uneven heat

[urahoho]

Any one experience uneven heat in the SRG in 30 degree weather? 

Cooked a whole chicken the other day and felt like it cooked a bit uneven.  Maybe because the chicken was slanted.

[teesquare]

Were you using a Tommy ring? And which version of the SRG? Does yours have a door on the side for r wood chips?

[TMB]

I do know that the SRG as well as The Big Easy will act up in cold weather at times.   What I mean is, the burner tube will burn hotter on one side (trust me I've seen it) if you start the unit dead cold when it's really cold outside.   I found that if your going to cook out in the cold it's best if possible to store the unit in a warm garage or storage unit.    This way the burner tube will burn more even.

I know this sounds nuts but when I cook in the cold I always make sure the units are warmer than the outside temp.   If you can't store it then lite the unit and let it run a few mins turn it off lid down then re-lite to cook.  This will get the unit up in temp and should stop any cold issues you may have.  Also make sure the meat is as center as you can get it or the portion closest to the chamber will cook first and the further away portion of meat will not cook as fast.

You can also turn the food during the cook and always make sure the chamber is well seasoned

[urahoho]

Were you using a Tommy ring? And which version of the SRG? Does yours have a door on the side for r wood chips?

I was using a tommy ring and I have the SRG with the wood chips on the side.  The door is removable.

[urahoho]

I do know that the SRG as well as The Big Easy will act up in cold weather at times.   What I mean is, the burner tube will burn hotter on one side (trust me I've seen it) if you start the unit dead cold when it's really cold outside.   I found that if your going to cook out in the cold it's best if possible to store the unit in a warm garage or storage unit.    This way the burner tube will burn more even.

I know this sounds nuts but when I cook in the cold I always make sure the units are warmer than the outside temp.   If you can't store it then lite the unit and let it run a few mins turn it off lid down then re-lite to cook.  This will get the unit up in temp and should stop any cold issues you may have.  Also make sure the meat is as center as you can get it or the portion closest to the chamber will cook first and the further away portion of meat will not cook as fast.

You can also turn the food during the cook and always make sure the chamber is well seasoned

Ok thanks, this helps a lot.

My unit is store in the garage, but by the door, I think the garage may be 10-20 degrees warmer?  But I use the SRG outside my garage because I don't want cooking inside my garage, too much storage in my garage =)

So I guess I should preheat and warm the SRG up before dropping food in it.  How long do you let your SRG warm up before putting food in?

Have you ever cooked with your lid up in 30 degree temps?

Thanks for the help. Planning to cook out some ribs today.  Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, which ever you prefer =P

[TMB]

10 mins warm up will be fine.  As for cooking lid up or down I try to cook lid down most of the time.   But now remember I "vented" my unit with a 4 in stack, so mine acts a little different then the factory SRG.

You will just have to cook with your unit and get use to how it cooks for you to know when to raise the lid or not.  I and others can give pointers but your cooking will show you the best way to use your unit   

[tlg4942]

I noticed when I had the factory regulator on mine it would take longer for the far side to light at times.
Cooking was always slow. In fact I quit cooking anything on the grate because it was so slow. I also would have to rotate the bird a couple times during a cook which means it was doing just what yours seems to be doing.
 When I finally replaced the regulator this problem has gone away. I did use a much larger regulator than stock out of necessity but cannot recommend you do the same do to possible safety issues. But a replacement may be needed. Mine has two valves for adjustment now so I start it higher and get the gas in the tube quick. Then tune it back down. This has made such a big improvement I find I am using the SRG again weekly. Including the grill grate.
  However , I think the biggest improment that has ever been made to both the TBE and the SRG was when Tommy came up with the "Tommy Ring" .  If you haven't started using one you need to try it, it's cheap and it works.
 CharBroil tried to achieve the same thing by extending the leg length on the basket. It did not have the same results though. I think the ring must reflect the IR a little and I'm sure it creates a warm air flow moving up through the center of the unit.
 As Tommy said you need to use the unit a bit so you can figure out its "personality"...
 

[muebe]

I converted one of my Big Easy's to run on natural gas. When I re-sized the gas orifice I drilled it out a little bit larger than it needed to be so I would get plenty of heat. I found this really helped.

Make sure that you get a complete flame around the entire burner ring. Also if you notice the flames are lifting off the burner ring then those areas will get uneven temps and could be a pressure problem. The ring is not a complete 360 so this can create a sort of dead side in the cooker at the point where the holes stop then start again if the pressure is not proper.

The closer the holes are to the jet the more gas they will get. So the further along the ring the less gas flame intensity if the pressure is too low.

And of course high winds can have a huge effect on the burner causing uneven temps.

So visually check your burner flames on the ring while it is on. You can look the vent holes on the top just don't burn your eyes