Cold weather

JimmyDings

New member
Greetings to all!

My name is Jim and I am entering this wonderful world of "smoking". I currently do my best to smoke chicken, pork and beef roasts on a 6 burner gasser with smoking chip boxes over the end burners and indirect cooking over the center. After a long battle cooking a 7 lb Turkey breasts last Sunday, I decided enough was enough.

Too inconsistent temps, too much hassle and besides I would like to take it to the next level. I want to be able to cook anything I desire low and slow with smoke and try and take out as much of the "guess work" as possible.

I have read everything I could find and have decided that pellet fired suits me best. Not gas, and have never been a big fan of charcoal.

After looking at the available choices in today's market, I think I have decided on the Mak 2 star general smoker. But I have one Hugh concern!

I live in Upstate, NY where we can average 200" of snow and temps can dip to -10 in the dead of winter. I have always stored and cooked in my unheated garage with the garage door open. I remember last x-mas cooking a prime rib, Gosh I struggled to Hold 325 in the firebox. And I froze doing it!

My question is how well will the Mak 2 star general produce and maintain temp in that type of cold and additionally, what type of temps might I expect to achieve in that type of environment? I understand that I would burn more fuel which I am comfortable spending the extra money on pellets if I can achieve what I want and can do it safely.

Like everyone else, I only want to make this purchase once, so I am very concerned about addressing this issue before I purchase. I really have not seen discussion about this and apologize if it was posted and I missed it.

Any ideas and opinions would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to becoming part of this awesome family

Best Wishes, Jim aka JimmyDings
 

sparky

New member
ok JD. i live in northern california. our winters here get between 20º to 30º. not cold like you but still cold. my mak does fine. alot of my cooks are between 170º and 225º. i don't use much pellets at that temp. i love my maks, my pellet boss, my temp probes, my little drawer to clean the ash out of the bottom, my cool stainless rolled lid and two side drawers (they not drawers but i didn't know what to call them). it cooks like a dream. the pellet boss is my friend. :) you'll love yours too. oh, i cook under a patio. i noticed that you are cooking in a garage. much warmer there.
 
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SmokinMAK

New member
Jimmy - You can get a welding blanket and lay it over your 2 Star to help lock-in heat on particularly cold days - but only when smoking. Don't do this if cooking at high temps!
 

nolesfan954

New member
I love my MAK 2 star and I'll swear by it and the service you will get from Big Poppa and MakDaddy. As for the cold weather performance...sorry, brother--I'm not familiar with that concept!
Richard
 

JimmyDings

New member
ty all

Ty all for the help.....looking forward to chatting with Big Poppa about my order!

FYI: I performed some work for a friend of mine, who happens to manage the largest welding company in my area. He is looking into the flashpoints of the 3 different welding blankets that they carry, as well as pricing. These are "Flame Retardent", not Flame proof, so as long as they don not come in contact with direct flame, we should be able to accomplish our mission, and i'll find out what temps we can use them up too and post for future peoples info!

Thanks again for everyones help!
Big Poppa get yer pad and pen out and call the Brinks Truck...we gonna spend some money!:)

Thanks again, JIM aka JimmyDings
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
Sounds like a good experiment :)
I will tell you, in our testing (and some customers) we did not find the use of a blanket to reduce pellet consumption very effective.
The 2 Star will hold the temps without any problems in the cold weather but you will use more pellets than on a warm day. The reason for the higher consumption is mostly contributed to the outside temperature of the induction air being pumped into the pit via the fan.
I won't hurt to test out your blanket but don't spend a bunch of money as you will probably find it makes little difference.
Glad to have you on board, there are lots of cold weather MAK customers out there smoking all winter long :)
 

JimmyDings

New member
Thanks awesome to hear MAK DADDY!

I do have 1 additional question....do you have a Phone number for Big Poppas Business so as I can order? I have simple questions and figured it easier to call than order online

TY in advance, Jim aka JimmyDings
 
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