I think I have read this discussed but cannot seem to find the answer...At what ambient temp to most of you with the thermal blanket think there is no good reason to keep the blanket on, or do any of you keep it on at all times of the year?
Question #2... Seeing as though the pellet stoves are set at 350 for warm up, if doing a low cook at say 190 is there any good reason to heat up to 350 only to reset and wait for the pit to drop back down to the desired temp?
There are those that take it off in the summer, and those that leave it on all year. The blanket is an insulator, and will keep the heat in. The choice is really yours, either way is OK and will not affect how the cooker functions.
The reason that we state to allow the cooker to heat up to 350 is two fold; burn off the gunk and make the grates easier to clean, and to heat up the metal mass of the cooker to allow it to recover quicker and to even out the temperature fluctuations at the beginning of a cooking session.
Starting your cooker any particular way is entirely your choice, but, be ready to accept a harder grate cleaning process, some potentially very different reactions to the recovery process when opening the door, and some different temperature fluctuations at the beginning of your cooking session.
My norm startup routine is I start my warm up temp 25 degrees higher than I plan to cook at. When the warm up is done I set the temp down to the cooking temp, clean the grates and place on the food. By the time I've done that the pit temp is at my cooking temp. On my 1500 this has worked for me.
Thanks guys. I usually clean the grates after the cook and then again lightly before putting the meat on After roughly 9 months I have some residual gunk that could use a super clean but otherwise the grates seem to stay fairly clean.
As far as the blanket I have never read of anyone leaving it on year round. Living near Seattle the early evening temps in the winter are still fairly moderate. I got the blanket this winter but at this point am thinking of taking it off....might wait another month or so.
I'm in the northeast and use my blankets all year round, as it saves me on pellet consumption and I think it also makes the temps more stable. I don't do any grilling on my YS640--only smoking. When I have to open the lid for any reason, I think the insulation helps the smoker return to temp more quickly than it would without it, so I just leave it on. I notice a huge difference in pellet consumption when temps are colder, but I've convinced myself that I'm getting some benefit in the summer too.
- Disclaimer :
- The views and comments entered in these forums are personal and are not necessarily those of the management of this board.
