Smoker sitting in direct sun?

[MJBunch]

Hey All,
I'm smoking some ribs on my 780 and using my Firebird to monitor temp. The first couple of hours the temp difference between the Traeger and Firebird was 6-8 degrees. Now my Firebird is reading 275ish and my Traeger is set to 235, my target is 250.
Only thing I can think of is my smoker is sitting in direct sun and it's driving the internal temp up. This doesn't seem practical to me. Anyone experiencing this? Thx

 

[Slimpicker]

Anyone experiencing this? Thx

Almost everyone here...

 

[MidwestSmoker]

Almost everyone here...

Yep, that's about right.

Try placing the grill in the shade. It makes a big difference, particularly if it sunny and also hot outside and you are trying to do low and slow cooking.

Based on @Timmy's measurements we estimate that direct sun contributes about 40 degrees of heat to the grill.

 

[Timmy]

Yes. This is what I do every time I cook. Rain or shine. Temps are way more consistent, and if it rains I dont get as wet.

check this FireBoard session.
Post in thread 'Post Your FIREBOARD Cook Links Here'
https://www.traegerforum.com/threads/post-your-fireboard-cook-links-here.2977/post-30925

 

[Murphy's Law]

I have a patio umbrella that I keep near my grill. It was high 90’s here today and it was good for me, my grill and the Fire Board (it doesn’t like direct, hot, sun either.

 

[MJBunch]

Thanks for the responses, makes sense. I do have a tent I bought to cover my cookers but was thinking only for rain! We get more of that here in the PNW than sun!

 

[RayClem]

My Ironwood sits on my back deck that receives morning sun. I have seen the grill temp as high as 150F without even igniting the pellets. That situation will make it difficult trying to keep a temperature below 200F. Thus, I normally cook at 225F.

For those folks who live in Southern California or Arizona where elevated ambient temperature has often triggered heat alerts, doing evening or overnight cooks is probably a good option.

I normally find that my chamber temperature as measured at the level of the top rack on my Ironwood is lower than the controller setpoint. It is 5 degrees low at a setpoint of 225F and 50 degrees low at 450F. However, I have also heard of temperatures being higher than setpoint. You just need to learn the idiosyncrasies of your grill and set the temperature accordingly.

 

[MJBunch]

My Ironwood sits on my back deck that receives morning sun. I have seen the grill temp as high as 150F without even igniting the pellets. That situation will make it difficult trying to keep a temperature below 200F. Thus, I normally cook at 225F.

For those folks who live in Southern California or Arizona where elevated ambient temperature has often triggered heat alerts, doing evening or overnight cooks is probably a good option.

I normally find that my chamber temperature as measured at the level of the top rack on my Ironwood is lower than the controller setpoint. It is 5 degrees low at a setpoint of 225F and 50 degrees low at 450F. However, I have also heard of temperatures being higher than setpoint. You just need to learn the idiosyncrasies of your grill and set the temperature accordingly.

Thanks for this feedback, appreciated!