I haven't tried it yet but its on my list of things to do,,, I like the idea...I dont have any lava rocks but has anyone tried lava rocks in on of these smokers or the MES to control temp swings?
I've got a Black Maverick Dual probe thermometer. 1 senor (probe) goes in the meat to read its temp and one clips to a rack to measure the air temp in the (in my case) smoker.
What's an air sensor?
Great question, 801 - well-put! That's really the meat of the "to mod or not to mod" question! If I'm already getting great results with my stock unit (or maybe a stock unit with an Auber PID), how are any other mods going to improve what I already get? I guess everyone needs to answer that for themselves. Don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating either approach (mod/no mod), but I tend to lean toward the "no mod" side. I believe the majority of owners are happy with stock performance (as I have certainly been with a #1 and #2), but some are looking for "more than stock" performance. I believe everyone has the right to modify any product they buy to suit their needs, but also believe modifications should be undertaken with a clear understanding of the benefit, not just because it seems cool.
Just curious, I smoked a 9 lb pork butt yesterday in my Smoke-it #2 just setting the knob to 225, and adding a few more wood chips after 3 hours. Removed it at 195 IT, and it came out excellent, smoky, excellent bark, and moist enough to pull off with a standard fork, had to cut up some of the bark into smaller pieces with a small knife.
If I made some of the various modifications listed here to prevent the box temperature swings, how would it have affected my end result and made it different?
I feel ya, Driver, I feel ya.
...I want to be really prepared to tell Wifey why I really need a new gizmo. Ha Ha.
Thanks for all the info.