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Meet Major General McNapper

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    #16
    To show how my luck usually goes, I had an appointment for an oil change this morning. I told the service advisor "Please make sure you put Synthetic oil in my Outback. Factory calls for conventional, but I want the Subaru 5w-30 Synthetic." An hour and 10 minutes later, with an appointment scheduled two weeks ago, they come to the waiting room to tell me my car is ready. I follow him to pay he gives me the total which is too low, so I asked what oil they put in? Conventional! I think I might have shared a few choice words with them after this being like the sixth time this has happened over the past few years.

    So, in comparison, yesterday was a great day. I spent my afternoon fondling something fresh. I only swore once when the auger jammed. I was just disappointed that I couldn’t try it out more than anything else after taking the afternoon off.

    Comment


      #17
      I'm a bit sad you're assembly didn't go perfect, other than putting the rubber thingy on the handle, the MAK was the most enjoyable "some assembly required" product I'd ever put together. Everything just fit for me and no cut fingers or cross threading, I did start each screw with the allen wrench and not by finger though.

      Excited to see your thoughts as you move forward in your journey though.

      Comment


      • glitchy
        glitchy commented
        Editing a comment
        Too funny you mention the handle, I put a few drops of dawn on inside the rubber and twisted that sucker on pretty easy. And you mentioned something else I probably should have noted. I have no cuts or bruises. I didn't find a sharp edge anywhere. I was bleeding all over putting the Memphis together and my hands cramped up bad peeling all the protective film they leave on their stainless.

      • glitchy
        glitchy commented
        Editing a comment
        It's funny the habits you get from your parents, I get my OCD things from my dad. All the times he stood over me making me hand thread everything as far is it would go to not risk stripping it out. So, if it's going into a nut, I've was trained never to start with the wrench. A second set of hands just to jiggle things around or push on the base would have made it a lot easier most likely.

      • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
        ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
        Editing a comment
        yeah I was always taught to use a driver, but to do a half or quarter turn loose before starting to tighten. Usually works great I build computers for people for fun, and the difference between a $30 case and a $200 case is usually a box of bandaids and some neosporin at minimum

      #18
      First cook is in the books. Fired it up, WiFi connected perfectly for all 3 times it’s been fired up. I read somewhere that adjusting the temps from the controller turns off the WiFi, so I just press to power button on the grill and then go to the website for everything else.

      I setup flame zone on front, set grill to high and was over 500 in 20-25 mins. Cooked some choice flat irom steak hot and fast. They were done in about ten minutes. Results were about exactly what I expected, maybe even a little better. Enough sear to make a decent steak, though probably not enough to make an outstanding steak hot and fast with a thin cut. I think it’s going to be great for burgers, chops, etc. Next time I’ll let it get a little closer to 600 before starting too. I threw them on at 530.
      Attached Files

      Comment


        #19
        Looks awesome.

        Does the FlameZone direct the 500 degrees over the full grill surface do you think versus a narrow few inches area?



        Comment


        • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
          ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
          Editing a comment
          600+ degrees over the majority of the grate surface, it's much higher at the grate... BUT it's convection heat. I did a steak last night and got a great sear (horrible pics so not on SUWYC), but I used my CI pan on the lower grates

        • glitchy
          glitchy commented
          Editing a comment
          By the crust of the steaks it appeared fairly even. Definitely one of those things I'll have to play with more over time and probably not on a weeknight dinner. This beast isn't going anywhere, so I'm not going to waste bags of pellets just testing things like I have with other grills. I'll probably learn it just by cooks over a longer period of time. I'll try to remember to pull out the IR thermometer sometime when the drip pan is less shiny.

        #20
        Just a quick question on why you and the Memphis parted ways? Was it an issue with the grill or just moving on to something else?

        Comment


        • glitchy
          glitchy commented
          Editing a comment
          We didn’t get along well. It was a super well built grill and functionally worked flawlessly. However, I tend to start foods low at like 225 and then turn the heat up later in the cook on forgiving cuts, sometimes to 300-325 on a butt or chuckie. With their grease collection design, it caused several grease fires even when the grill was spotless before a cook. Using drip pans with their upper shelf design limited the capacity too much for me.

        • bep35
          bep35 commented
          Editing a comment
          Good to know. Thank you.

        #21
        glitchy hope this helps?

        Click image for larger version

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        Comment


        • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
          ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
          Editing a comment
          you could do the same thing with foil too, but there is no drain bung on the warming box (I wish there was! so cleaning liquids out can be a pain) so make sure it's folded tight.

        • glitchy
          glitchy commented
          Editing a comment
          That helps a lot, Thanks! Have you overflown the drip pan to get liquids in there? When I was assembling, I immediately though it would be nice to have a probe port on the warmer box.

        • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
          ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
          Editing a comment
          The drip pan has overflowed a few times from leaking loaf pans of ice, but also when cleaning I get water in there on purpose its just a pain to soak it all up... guess I could use the shop vac, but I might install a drain bung at some point.

        #22
        I was so excited to start playing with my new grill that I took the afternoon off. Yeah, I know a pretty sad use of vacation time to assemble a grill one afternoon and then take another afternoon off just cook with it, but hey it's more exciting to me than much else I can use vacation time on over the past year.

        The plan was to smoke some cheese with the advice above then spatchcock a chicken for dinner and come up with a red potato dish I could throw on above the bird part way through the cook. While the cheese was smoking I was going to test the probe calibration.

        I started up the grill, filled the loaf pans very similar to ItsAllGoneToTheDogs picture above and threw the cheese on. The smoker box settled into a pretty steady 79 degrees. So things were running smoothly. The clean up on aisle 9 special arrived right after I got the cheese going, so I spent a while dealing with that disaster and built my ice bath to test the probes and hauled the little induction burner out to boil some water. I spent a few minutes playing with the probes in the ice bath getting pretty consistent 41-42 while my Thermopen showed the expected 33. I decided to go ahead and see if they were the same discrepancy at 212. As I was figuring out where to put the burner, all of a sudden an alarm goes off on the MAK. Look down and there's a flameout error.

        Cheese has been on about 50 minutes, so I went ahead and pulled it and wrapped in butcher paper in the fridge for a day or two. After the grill cooled enough, I pulled the grates and the flame zone and the firepot is empty sans two small pellets that like shook out of the auger tube as I was removing things. Turn on the power to confirm and yes, the auger is jammed again. Karma X 2.

        So, I again empty the hopper getting the usual 97.3265% of the pellets to actually hit the bucket under the chute and it's the exact same thing as last time. There are pellets wedged into the corner between the auger and the end of the opening/wall of the hopper. Find a couple tools I can knock them out without scratching or bending anything and flip the switch, all is good again.

        I have like 6-8 bags of Weber GrillMaster blend and at least than many 40lb bags of CookinPellets Hickory and Perfect Mix that I would normally have used being where I've mostly settled in. However, MAK sent this bag of Bear Mountain Hickory pellets with the grill. I figure if MAK is promoting them by including them with their grill, they must be pretty good stuff, so I decided to try them to start. What's strange is over the past 3 days I've heard several strange sounds even when the grill was running fine. Like straining motor and then a pop. Nothing frequent or constant, just noticed it few times. Anyway, right now I'm focusing on the pellets being the problem.

        I loaded up half a bag of Weber pellets at about 5:15 PM and 6 hours later it's still running without issue. I've also heard none of the strange noises, but I haven't been sitting out there with it all that much, I'm letting the Fireboard do the babysitting and checking on it every now and then.

        I have contacted MAK, it was pretty late in the day so support was already gone, but talked to one of the managers and he couldn't think of much that was obvious or likely besides the pellets. He did say Bear Mountain was acquired by someone else a year or so ago and has had some on and off quality concerns with the changes on top of growing considerably. He's going to talk to support on Monday to see if they have any other ideas.

        It also seems like there's a ton more smoke coming from the Weber pellets versus the Bear Mountain.
        Attached Files
        Last edited by glitchy; February 27, 2021, 10:57 AM.

        Comment


        • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
          ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
          Editing a comment
          I got a lot more smoke from the weber pellets at higher temps (I think it was 230+ but I did a review post on the pellet sub forum) than my normal pellets, they just didn't smoke as much as others at lower temps, especially smoke mode. Very weird about your jam, have you snapped a few of those pellets by hand to see if something feels off?

        • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
          ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
          Editing a comment
          found my weber pellet link, may or may not be useful https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...kefire-pellets

        • lostclusters
          lostclusters commented
          Editing a comment
          glitchy this jamming issue really perplexes my head. I have had my mak for almost fours years, done many cooks long cooks, and have never had a jamming issue. I use mainly bbqers delight pellets. Sometimes I can hear the auger crunching and shearing the pellets but never a jam.

          I'll bet bear mountain put concrete in them to make them last longer 😁
          Last edited by lostclusters; February 27, 2021, 11:29 AM.

        #23
        After your earlier issues with pellets on the SF, I am really taking away the lesson that the quality of pellets really do matter.

        Lumberjack, BBQ Delight, and CookinPellets is going to be it for me...

        Comment


          #24
          I drained the rest of the Weber pellets from the hopper late this morning and filled it with CookinPellets and have been running another couple hours on those issue free, so all signs point to a stupid bag of pellets.

          I had been running Weber pellets exclusively in the SmokeFire because of its finicky nature, so when I went to get the CookinPellets from the garage I found the box below I’d totally forgotten that I’d ordered to try since Pecan is harder to find. I’m guessing these will go to the trash rather than McNapper’s hopper.
          Attached Files

          Comment


          • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
            ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
            Editing a comment
            I'd still try em, should be a different batch than the bag that came with your MAK. Worst case use pellets you don't like to do high heat burn offs for cleaning

          • kenrobin
            kenrobin commented
            Editing a comment
            I've had great success cooking with Lumberjack & Cookin' Pellets in my 1 Star General.

          #25
          I got the door on the bottom section but was disappointed to find that there was a large gap between the door and the frame. Also the smoker actually slants into the door so water and such are basically funneled into the area. yes I lost the 1st bag of pellets I put down there as by the time I got to them they had turned to sawdust. (little holes in the bag allowed the moisture to get in) looks like they may have fixed that?? Just wondering.

          Comment


          • glitchy
            glitchy commented
            Editing a comment
            No, It’s still the same design with the gap at top front and back and holes on the left side open in case you want it to open the other way. I went ahead and got the door just to be able to hide stuff, most likely grates, if I do put pellets in there will be in some kind of bucket or container. I’m under a roof though, so I should be able to keep it dry.

          • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
            ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
            Editing a comment
            There is no fixing that, it's part of the design. It's not mean to be a weather proof cabinet with the design. The back panel has the same gap. I suppose you could design some sort of angled lip that could withstand the temps from the firebox.

          #26
          Maybe some of the other MAK guys can help me out. I tested the probes today and they are off high and low, but different directions. Over 8-10 degrees on low, under 10-12 degrees on high, except port 3 which goes over 30 degrees on high and under the 8-10 on low. I’m gonna start scouring the manual and MAK site for a setting or something that’s needs changed.

          The Pellet Boos display showed the exact same numbers, but screen capping MAK mobile is easier to show.

          Also, the pic of the smoke rolling is after the lids had been open a minute or two already. I love how the smoke just kept rolling like this. Set temp is 225.
          Attached Files
          Last edited by glitchy; March 9, 2021, 11:17 AM.

          Comment


          • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
            ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
            Editing a comment
            Do you have another brand k-probe? It's not the pellet boss if the inconstancy is the same regardless which port it's in.

          • kenrobin
            kenrobin commented
            Editing a comment
            I gave up on my MAK probes shortly after I got them. I never could get them to register accurate temps but that was many years ago. I don't know whether they've changed how they make them since then.

          • glitchy
            glitchy commented
            Editing a comment
            kenrobin They put K type ports of the controller a year ago because of all the problems they had over the years.

          #27
          Can’t help you on the probes as I never use them. Between my FireBoard and my ThermoWorks Signal, I just haven’t seen the need.

          Comment


          • kenrobin
            kenrobin commented
            Editing a comment
            I also rely on my Fireboard probes if I ever need them while cooking with my MAK.

          #28
          The probes on my Recteq are all over the place. Almost seems like it depends on the day of the week or something. But I don’t worry about it. When my meat gets close to my desired temp I go to my instant read thermapen anyway. I know it’s spot on every time so the RT probes do what I need them to do.

          Comment


          • glitchy
            glitchy commented
            Editing a comment
            My feeling is if you cannot count on them, don’t put them on the grill to begin with.

          • Jfrosty27
            Jfrosty27 commented
            Editing a comment
            Can’t argue with that. I’m sure I can adjust them but I am too lazy. 🤷‍♂️

          #29
          Very good write up, I look forward to hearing and seeing your cooking experiences as I have been "kicking tires" again.

          Comment


            #30
            Well after about 11 hours of flawless testing with different pellets the goofball running the grill caused it to almost flame out then skyrocket in temps so I had to move dinner to somewhere I couldn't mess it up. Below is where dinner ended up having to be cooked
            Attached Files
            Last edited by glitchy; March 9, 2021, 11:20 AM.

            Comment


            • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
              ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
              Editing a comment
              dang dude, you really are cursed. Pellet jam again? Of the issues people post on the MAK page that's a first

            • STEbbq
              STEbbq commented
              Editing a comment
              Yeah, I echo those sentiments. A small hiccup in what promises to a be more fun long-term adventure...

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