have been enjoying and using the advise here for quite a while......had a question and decided what better time to sign up.....i use a mes 40 and, not so much any more, homemade plywood box/ hot plate heat source. 15lb cabelas stuffer and grinder...have had great success with pulledpork, turkey, chicken, brisket, kielbsa, and snacksticks.......summer sausage is still my arcilles heel. can not seem to get it right....put 10 lbs in yesterday, thought i had the temp right, and 24 hrs later it hit 152.its resting in the fridge now and im hoping its not dry dog food. heres my question. my external temp probe flucuates about 8 degrees in the mes smoker...i had it set at 162 and it would go up to 170ish then back down to 162. would it be better to set at 170, and have it go to 178-180.also, if the probe is by the cold meat does that affect the actual box temp. sorry for the ramble on my first post, but i know the guys like more, not less, detail....thx