Temps (again)
 

I have ranted about this before but I am back
Started a pork butt at 7AM
Got the Weber Summit to 225* but it then drifts
It goes to 250* so I adjust the upper vents
it goes to 215* so I adjust again
finally it goes to 225* again but again it starts to move
What am I doing wrong
I keep reading the this cooker is stable but not for me

Also the temps I am quoting are from the FireBoard
The dome thermometer is about 10+* cooler

It is in the 50's where i am

Help is appreciated

Mark

Caring too much. If I'm smoking idc what the temp is as long as it's between 225-275. Don't stress, just enjoy it.

thanks but my "thinking" is that if I let it keep running at 250* it will never stop -
Is that wrong?
I mean - something is causing it to go up?!

It could or won't. All depends how much draft there is(wind can be an issue), it'll settle but it takes sometime after changes for temps to level off. Some units like to run at certain temps, the more you use it the more you learn how it wants to run with the vent settings.

I agree and I’ve used this for two years
Haven’t gotten to a point to where I don’t get this to happen

Quit mucking with the vents. You are after an average of the temp you wish. Based on the temps you posted, you cooked at +/- 228.75 degrees.
At a guess, there was a breeze, so the temp went up to 250, when the breeze died, it would have gone back down. Electronic thermometers are too accurate when used outdoors, leading to the problem of micro managing.
I used to use a turkey fryer thermo stuck through the upper vent of my kettle. It was good for around +/- 25 degrees, which is good enough. I bought a Dot, and tried both. Turkey thermo read the same as it always did, the Dot went up and down constantly.
Where way the probe? It should be next to the meat, that's the only temp that matters, the meat isn't near the dome thermometer.:-D

My firebrand is next to the meat.

You might be sweating the temps too much. Like Mr. Kevin said.

Possibly you are not letting the cooker stabilize? If you have it sitting at 225* for an hour, it's stable- put your meat on and wait- and wait some more. (not sure why you dig 225* but /shrug)

I don't follow the Summit - is it known for running out of control? Might be a group on virtualweberbullet.com you could also bounce this off of.

If you're going to be anal about your temps I'd suggest getting a cooker that will do a better job maintaining them. I'm not trying to be flippant here. I'd also sweat those swings.

I would try to get it running at a higher temp and see if it wants to stabilize better there. 225* is pretty low...unnecessarily low, IMO. Some cookers just run better at certain temps. I also wouldnt sweat temp swings...most stick burners have 30-50* swings between the peaks and valleys and the food quality is not sacrificed.

I’ll check

I thought this was the best

I don't have personal experience with it, but from the website:
Sounds like it should perform pretty well given my experience with WSM which was not even double walled. It settled in perfectly temp wise most of the time.

Cookers with real insulation like fiberglass, rockwool etc. typically do a great job of maintaining an even temperature.

A quick look at the charcoal summit definitely looks like it "should" work so may be something else like other folks have mentioned. Maybe an opening somewhere that's allowing too much airflow when the wind kicks up etc.

The only opening is the amount keep open by the thermometer probe wires

If the dome thermometer is steady 10 degrees below your target temp, you might find it less stressful to go by that and just use the electronics to monitor the food temp.
Another thing you might try, just to get another take on how much temps fluctuate, is to cook something in your oven using the electronic therm. You turn the dial on the oven to a certain temp and trust it. The actual temp goes up and down, and might not even match the setting.