BFletcher
TVWBB Platinum Member
Maybe I should wait until I've used it more before posting this but patience is not always my virtue 
. Earlier this year I purchased and returned a SF because of significant instability.
I bit again and got it assembled Friday before our Chucky was released from the animal hospital. He has a gallbladder issue and is still not out of the woods but I'm at least able to spend some quality time with him for the immediate timeframe. Most of us share a few things in common and our household pets are one of them. And over the the past several years of enjoying this site I have seen several of you saying goodbye to your fellas and, so, this is not a pity party and I recognize my eventual loss will be no greater than you whom have had to say goodbye.
Waiting to leave the hospital and then some Father-Son time Saturday morning:
And his earlier days when he was at the home stretch of an unknown race:
Friday afternoon I let it run at 600f for half an hour; at that temp the handles and even the surrounding ambient areas really feel the heat. I'm guessing I smelled some of the adhesive from the weather stripping, too. Then a little later before I used it to cook I was curious (and hopeful) that it would perform well, so I let it run naked for a couple hours at 225. It passed with flying colors
I rarely do overnight smokes but I didn't want to do any activities that would keep me away from Chucky, so I started a pork shoulder somewhere between 8-9 PM Friday. And though I have never used the equivalency of Smokeboost on any other pellet smoker I did use it this time for 2 hours.
Adding some smoke flavor to the grates. So smoky under the hood that it will irritate your eyes in a nanosecond:
No in between pics but this is after the pull (I'm always conflicted when saying "pull" while referring to a pork shoulder). If you ask me, I say she looks sexy.
Compared to my typical shoulders this was a late bloomer but Smokeboost and then riding for several hours at ~225f explain why (I usually do them at ~275 throughout the cook).
The second pull. This sucker pulled nicely, yielded perfect bark to my preference, and I could have passed a blindfolded test that it had been smoked. One of Chucky's favorite things is to sit at my side while pulling a shoulder cuz' he knows I let him taste test. He chose to rest during this pull but I walked a few pieces to him and he happily ate it. He is not eating voluntarily, so this was was a plus:
I used these (below the grate) to reduce the pit cleanup. One pan collected all the drippings and all I had to do was run a paper towel in the barrel to funnel the ashes through the drip tray channels. Easy-peasy. Next cook will be on the right side to dirty things up.
Check this out; uncontrollable temps were probably the main reason I had to return a unit earlier this year but this baby is--so far--a stable puppy. I monitored the pit with the Fireboard and had a Meater in the shoulder; they registered temps lower than what the SF registered, especially on some of the higher temp settings, but that's not uncommon and at least the temps were stable. So long as we can obtain stable temps we can compensate for the rest.
If you read this far I apologize for intruding upon your weekend but thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a terrific week
. Earlier this year I purchased and returned a SF because of significant instability.I bit again and got it assembled Friday before our Chucky was released from the animal hospital. He has a gallbladder issue and is still not out of the woods but I'm at least able to spend some quality time with him for the immediate timeframe. Most of us share a few things in common and our household pets are one of them. And over the the past several years of enjoying this site I have seen several of you saying goodbye to your fellas and, so, this is not a pity party and I recognize my eventual loss will be no greater than you whom have had to say goodbye.
Waiting to leave the hospital and then some Father-Son time Saturday morning:
And his earlier days when he was at the home stretch of an unknown race:
Friday afternoon I let it run at 600f for half an hour; at that temp the handles and even the surrounding ambient areas really feel the heat. I'm guessing I smelled some of the adhesive from the weather stripping, too. Then a little later before I used it to cook I was curious (and hopeful) that it would perform well, so I let it run naked for a couple hours at 225. It passed with flying colors
I rarely do overnight smokes but I didn't want to do any activities that would keep me away from Chucky, so I started a pork shoulder somewhere between 8-9 PM Friday. And though I have never used the equivalency of Smokeboost on any other pellet smoker I did use it this time for 2 hours.
Adding some smoke flavor to the grates. So smoky under the hood that it will irritate your eyes in a nanosecond:
No in between pics but this is after the pull (I'm always conflicted when saying "pull" while referring to a pork shoulder). If you ask me, I say she looks sexy.
Compared to my typical shoulders this was a late bloomer but Smokeboost and then riding for several hours at ~225f explain why (I usually do them at ~275 throughout the cook).
The second pull. This sucker pulled nicely, yielded perfect bark to my preference, and I could have passed a blindfolded test that it had been smoked. One of Chucky's favorite things is to sit at my side while pulling a shoulder cuz' he knows I let him taste test. He chose to rest during this pull but I walked a few pieces to him and he happily ate it. He is not eating voluntarily, so this was was a plus:
I used these (below the grate) to reduce the pit cleanup. One pan collected all the drippings and all I had to do was run a paper towel in the barrel to funnel the ashes through the drip tray channels. Easy-peasy. Next cook will be on the right side to dirty things up.
Check this out; uncontrollable temps were probably the main reason I had to return a unit earlier this year but this baby is--so far--a stable puppy. I monitored the pit with the Fireboard and had a Meater in the shoulder; they registered temps lower than what the SF registered, especially on some of the higher temp settings, but that's not uncommon and at least the temps were stable. So long as we can obtain stable temps we can compensate for the rest.
If you read this far I apologize for intruding upon your weekend but thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a terrific week
