Great write-up. I would suggest that the drip pans significantly impacted the airflow such that the outside edges would see higher temps, thus the impact on your cook. I say "significantly" since the original design is based on flavor bars with a fairly open exposure for airflow in stead of a full drip tray.
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I agree and never even thought to factor that in. I was a little concerned/intrigued that the pans I ordered from amazon pretty much covered the entire grate space underneath so I was worried about airflow. Didn't seem to have much of an impact that I could tell other than those side edges being hotter than the rest.
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I should also add that I'd call my cook successful, but it was on the backs of glitchy , Jordan S , and others experiences. If I hadn't been forced to wait over a week before I had time to smoke something I would have never learned from their frustrations first and I'm sure I would have shared the same problems and would be just as disappointed. They're the real heroes!Comment
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I tried again to do a brisket this weekend. Three different times, with the temperature set to 250°, mine would just suddenly start cooling down. Like, to 185° or below and still dropping. Each time, I had to run through the shut down cycle and then started it back up again. After the third time, I just put the brisket in the oven.
I’m still using exclusively Weber pellets so that I can rule out pellet-brand issues. However, I couldn’t find any bridging issues to blame for the flameout. It just seemed like the thermometer and auger weren’t communicating or the fire quit or something.
I know some folks have Smokefires that are working great and God bless them. I’m just reporting on MY issues in the event it helps others or others can maybe help me.Comment
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And Weber hasn't offered to replace your controller or anything? They need to be doing something for you. I noticed when I had mine set at 250 it would fluctuate lower/higher whenever it would kick on to regulate temps, but never that far low. And that was for 15+ straight hours -
The smart *** in me thinks you should reply with a picture of a Rec-Tec or Camp Chef, "This is being looked into".
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BDCarp04 Once again many thanks for all the info and pics that you provided above. It's probably one of the most useful demo posts to date and helps demystify many of the Smokefire's key elements.Comment
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I guess as an also - since I'm one of the few that kept mine I'm happy to answer questions or test anything else if people want. Just let me know!Comment
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There is already a guy selling an insert on The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board for the hopper. Basically, in just sits over the long side and increases the angle. Will be interesting to see how many he sells and how well it works.Comment
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I agree jfmorris I don't see any other way for them to correct it unless they replace the hopper
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