Our 11 year old Samsung 27 cu.ft. SS is set to 0 and 36. Seems to stay very close. Our very old 4 ft wide chest freezer sets on -4 to +1 f both are checked with a TW fridge freezer digital thermos.
ps, by very old I mean an Amana chest freezer that is 40 yo +/-.
I try to first to get my proteins thawed out in the fridge. If I faltered to get it out in time, I do them in a completely submerged with a heavy object on top in a cold water sink. All of the items that are in my freezers are vacuum packed.
I prefer not to leave it to open air on any side.
I have the PitBoss CopperHead 7 pellet smoker. I've used nothing but 20lb bags of Lumber Jack purchased from my local Fareway grocery store for $6 to $9 a bag. I've had no issues with the pellets. The PB on the other hand I've replaced the controller and thermostat now the hotrod and fuse.
I've cooked 2 pork butts from Sams Club once to twice a year for maybe 15 years now. I always look for the heaviest weighted ones that are fairly equal in weight to each other. From the time I start the grill till I have the butts in a cambro is nearly constant to 16 hours at a solid 225 degrees...
D Rat,
I put a leave in thermo into my steaks, chops, chicken breasts and everything else. Seldom do I miss the target temp with complete satisfaction. Most of my digital thermo are the Thermapen brand but I have Mavericks as well. I do a complete tow stage cook and do a reverse sear on steaks...