Fluctuating Smoking Temps? Quit Worrying So Much.

[Mr. Bones]

Silly Wabbits...

[Mr. Bones]

or, a Wotissewie, as wail...

[ecowper]

LOL reminds me of an old army joke …. When you are going to school to be an Army Helicopter pilot, you are in Warrant Officer Candidate School. A candidate in school is abbreviated to WOC. And do you know what a WOC is? It’s what you fwow at wabbits silly kids

[STEbbq]

Damn that made me breath heavily through my nose

[radiodome21]

Having started out using a WSM I’m used to temp fluctuations. Even with my grilla I’m used to them. In fact I always laugh when I see them go all over the board. And the beer in my hand (not a PBR) laughs too.

[glitchy]

My first pellet grill was a Traeger, so I’m usually pretty content with plus/minus 25. A lot is learning your cooker. Like, if I knew your oven did that, my set temp would be 20 degrees low to keep the +/- 25 range. When it starts getting bigger than those swings I worry about trying to cook at 250-275 and burning sugars in lots of rubs. Other than that, I just care more about the end product coming out ok and swings don’t seem to change that.

[Panhead John]

Yeah! I did that test a month ago. I was shocked actually, because my cooks haven’t been affected! I figured it would.

[glitchy]

Panhead John The question to ask is are you becoming one with the cook to know if it feels affected? It is important that your food is most comfortable with the cook these days.

[Polarbear777]

My previous indoor oven was off and I measured it, averaged, and made a table to look up what to set it to for the temp you wanted. It was off by 50-70F.

[FireMan]

So what Mr. Bones & ecowper are sayin is don’t give a wip about fwuctuation! Otay.

[Mr. Bones]

Pwecisely Said...

[ecowper]

Careful on that pronunciation

[bbqLuv]

How lazy are you? I'm so lazy I won't even chase after swinging temps!

[Richard Chrz]

I stress so little about cooks and fluctuations, I’ve also temped my oven on a few cooks, and yes, my fires run as if not more accurate, and if they swing a bit more one way, I don’t worry, time is an ingredient as well, not just temp.

[bbqLuv]

Amazing Ribs swings like pit temp do
Hot dogs roasting two by two
Charcoal chimney to light again
To feed the hungry little children.

[Panhead John]

Not bad bbqLuv but you’re no Clark

[Michael_in_TX]

I learned this exact point when I first joined Amazing Ribs. I would panic every time my temps would swing 20-30 degrees. Messing with vents and making things worse in the long run. For larger cuts like brisket and butts, ive found that they are VERY forgiving and don’t seem to care about even short term swings of 40-60 degrees.
My advice is relax, have another PBR and have fun making great BBQ.

Same, 100%.

When I first got my Weber, I went crazy adjusting the vents every 10-15 minutes trying to get it to lock in at 250 or whatever temperature I was shooting for. It is almost comical looking back on it.

What really helped me get away from that was my addition of the PBC, for which there essentially are no vent controls. I had several long cooks in which it was sitting around 350 when I wanted it at 275 and I even had a rib cook recently in which the fire got away from me and it was just south of 400 for a bit.

The food turned out fantastic, of course.

[SmokeyGator]

I only wonder why my graphs show a fairly stable temp for hours and hours, then suddenly there is a spike. My best theory - a wood chunk lights up? But I do not worry about it.

[ecowper]

yeah, it's a wood chunk or briquette or whatever lighting up, as near as I can figure.

[klflowers]

When I got my first wsm years ago I spent lots of time trying to nail 225. I finally got it down pat, learned to adjust for ambient temps. Then I joined AR and learned it wasn't that big a deal lol

[Troutman]

Most older ovens did not have sophisticated PID controllers, thus the 25* temp swings. Newer ovens with better controllers and better insulation do a much better job. Although it was some time ago, I did the test on my Jenn-Air convection oven during a chicken cook. I believe I got -10+5 when I wasn't opening and closing the door. That throws the whole thing out of whack. Yea you can turn them on and let them hum away but that's not real world.

That said, a good pellet cooker with an excellent PID controller, can hit temps in ranges as tight as +-5*. But again that's without constantly opening and closing the door. Even my Weber kettles with Fireboard and fan control, can pretty much maintain +-10*. Here's a brisket cook showing a pretty tight range. The spikes came when I opened the lid to spritz or check on the meat.

I do agree with the general premise; however, that swings of 25* during a cook are no concern for the overall outcome. But that holy grail of tight temp control is still worth trying to achieve the best you can. It helps with cooking consistency at the very least.

[smokenoob]

If you have any signs or symptoms of a fluctuating temperature disorder, see your doctor or other primary care professional or a mental health professional. Untreated, this disorder can cause significant problems in your Pit that may get worse without treatment.

[Panhead John]

RonB glitchy Well, y’all will probably sleep better tonight! I re-calibrated my oven and now it’s doing better. Years ago I remember changing the oven temps from the factory setting. I had a single piece oven thermometer I used to check my oven temps. Today I found it was set 35* above factory settings! I guess when it was on the low side before kicking the heating element back on, I checked the temperature. Thinking it was too low, I probably raised the calibrated temp levels. That’s the only thing I can think of. Back then I probably didn’t know about the temperature fluctuations in the oven.

After setting it back to factory settings, I got it to settle on these numbers when set to 350……
It preheats to 365* and then gets down to 325* before the heating element kicks on. Much better! I did this through a few cycles so, I can live with that.

I wanted to let y’all know because I didn’t want ya to have another sleepless night….tossing and turning in bed, wondering about my oven problems. 🙄

[rodkeary]

Soooo. You calibrated YOUR oven so you could warm up your BBQ leftovers from all the meat-ups you organize. Interesting!

I’m still losing sleep knowing that your mom’s fridge has not been fixed yet. You promised us an update but it would seem that she still has to suffice with warm beer.

Sorry, but I have to do a "horn’s down" on this one.