Howdy to all,
I am in far Southern Arizona; I have been lurking this forum for about a week. It has been very helpful to cruise through all the good suggestions and ideas put forward by knowledgeable members here. I went though a series of largely unsatisfying grills for years. The only half-way decent one I had was a boat kettle style grill (Magna). I recently purchased a very inexpensive Kingsford H24 grill, and was surprised at how versatile it has proven to be. Encouraged by the good results from the Kingsford, a Masterbuilt 40 joined it on the porch. It has already produced some great ribs, using the classical 3-2-1 method. The possibility of building a "mailbox mod" is very appealing.
BTW, I have formed a theory for the meat-probe error some people experience. I noticed the probe was reading about 23 degrees hot, relative to a trusted meat thermometer. I also noticed over half of the probe's shaft was exposed to the smoker's heat. I suspect heat is being conducted down the exposed shaft of the probe and artificially boosting the reading of the meat temperature. Soon a bit of insulation will be put over the exposed shaft to see if that action improves the accuracy of the probe. Basic calibration (probe placed in hot water of a known temperature) shows it to be accurate.
I am in far Southern Arizona; I have been lurking this forum for about a week. It has been very helpful to cruise through all the good suggestions and ideas put forward by knowledgeable members here. I went though a series of largely unsatisfying grills for years. The only half-way decent one I had was a boat kettle style grill (Magna). I recently purchased a very inexpensive Kingsford H24 grill, and was surprised at how versatile it has proven to be. Encouraged by the good results from the Kingsford, a Masterbuilt 40 joined it on the porch. It has already produced some great ribs, using the classical 3-2-1 method. The possibility of building a "mailbox mod" is very appealing.
BTW, I have formed a theory for the meat-probe error some people experience. I noticed the probe was reading about 23 degrees hot, relative to a trusted meat thermometer. I also noticed over half of the probe's shaft was exposed to the smoker's heat. I suspect heat is being conducted down the exposed shaft of the probe and artificially boosting the reading of the meat temperature. Soon a bit of insulation will be put over the exposed shaft to see if that action improves the accuracy of the probe. Basic calibration (probe placed in hot water of a known temperature) shows it to be accurate.