Let's talk blankets

mcschlotz

Member
MAK 2 Star here and its temp is minus(what ever º). Who is using a blanket to help maintain temps? What are you covering and what are you NOT covering? It would seem to me any attempt to use one will restrict air flow since no mater which way you try. i.e. just front to back leaving the sides bare still covers the horizontal line of the lid which will retard air flow. Obviously covering the sides is going to restrict the air flow as well. Would like to hear from those with some experience as to their success, meaning where the meat didn't get fouled due to improver air flow.

Matt
 

TentHunter

Moderator
You should NEVER cover ANY vents!!! Restricting airflow can cause a dirty burn, sooty smoke, and possibly a flame-out.

I wish I could find the thread someone posted here that showed the results of blocking some of the vents with a welding blanket. It wasn't pretty.

You have similar temperatures that we experience here. If it's windy I find pulling my MAK just outside the storage shed and using the shed itself and the doors as a wind barrier is much more effective for my MAK than trying to use a blanket. If it's snowing, I'll erect a canopy in front of the shed to keep the snow off the MAK.

Also, the intake fan is pulling cold air in, so in really cold weather I just bump my temp up about 10° or so higher than normal. I have used this with even extreme cold weather and the MAK seems to maintain temps just fine.
 

sptucker

New member
You should NEVER cover ANY vents!!! Restricting airflow can cause a dirty burn, sooty smoke, and possibly a flame-out.

I wish I could find the thread someone posted here that showed the results of blocking some of the vents with a welding blanket. It wasn't pretty.

You have similar temperatures that we experience here. If it's windy I find pulling my MAK just outside the storage shed and using the shed itself and the doors as a wind barrier is much more effective for my MAK than trying to use a blanket. If it's snowing, I'll erect a canopy in front of the shed to keep the snow off the MAK.

Also, the intake fan is pulling cold air in, so in really cold weather I just bump my temp up about 10° or so higher than normal. I have used this with even extreme cold weather and the MAK seems to maintain temps just fine.

I found that bumping the setpoint up 10-15 degrees worked well in countering the sub-zero temps we were having a week or so ago. So, controlling the temp can be worked around, although a minor annoyance especially when using existing cooking programs. To me, a more compelling reason to add a blanket would be to save on pellet usage, but I have no raw data on the subject. Has anyone done an analysis on this?

Of course, it may not be worth the savings if you are constantly having to monitor the blanket location in case of slippage due to wind and such... Certainly not worth it to me if the savings is negligible.
 
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sptucker

New member

Thanks, Cliff. Yeah, I read that one a while back (I think I've read almost everything on the site in the last few months...), but I was more interested to see if any cold-weather users have made any actual measurements with and without a blanket/insulation. From MAK DADDY's inputs, it sounds like the savings aren't enough to make it worth developing another MAK accessory. Good thing, because I would be obligated to buy it. ;-)
 
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