Actual Mak 1 Grill Temps

C

Carter13

New member
I have had my Mak 1 Star now for a couple weeks and have ran it with my Maverick 732 probe on both the top and bottom rack.
According to the Maverick, the outside 6 inch perimeter of the lower grill is spot on with what the PelletBoss is reading. The rest of the inside lower grill is actually running 30 to 40 degrees lower than what the PelletBoss is reading.
I did the same test with the Maverick on every part of the top rack and it is running 35 to 40 degrees lower than what the PelletBoss is reading.
So my question for those of you Mak owners is this, are you increasing your temp on the PelletBoss to get an actual temp?
I have a couple pork shoulders on the top rack for an overnight cook right now and not sure if I should bump up the PelletBoss to 255-260 to get an actual temp on the rack at 225?
 
sparky

sparky

New member
the temp is measured from the probe in the back left. the top rack should be cooler. when i cook my butts i use the top rack only. everything comes out find.
 
C

Carter13

New member
Thanks Sparky. I know the probe is in the left corner and understand that the other parts of the grill will be cooler. I just was curious what those of you that have been cooking with these grills for a duration of time have done? I can adjust with the cooler temps and just figure for a bit longer cooking times. I may just cut the difference between the two and see what happens.
 
C

Carter13

New member
UPDATE.
Last night at 7 pm I put two bonless pork shoulders from Costco weighing 6lbs and 7lbs after trimming on the top rack on smoke. At 9 pm I bumped up the temp to 240 for the overnight cook. I thought I should go higher but did not want to be rushed in the morning.
When I woke up at 7 am this morning the temp on the rack was 198 to 204. The IT on both shoulders was 153 I imediately bumped up the temp to 255. After 3 hours and not seeing a good increase in the IT I set the temp at 275. After another 45 minutes I finally started to see the IT climb but very slowly and once it did the grease started to fill in the bucket.
The 6 pounder finally reached 196 IT at 4:35 tonight and I FTC'd it. The 7 pounder is at 194 as I type this.
When cooking a hunk of meat like a shoulder on the top rack there is no way anyone can do it in 12 to 14 hours setting the PelletBoss at 225. Maybe it can be done if one foils it very early in the cook. If you guys can without foiling then I must have a defective 1 Star.
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
carter let me help...your grill isat 225 where the probe is....at grill level it is close but at shelf level it is cooler....function of the airflow...if you are cooking on the shelf adjust your temp by 30 degrees.
 
C

Carter13

New member
Here are some photos of my grueling 21+ hour cook. The 6 pounder finished in 21 hours and 35 minutes with the IT at 196. The 7 pounder finished in 22 hours and 50 minutes with the IT at 195.
The ambient temp last night was 34 and today was 44. I did start to see some 30 degree swings up in temp around the 15 hour mark which continued periodically for the rest of the cook. Not sure what was happening but it might be from a load of ash accumulating in the fire pot. I burned approximately 24 lbs of Bear Mountain Hickory.
The finished product was FTC'd for two hours before pulling. I used a molasses mix for the glue which made for the black appearance. The pork came out really moist even with the extended cooking time.
The longest cook I have ever had with two pork shoulders was 12.5 hours on my JR which was obviously on the main rack and the thermostat set at 225.
When cooking on the top rack I plan on setting the PelletBoss 40 degrees higher to make up for the difference in actual temperature. I hope to never have to do another marathon cook any time in the future if I can help it.
This post is not intended to slam MAK grills in any way but rather inform up and coming owners what I have experienced and help them adjust quicker.
View attachment 1088
Nuclear asteroid
View attachment 1090
Still juicy after 23+ hours
View attachment 1089
Pulled from the 6 pounder
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom