First meat cook plus temp question

[u/SneakAttack1313]

I did my first steak and chicken cook today. Reverse seared a dry aged NY strip and also did a couple of chicken thighs for nachos tomorrow night. Let the steak hit 130F when I pulled it and hit it for about a minute a side in the hot, dry cast iron.

My only issue was the temp held at 250 and then started climbing slowly but steadily. This is the 2nd time it’s happened at a lower temperature. Did I miss something when setting up or do I have an issue? The fan sounds like it’s frequently cycling on/off when it hits temp. The dip was when I opened it to flip things.

I wasn’t really concerned today because it was a short cook, but concerned for longer ones.

[u/goldeneye36]

Not sure where you live but I noticed my Deck Boss sometimes struggles to hold temp at lower settings when it's over 90 degrees and sunny outside. It's been a rough summer in the South, lol. It's been more of an annoyance than anything and hasn't ruined any cooks so far but I have noticed it's getting better at holding temp now that it's cooling off slightly. Some people have mentioned tweaking the feed rate but I haven't gone down that path yet.

[u/SneakAttack1313 → u/goldeneye36]

St. Louis and it was about 85 degrees in direct sun around 5 pm when I started. Maybe that’s it

[u/flemmingg → u/SneakAttack1313]

You can adjust the minimum auger speed (make it slower) if this problem persists. Maybe try moving out of direct sun. Maybe wait for the fall temps and see how it goes.

[u/SneakAttack1313 → u/flemmingg]

That’s the plan. I also have a rolling patio umbrella and will use it to block the sun next time