Another Temperature Spike Question

captken

I put a 10 lb. pork butt on at 7:00pm last night at 230 degrees.  The temperature was still stable at 230 until I went to bed at 12:30.  When I got up at 6:00am and checked the temperature had spiked to 390 degrees. Luckily the meat temp was only 180 so I snuffed  the fire until it reached 195.  I had the top open just enough to let smoke escape and the bottom open 1/4 of an inch.  Why the spike after being stable for so long.  I also was set up for indirect heat with a drip pan.  Any help would be appreciated.

ChillyWillis

Did you have any liquid in the drip pan? If you were using water or apple juice in the drip pan then that was your problem. When doing slow and lows in the egg all of the liquid in the drip pan can evaporate. The liquid acts as a heat sink and when it completely evaporates the heat sink is gone which causes the spike in temperature. 

Of course if you weren't using a liquid in your drip tray then this wouldn't have been your issue. 

THEBuckeye

I've had the heat go up and down in low and slows.

Agree with @Chilly Willy and the drip pan. The evaporating liquid and not replacing the  liquid adds another element to the equation. 

I've also had low and slows go down. That, I've learned, can be due to not using 100% fresh lump - with the large lump at the bottom. 

johnkitchens

You also might want to invest in a Maverick so you would get an alarm. You got lucky this time. 

ChillyWillis

+1 on the maverick suggestion. I absolutely love mine. I can coveniently monitor my cook from anywhere in the house, if the temp spikes or drops the alarm goes off to wake me up before the cook goes horribly wrong, and not having to go outside to babysit the egg keeps me from the temptation of peeking. 

DaveRichardson

At least it was a temp SPIKE and not a CRASH!  That'll piss you off really quick!

DoubleEgger

Check out all of your options before you buy a maverick or other monitoring only unit. They have temp control units with blower assemblies that will do everything under the sun... Research all your options and buy it right the first time. 

captken

Thanks for the help, I was using a drip pan with apple cider and water but failed to refill and dried up.

ChillyWillis

Yup, then that was definitely your issue. That tends to happen to a lot of folks when they switch over to the egg from other cookers. In my experience the water/Apple juice isn't necessary when cooking in the egg. Meats don't seem to dry out as quickly in the egg (in my humble opinion). Next time maybe try it without the water/AJ and see how you like the final product, that's how I do mine now and they come out fantastic!

st¡ke

re: "I was using a drip pan with apple cider and water but failed to refill and dried up"

once you lose the heat sink, the temp rises pretty easily.  before it dried up, all the energy was going into the water.

i think most of us run dry frankly, that way our temp has one less variable.

there's no true need for monitoring devices once you get a handle on things, but they bring peace of mind to many people

Ladeback69

johnkitchens said:

You also might want to invest in a Maverick so you would get an alarm. You got lucky this time.

@johnkitchens, are you using the Maverick that connects with your phone?  I have a one like the BGE one, but when I get about 60' away it disconnects.  It's supposed to go 300', but I guess that is line of site and no obstructions.

johnkitchens

@Ladeback69 mine isn't connected to my phone. The controller will reach into my bedroom so I can hear it at night. 

theyolksonyou

johnkitchens said:

@Ladeback69 mine isn't connected to my phone. The controller will reach into my bedroom so I can hear it at night. 

Maverick 733  from one end of the house to the other. My wife hates it...

ChillyWillis

My fiancée has taken to calling my Maverick "the meat baby" due to its propensity to wake us up at 4 AM.