Smoke Boost Info

[TexB]

When I ran Smokeboost during the summer, it seemed to be around 180° F.

Lately if I'm running it and the outside air temp is 60° or less, my Smokeboost runs around 160°-165° .

 

[Dassman5]

When I ran Smokeboost during the summer, it seemed to be around 180° F.

Lately if I'm running it and the outside air temp is 60° or less, my Smokeboost runs around 160°-165° .


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I believe that is because of the need to maintain combustion. My SB mode typically runs a bit cooler this time of year ( think snow country) than it does in Summer.

 

[TexB]

Also about a month ago when it turned cooler (like 40-45°F), I ran Smokeboost while doing a brisket with another brand of pellets. The Smokeboost temp dropped below 150°, and it kept dropping over the next half hour or so until it was below 115°, and the grill detected a "flame out". I took the brisket back inside and opened the diffuser up, and man it was hot even with gloves (I won't be doing that again). There was still a small flame going. I had to shutdown the grill, and when I restarted it I just set the temp to 250° and moved on.

I messed with it without food the next day, and I preheated the grill to 300° before using Smokeboost and the other brand pellets. The temps didn't drop below 155° after I switched to Smokeboost, so it had me thinking preheating helped, but I don't know if that actually had any impact. And I haven't had any issue when using the Weber pellets. It was probably just a fluke, but it had me wondering if the latest firmware update messed with it, or it was just the cooler temps and thicker pellets.

 

[TexB]

I believe that is because of the need to maintain combustion. My SB mode typically runs a bit cooler this time of year ( think snow country) than it does in Summer.

Weber says Smokeboost is between 165-200°F, so it doesn't bother me. Just passing on my experience in case someone is trying to smoke at 165°

 

[notquitestr8t]

200 is too high for smoking fish. Most recipes call for a 4-5 hour smoke at 160 or less. This is somewhat dependent on the thickness of the fish. I have had the opposite problem. Even at 180, (smoke boost) the fish cooks too fast and it isn't a true smoke. I've remedied the issue by putting the fish on the top shelf, and putting a large cookie sheet directly below the fish on the bottom shelf. This forces the heat and smoke around the cookie sheet and up to the fish on the top rack. It extends the smoking time and allows more time for the smoke to seep into the fish. As ALWAYS, use a good thermometer to check the internal temp of the fish. (145-150)