Pit Boss Actual vs Set Temps

SHsmokin

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Hey team, I apologize in advance if this horse has been beat to death and there is likely a ton of information on here but I cant find what I am looking for with a search … so I will likely ask a question thats been answered a hundred times (be gentle lol).

I finally got a smoker this summer, I bbq a lot and don't have time to smoke everything and my bbq was wore out anyway so I got a Pro 1100 combo bbq /smoker unit. Cool little unit, bbq works great with 3 burners in a relatively small area and the smoker works great for ribs, tenderloin (those easy cook things) but man am I having trouble with brisket.

I have done 2 now (~6 pound brisket points … I am a newbie so trying to give myself the best chance of success) and had a real challenge with both of them. First one was taking forever, I decided to put my second meat probe on the top grate beside the meat … well wow … set temp at 230 and actual temp on the grate at like 180 … I read thats normal? I cranked the heat up and finished the cook but it took like 4 extra hours (midnight brisket lol).

My question for the pros (again, I’m a newb … be gentle lol) Should I cook to set temp or actual temp on the top grate with the second probe? And is it normal to see like a 40 to 60 degree difference between set and actual temp? Seems excessive … ?

I did my second one yesterday and tried to “split the difference” with the set temp and actual temp (on the far right side of the top grate) - set temp between 230 and 250 actual temps between 190 and 230. Seemed ok, took about 7 hours to get to the stall (low stall at 155), tallow, wrap and back on. Of course I had a pellet jam up right at this point and had to reset my smoker … got really hot after that (that’s another thread likely). I couldnt get the piece of meat to get through the stall so after about 3 hours I turned up to 270 set which got my actual to about 230 that got it moving (maybe it was just an ornery piece of meat…).

My 2 brisket cooks took substantially longer than anticipated and I am thinking it’s the set and actual temp differential - could use some help from the pros here. Thoughts?

Both briskets (although late) were absolutely delicious so there is that!

Thanks team
 
Welcome from Texas to the group!
I set mine at 225 degrees until internal temperature is around 160-170 degrees
Then I pull it and wrap it in peach butcher paper and get it to around 205-206 internal temperature then pull and rest for an hour in a ice chest till I’m ready to serve it
I also put a large can of water or apple juice on the grates to help with the moisture of the brisket
Hopefully this helps you 🇨🇱🇺🇸
 
Welcome from Texas to the group!
I set mine at 225 degrees until internal temperature is around 160-170 degrees
Then I pull it and wrap it in peach butcher paper and get it to around 205-206 internal temperature then pull and rest for an hour in a ice chest till I’m ready to serve it
I also put a large can of water or apple juice on the grates to help with the moisture of the brisket
Hopefully this helps you 🇨🇱🇺🇸
Hey there, thanks for the welcome!

I did all those things for sure. My issue is my set temp of 225 is like 170 on the top grate by the meat. That’s gotta be too low?

My pit boss set at 225 will never bring a brisket to 200 as my actual temps at my grate are so much lower … well I think that’s my issue.

That’s kind of what I was looking for feedback on.

My set temp vs my actual temp on the bottom grate is far closer together. Smoking anything on bottom goes fine. Seems like the top grate is way off … would the 5 big vent holes on the back of the smoker near the top grate be causing the huge temp differential between the set and actual temps?
 
Hey there, thanks for the welcome!

I did all those things for sure. My issue is my set temp of 225 is like 170 on the top grate by the meat. That’s gotta be too low?

My pit boss set at 225 will never bring a brisket to 200 as my actual temps at my grate are so much lower … well I think that’s my issue.

That’s kind of what I was looking for feedback on.

My set temp vs my actual temp on the bottom grate is far closer together. Smoking anything on bottom goes fine. Seems like the top grate is way off … would the 5 big vent holes on the back of the smoker near the top grate be causing the huge temp differential between the set and actual temps?
When the last time you cleaned the temperature sensor?
I clean after each cook.
 
When the last time you cleaned the temperature sensor?
I clean after each cook.
Hmm. Good point, forgot that … couple cooks ago. Like 2 ribs and a brisket ago to be exact lol.

I’m giving everything a good clean today after the brisket yesterday so I’ll make sure I get the sensor.

It wasn’t that long ago but ya, certainly could have got gunked up from ribs…
 
Hmm. Good point, forgot that … couple cooks ago. Like 2 ribs and a brisket ago to be exact lol.

I’m giving everything a good clean today after the brisket yesterday so I’ll make sure I get the sensor.

It wasn’t that long ago but ya, certainly could have got gunked up from ribs…

I mainly cook by grate temp and set my grill to whatever it takes to get there. A 250 grate temp might take 320-350.
Hey thanks man. That’s what I was looking for. Any issue getting enough smoke on the meat with it burning that hot for you? I sure noticed that I get a lot less smoke when I have a set temp of 270/280 to get that grate temp of 220/230.
 
Hey thanks man. That’s what I was looking for. Any issue getting enough smoke on the meat with it burning that hot for you? I sure noticed that I get a lot less smoke when I have a set temp of 270/280 to get that grate temp of 220/230.
My grill starts in S mode. I let it light and remp settle usually 180°. I run it like that along with a smoke tube to start for a bit. I usually don't count this time when trying to determine cook time. Then set my temp and go. Been playing with hot and fast this year.
 
I have found that when I use foil cooking sheets under my brisket to make cleaning of the smoker easier, it plays havoc with temp control. I’m thinking the cookie sheets deflect some of the heat from the smoker box towards the temp probe. My temp probe is approx. in the middle on the rear wall of my Titan.
That makes sense, my temp probe is on the left side and I had a space between my cookie sheet and the wall right where the temp probe is now that I think about it. That would explain why everything I make on the bottom rack (no drip trays of water) works just fine.

I think you might have nailed the problem Ultralow.
 
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