Looking for assistance from any cold weather SF users


 
J

Jerry We

TVWBB Fan
If there are any cold weather users I would appreciate if you could tell me how long it takes to get to 600 degrees preferably when the outside temperature is 35 degrees or lower. I had several issues the other night one of which was that it took 35 to 40 minutes to reach 600 degrees. Outside temperature was 35 degrees, I had fresh Weber pellets in the auger tube and hopper, I was plugged directly into the wall outlet, software and firmware were current and the grill was clean. A few days prior with similar weather it only took 11 minutes. Weber support is telling me that 40 minutes is not unusual at that outside temperature. They haven't figured out what to do about the grill shutting down twice before reaching temperature and promised to get back to me by the end of day tomorrow.

Thanks to anyone that can help.
 
ChristopherC said:
Rumour has it:

“move to Northern California - no wind, 70 degrees......”
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Earthquakes, mudslides, wild fires, draught, homeless, drugs, crazy politicians that tell you to do one thing and they do the opposite, etc, etc. Not trying to offend anyone but I'll stay in Northern IL. :)
 
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This is definitely a question I have as a potential SF customer. Living in WI the cold-weather performance is a huge deal. My RecTeq RT-590 takes quite awhile to reach 400-500f in the blistering cold/winds.
 
For some pellet grill models you can buy a winter “coat” that insulates the cooking compartment. I have seen that for Recteq but for pellet grills with rear vents vs. the old style smoke stack it probably wouldn’t work. Maybe they have ones that leave that area exposed. Any grill subjected to ice cold windy weather is going to have to work a lot harder to get up to temp.
 
Jon Tofte said:
For some pellet grill models you can buy a winter “coat” that insulates the cooking compartment. I have seen that for Recteq but for pellet grills with rear vents vs. the old style smoke stack it probably wouldn’t work. Maybe they have ones that leave that area exposed. Any grill subjected to ice cold windy weather is going to have to work a lot harder to get up to temp.
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I agree!!

Weber would do well if they added a properly fitted winter blanket to their ever growing list of goodies for the EX4 and EX6. I would much rather have a Weber branded product rather than a brand X product made who knows where.
 
The SF PID should be programmed to expect a given thermal coefficient of the chamber as it heats and cools. The addition of a thermal jacket would potentially change the way the PID would need to be programmed. And you see how the PID programming is working at this time.
 
AHoneyman said:
The SF PID should be programmed to expect a given thermal coefficient of the chamber as it heats and cools. The addition of a thermal jacket would potentially change the way the PID would need to be programmed. And you see how the PID programming is working at this time.
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If the SmokeFire temperature controls can handle the difference between operating in the sun on a 90 degree day and operating at night in the wind when it's 20 degrees outside I'm pretty confident that the addition of an insulating blanket won't throw it off too much in the cold weather.

As long as it doesn't block any of the venting and people don't use it above a certain ambient temperature I think that those of us in "colder climates" would benefit from the temperature stabilities it would offer. So I guess we can agree to disagree on this matter. :)
 
Well doing my first real cook now up in New Hampshire and temps have been in the high teens. My temps have been holding pretty well considering. Two things I have noticed is controller set to 200 but my thermoworks probe is showing 250ish and boy does this thing burn through pellets. Almost 40 lbs in 17 hour cook. Pretty happy with the way it’s running otherwise.
 
AHoneyman said:
The SF PID should be programmed to expect a given thermal coefficient of the chamber as it heats and cools. The addition of a thermal jacket would potentially change the way the PID would need to be programmed. And you see how the PID programming is working at this time.
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I don't see how the thermal coefficient plays into this. A blanket should present no problems and would improve thermal efficiency thus saving on fuel.
 
I’ve only used blankets from the grill manufacture. The main reason is because many cheap welding blankets are fiberglass and tend to shed glass over time. I hear there are non fiberglass welding blankets, but haven’t taken the time to find one as most of the poopers I’ve owned had thermal covers available from the manufacturer.

Also to note, the finish on one of my Traegers was damaged by using the cover for a few months straight, it stays cold here for quite a stretch.
 
Shane - glitchy said:
I’ve only used blankets from the grill manufacture. The main reason is because many cheap welding blankets are fiberglass and tend to shed glass over time. I hear there are non fiberglass welding blankets, but haven’t taken the time to find one as most of the poopers I’ve owned had thermal covers available from the manufacturer.

Also to note, the finish on one of my Traegers was damaged by using the cover for a few months straight, it stays cold here for quite a stretch.
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These welding blankets amazed me when I first used them.
Now I’ve only used them in the field and not as a smoker blanket but they are amazingly soft and don’t make you itch. Game changer for hot work in the field.CEFBFEDB-2F18-4A63-87DD-9ED78E29EB20.png
 
I dont mean to bring up an old topic but I am not sure the question was ever answered. I live up in Canada and I am constantly dealing with -10 -20 degrees Celcius in the middle of winter. Has anyone here tried using the SF for a pork shoulder or other type of meat for a long cook in these temperatures? If so how did it handle the cold weather? Also how does it handle cooking steaks in negative celcius temperatures?
 
Jerry We said:
Earthquakes, mudslides, wild fires, draught, homeless, drugs, crazy politicians that tell you to do one thing and they do the opposite, etc, etc. Not trying to offend anyone but I'll stay in Northern IL. :)
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I don't want to offend anyone either but I Just have to say that Illinois is one of the Most Bankrupt & Corrupt states, historically run by the corrupt'est of Corrupt politicians. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: You wanna see some homeless? Come out and visit Seattle...It's a Travesty
 
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