust the temps with the top vent. Or when you want to run it hot, open all the vents as well as the smoke hole, gives you a little more air flow.
I have found it a little easier to maintain steady temps than the Weber. The SNS factory thermometer is also a lot closer to grate level than the Weber’s. When I first got mine, I tested the SNS thermometer temps against my ThermoWorks Smoke readings. The SNS is pretty close to my ThermoWorks readings…usually only a 5-15 degree difference. Because of this, there’s a few times I didn’t use my grate probes and just used the factory thermometer.
The lid on my SNS also seals a little better than my Weber, you won’t have to worry about much smoke leaking out of the lid. Enjoy that baby and post us some pics!Last edited by Panhead John; May 4, 2022, 04:55 AM.Comment
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Congrats. I'm sure you will love it - Dave puts out quality products.Comment
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Congratulations. I’m a relatively new user of the SNS Deluxe kettle myself with just under 2 dozen cooks on mine. Eric and John’s post have been very helpful. I had several similar questions early on and asked SNS directly about gaskets and the probe port sealing, and their answer was "Not necessary." As far as the built in thermometer is concerned, and probably due to where I placed the grate probe as opposed to others, my offset temperature is 65-75 degrees difference. I now know that if I see the lid temperature around 300, the grate is somewhere around 225-235. That seems to work for me, based on my testing, and I no longer need the grate probe.Comment
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Congrats! You have great friends who would think to get you that instead of the old ready steady Weber kettle. Happy cookin'!Comment
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Yup, the verdict is in, no mussin with grommet cajingies or anything else. This mochine works, yessir. Just cook man, cook! Question, what possessed yer friend(s) to go with the SnS. Me thinks you would have to have a little inside knowledge to do that. After a few cooks you will find out this is not yer "grandfathers kettle". I’d be interested in yer response after usin it. Acyually, I know what yer response will be. Congrats!Comment
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Congrats on the new grill, and more than that, friends who were smart enough to get you such a nice cooker!
Agree with the others that you should be fine with just the stock cover on the probe port, and don't hassle with a grommet. If you want to close it down to just a slit for the wires once the probes are through, that is easy enough to do.
It sounds like your Weber must be leaky, as I have no issue maintaining lower temps on my 2007 Weber Performer, and I run the probe cables under the edge of the lid. I will say that depending on how I rotate the lid, it fits better in certain orientations with less smoke leakage - likely due to either the lid of body being slightly out of round. Your Weber may have that going on as well. That said, I have started doing most of my "low and slow" at 275F rather than 225F, and am enjoying getting my cooks done much faster...Comment
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Today was assembly day! It took about an hour to unpack, inventory parts and put the grill together. My wife helped with the bottom vent assembly, otherwise it was a single handed job. We figured as long as the new cooker was operational, we may as well try it out. We stuffed a couple chicken breasts & fired up the new toy, 45 minutes later we had an awesome lunch. I had no problem holding the grill at 375, one cook down & looking forward to many more! I think I'll try something a bit more challenging for Mother's day, stay tuned.
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I'm cooking my first pork shoulder right now and seeing about the same temp difference. Which raises the question, do I care more about temp at the grate/where the meat sits, or temp at the top of the meat (assuming the dome thermometer is fairly close to the actual meat, which it is).Originally posted by Donw View PostComment
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My pbc is aging (holes in the bottom) and so is my kettle. You have stirred up my MCS on the S&S Kettle. I also like the Master Built Gravity 560!Comment
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If I don’t get another PBC also I’d have to change my religion!!!
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For your situational awareness: These are currently on backorder; I ordered mine on 3 Aug, the website said they anticipate shipping in "mid August". I got a follow up email on 11 Aug saying "thanks for your patience, we're givn' it all she's got cap'n", which I appreciated. Hoping to get that shipping notification soon...Comment
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Nice! I’m torn between this and the Weber Summit. If only I had your friends 😔Comment
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Both are very nice cookers for sure, but there’s really no comparison between the two. That Summit could rock a brisket or butt all night long in the dead of winter up there in Chicagoland and still have charcoal left over in the morning. And with 20% more real estate than the SNS kettle, and you could even buy a SNS for it if you wanted to. Of course, it does cost more than 3 times as much as the SNS kettle, but we only live once, right? Hey, happy to help you with your MCS, any time!
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Damn you! And your opinion which supports my conclusion that I’ve arguing for eternity.Comment
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