PK 100

[processhead]

Be aware that an empty smoker will most likely have wider temperature swings than a smoker loaded with product.
Why? The product inside a loaded smoker will absorb and hold the heat and act as a buffer against temperature fluctuations.

[lkrfletcher]

Oh Man! - You will love it. Welcome to the PK100 club!

[lkrfletcher]

Mcjagger
I did the same thing when I got mine (used). I cleaned the probe real good, and then inserted an ambient temp probe and brought it up to 125, then let it run for a few hours. I noticed about a 15 degree difference between ambient probe and what it was set on. That has now tightened to about 5 degrees. At the time Jonathan did the same test for comparison.
Here is Jonathan’s test

[Mcjagger]

This was my graph…I started at 120’ and bumped up the temperature 10’ very hour until 170’ then set it to 225’…I realize that the cabinet was empty but a 30-50’ swing seems excessive…any thoughts ???

/Users/mcjagger1/Pictures/Photos

[processhead]

You could put a pan of water, maybe like a 1/2 gallon in the smoker to simulate product that would normally be there and then run your test again for comparison. An empty smoker just has air in it which does not really hold heat very well and is constantly being vented out of the smoker cabinet. Something that remains in the cabinet and absorbs/retains heat should give you a different chart of temperatures.

[twilliams]

Mcjagger were you using the 625 watt setting or 1250 watt?

[lkrfletcher]

Yeah, thats a great point. I never use the 625. Also remember that the unit is extremely well insulated, so it shuts off when it hits temp, then takes a while to drop, then restarts when needed.

[Mcjagger]

From reading all of the posts prior to buying it I choose to only use the 1250 watt setting…processhead, I will try the water trick and run the test again…we have 2 weeks left in a kitchen renovation, so I will not be able to make any product to put in it until that is finished, so I’ll cross my fingers and run the test again…thanks

[Jonathon]

Mcjagger You are right doing the 1250 watt selection. I almost wish they didn’t have the half setting. Having a full/semi full cabinet will make a difference.

Also, what were the top and bottom vents set to on your wife’s new geranium pot?

[Mcjagger]

Jonathon I followed what the normal smoking schedule would be, vents fully open for the first hour and then closed 2/3

[TexLaw]

Mcjagger I’ve gotten to where I use the 1250 setting only when I first turn it on and if I’m raising the temperature. When I’m just maintaining a temperature or only raising it a few degrees, I keep it on 625. That keeps the swings down quite a bit.

Once the PK 100 heats up, it holds temperature fairly steadily. There always will be some oscillation, because that’s just how electric heating works.

When I’m raising the temperature on the 1250 setting, I will switch it back to 625 when I’m getting close to my target (maybe around 5 degrees). That also helps reduce the overshoot and swings.

[Mcjagger]

I finally smoked some snack sticks the other day and feel 100 percent better about the temperature swings…guess I got all worked up over nothing…having something in the cabinet really does make all the difference…thanks processhead, lkrfletcher and twilliams …here is the graph from the cook…I would normally take them out at 140’ and then sous vide but wanted to see how long the whole cook would take…won’t be doing that again

[lkrfletcher]

Mcjagger - Yeah that meat temp wall takes a while to get over. Some people wait it out, but I like the sous vide finishing. To each their own.