temp control problems on louisiana grill

Hi. I'm new at this so bear with me. I purchased a new louisiana grill cs 570 this summer. I thought I was upgrading from a Pitboss 820. It seems to be running too hot. At low temps it's acceptable, but the higher I set the temp, the worse it gets. I used two auxiliary thermometers and ran a test last week. I set the temp at 250 and let it run for an hour. the auxiliary thermometers read 275. I then set the temp at 300 and let it run for an hour. the auxiliarys read 335. Last I set the temp at 350 and let it run for an hour. The auxiliarys read 400. The auxiliary thermometers were always within 3 degrees of each other, and were placed in the the same location as the grills pit probe. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, found a fix? I did pulled pork on it last weekend and it came out great, but I had to baby sit. Definately not a set and forget unit. Any help would sure be appriciated.

First things first...

Welcome to the forum!

Now... Is your grill's pit probe clean? Grease and smoke residue build up on those things and can cause it to misread the temperature. I have learned to keep mine clean with with either a small piece of wet steel wool or a Scotch-Brite pad and some dish detergent water regularly.

If that doesn't fix it, then you should call Louisiana Grills. They should be able to help you troubleshoot this.

Yep, I clean my pit probe regularly. This has been a problem from brand new. I have been in contact with louisiana grills many times in the last few months. I was guided through the test I described by a customer service rep from louisiana grills. We were in contact by phone several times during the test. It took about four hours. In the end he assured me that the unit was operating correctly. He told me to just trust the digital readout. I don't think they'll be much help. I have an email from another representative explaining that if the temperature of the grill is within 30 degrees plus or minus of the set temp, then the actual temp on the digital readout will display the set temp. So if my set temp is 200, the actual temp will read 200 unless the grill temp falls below 170, or goes higher than 230. That's hiding a 60 degree spread. Does that sound normal? Thanks for your input.

jeeps said:

I have an email from another representative explaining that if the temperature of the grill is within 30 degrees plus or minus of the set temp, then the actual temp on the digital readout will display the set temp. So if my set temp is 200, the actual temp will read 200 unless the grill temp falls below 170, or goes higher than 230. That's hiding a 60 degree spread. Does that sound normal? Thanks for your input.

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I think I'd be wondering about a controller that hid that much of a temp swing as well. And BTW, yes I have heard of other Louisiana grill owners not being happy with the control.

I do know of a few of guys who've upgraded to the Savannah Stoker control system on other grills that use the same controller that Louisiana Grills uses. They seem to be much happier with the control. It might be something to consider.

Thanks TentHunter. I can get a Savannah Stoker for $179 with free shipping. Only problem is, it's a vertical control board. Mine is horizontal. Might be a mounting issue. I put it on craigslist. Hopefully some one else will be dealing with the issue, and I can move on to my next pellet smoker.

Hope you are able sell it soon so you can move on.

Jeeps, without going into a lot of hoopla, take a serious look at the MAK Grills. There is no doubt that you will pay a little more, but when you compare apples to apples you will find there are absolutely no corners cut with a MAK.

Cliff

TentHunter said:

Hope you are able sell it soon so you can move on.

Jeeps, without going into a lot of hoopla, take a serious look at the MAK Grills. There is no doubt that you will pay a little more, but when you compare apples to apples you will find there are absolutely no corners cut with a MAK.

Cliff

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I was actually on the fence between a Yoder YS640 and a MAK 1 star General, but after reading Big Pappa's thread on "obsessing over pit temps", I'm a little nervous about the MAK's temperature control. I also like the heavier steal and the extra capacity of the Yoder. But I am still on the fence.

I'm not sure why BP's post about obsessing over pit temps has you concerned about the MAK's temp control. It had nothing to do with MAK's. The point of that post was that ALL pellet grills, ovens, etc. have temp swings. If it runs off of a thermostat control, you will have temp swings. MAK's actually hold a tighter temperature than a typical oven.

You should think of the temperature you set as an AVERAGE temperature. Ambient temperature, wind, how much food you load into your grill ALL play a role in both temp swings and what the actual temperature is in any given spot of a grill/smoker.


For example: when I do a large cook (4 - 6 whole shoulders) my MAK always has higher temps swings at first because all that cold pork is literally sucking the heat out of the air in the grill. As they heat up and come up to temperature, the grill settles down into a nice rhythm and holds the temp fairly steady within about 5°.



Speaking of large cooks...

As far as capacity goes, trust me when I tell you that you can cook enough food for a crowd with an upper grate in a MAK. Here was about 72+ lbs of pork shoulders (5 whole shoulders - 3 smaller ones on top 2 larger ones on the bottom) I cooked for the Marching Band this past Summer (about 160 kids/staff).



I've been doing these cookouts for the band for the past eight years and the MAK has always done a fine job.

I love that I can cook for just my family or a large group on our MAK.

That's a pretty nice looking rig. Thanks for the advise. As far as my obsession with temp swings, I may be a little spoiled with the even temps of my ceramic cookers.

thanks a lot tent hunter, that grill surely looks gorgeous and it seems to be really useful/ effective. will be looking for musclegurus.com if i can find it somewhere around, do you mind if i'm gonna have some questions to ask you about it? thanks again!

Goved1981 said:

thanks a lot tent hunter, that grill surely looks gorgeous and it seems to be really useful/ effective. will be looking if i can find it somewhere around, do you mind if i'm gonna have some questions to ask you about it? thanks again!

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Not at all. Ask away! There are others here who can answer questions as well.

Aslo don't hesitate to call Big Poppa Smokers (the sponsor of this forum). They can answer any question you have about a MAK.