This was my first smoke with the PBV4PS2. I have many years smoking with a gas fired wood chip vertical smoker but always wanted to be able to 'set' the temperature and not have to constantly babysit it while I was smoking. Wow was I wrong... I will keep this as short as possible while including what I think is pertinent here.
1. Did the assembly and setup by the manual. Did the initial burn-off per manual and adjusted temp up and down a few times to see how it worked. Plugged in the MP and verified that it was "working". Filled the hopper to the top and it seemed like all systems were go. While doing all this ambient temp outside was 49°.
2. Two days later (Christmas) I started the smoker using the procedure in the manual. I literally had the manual in my hand as I did it. I set the temp to 230°. Temp outside was 46° with a very light wind. Wind was light enough that it barely moved the flame on my outdoor gas fire pit right next to the smoker. After I verified that the smoker was lit and smoking I closed the door.
3. When the indicated temp on the display reach 100°, I put the prime rib on the upper rack. I used to do this with my wood chip smoker; there seemed to always be more smoke at the lower temperatures and I wanted to have the meat in there for that as it heated up. Right or wrong procedure might be subjective but that is what I have done before so I stayed with that.
4. 90 minutes later, the display temp still said 203° (controller still set at 230°). I figured this was due to the colder outside temp so I started turning it up. Eventually I had it set at 270°and the temp finally started going up. When the temp display got to 250° I turned it back down to 230°. The display temp generally stayed there throughout the cook.
5. After the meat was in for 4 hours (1.5 hours at about 200° and then 2.5 hours at 230°) the meat probe finally read 130° at the center of the meat.
6. I pulled it, wrapped in aluminum foil (inside the warm kitchen) and let it rest for 30 minutes. I cut into it and it was completely raw; all red and inedible.
7. Sliced and roasted in the oven so that it was edible, almost 3 hours after I thought I could have it done. If I had stayed with my wood chip gas fired unit, it would have been on time and delicious.
So forget that I couldn't go on the family walk because I was trying to get this thing to heat up, and could not get connectivity with wireless so I had to stay put to make sure it heated up. Forget that I basically ruined our Christmas dinner with massive delays on the meat while sides got cold and old, and people got impatient and hungry. Beyond that disaster... WTF? I called support this morning. He just started talking over me trying to refer to the manual on how I didn't do it right; when I was able to get a word in on how I did follow the manual to a T he would change the subject to something else that made it my fault. Eventually I was supposed to do a live video session to show how I did the startup but could never get the link to work. Finally (1.5 hours on the phone) I tapped out. He was telling my things like I shouldn't leave the meat probe in for so long... and how that was in the manual. When I asked him where in the manual - he would change the subject again and say I should have called... on Christmas night. Over and over it was my fault, without a solution. Over and over he kept referring to "an extra 15 minutes to heat up in cold weather"; when I said I gave it 90 minutes he would move to something else that made it my fault but never could find anything that I actually did wrong.
So again.. WTF? 90 minutes at about 200° and then 2.5 more hours at 230° for a 6lb prime rib, meat probe read 130°, and it was literally raw. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance and... Merry Christmas!
1. Did the assembly and setup by the manual. Did the initial burn-off per manual and adjusted temp up and down a few times to see how it worked. Plugged in the MP and verified that it was "working". Filled the hopper to the top and it seemed like all systems were go. While doing all this ambient temp outside was 49°.
2. Two days later (Christmas) I started the smoker using the procedure in the manual. I literally had the manual in my hand as I did it. I set the temp to 230°. Temp outside was 46° with a very light wind. Wind was light enough that it barely moved the flame on my outdoor gas fire pit right next to the smoker. After I verified that the smoker was lit and smoking I closed the door.
3. When the indicated temp on the display reach 100°, I put the prime rib on the upper rack. I used to do this with my wood chip smoker; there seemed to always be more smoke at the lower temperatures and I wanted to have the meat in there for that as it heated up. Right or wrong procedure might be subjective but that is what I have done before so I stayed with that.
4. 90 minutes later, the display temp still said 203° (controller still set at 230°). I figured this was due to the colder outside temp so I started turning it up. Eventually I had it set at 270°and the temp finally started going up. When the temp display got to 250° I turned it back down to 230°. The display temp generally stayed there throughout the cook.
5. After the meat was in for 4 hours (1.5 hours at about 200° and then 2.5 hours at 230°) the meat probe finally read 130° at the center of the meat.
6. I pulled it, wrapped in aluminum foil (inside the warm kitchen) and let it rest for 30 minutes. I cut into it and it was completely raw; all red and inedible.
7. Sliced and roasted in the oven so that it was edible, almost 3 hours after I thought I could have it done. If I had stayed with my wood chip gas fired unit, it would have been on time and delicious.
So forget that I couldn't go on the family walk because I was trying to get this thing to heat up, and could not get connectivity with wireless so I had to stay put to make sure it heated up. Forget that I basically ruined our Christmas dinner with massive delays on the meat while sides got cold and old, and people got impatient and hungry. Beyond that disaster... WTF? I called support this morning. He just started talking over me trying to refer to the manual on how I didn't do it right; when I was able to get a word in on how I did follow the manual to a T he would change the subject to something else that made it my fault. Eventually I was supposed to do a live video session to show how I did the startup but could never get the link to work. Finally (1.5 hours on the phone) I tapped out. He was telling my things like I shouldn't leave the meat probe in for so long... and how that was in the manual. When I asked him where in the manual - he would change the subject again and say I should have called... on Christmas night. Over and over it was my fault, without a solution. Over and over he kept referring to "an extra 15 minutes to heat up in cold weather"; when I said I gave it 90 minutes he would move to something else that made it my fault but never could find anything that I actually did wrong.
So again.. WTF? 90 minutes at about 200° and then 2.5 more hours at 230° for a 6lb prime rib, meat probe read 130°, and it was literally raw. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance and... Merry Christmas!
in the room that no one wants to even acknowledge. I would have had several significant "practice" cooks under my belt on a new unit prior to smoking a spendy cut of meat with a hungry expectant group of diners on a major holiday. You know...to get to know the unit's idiosyncrasies. 
