A heads up for fellow GMG owners, this is somewhat common knowledge if you do a fair bit of digging, but I wanted to share in case anyone ran into the same issue.

My Jim Bowie I got for father's day in 2016, and it ended up being right around when they were offering the stainless steel first gen 1 piece heat shield and two piece drip pan.  This heat shield had a notch that did not allow the heat shield to move, and the V for the heat diffuser underneath was not in the middle like their newest version, but all on one side.

I ended up modding mine by notching out an additional 7/8" on the auger side, which made my temps SOLID when low and slow cooking, but really bad when cooking burgers at high temps. 

I called GMG yesterday, and they're sending me out a replacement heat shield at no cost.  The lady that I spoke with said that it was the second one she had replaced in a two hour period, and that they've identified this as a design issue.

So, if you have one of the first gen one-piece SS heat shields, call GMG and they'll take care of you!  I am really impressed with their customer service.  They even threw in a rub for my troubles.

Now that pelletheads is gone, I was only able to research using google cached pages, so glad to get another good forum up to share this info, and hope it helps someone avoid the headaches I've been going through trying to dial in my jim bowie across all temp ranges.


*Edited to clarify the heat shield type as first-gen one-piece stainless steel

I feel your pain. I have the DB and I have a second shelf on it that I had two racks of baby backs on it yesterday. I tried moving the heat shield as far right as I could and even changed the calibration settings on the app. I even went so far to change the oven therms out to make sure but always consistently was getting at least 25-40 degree higher temps on the right side. I am contemplating drilling some smaller holes on the left side of the heat shield to try help even things out or put some bolts on the holes in the right side to heat shield.

Any chance you could post a picture, or explain the difference?  I purchased my Jim Bow in April 2017, but am not sure which version of the heat shield I have.  My temps vary significantly from left to right.  I've registered them as bad as 70 degrees, and now have narrowed it down to 20 degrees by adjusting the heat shield.  Not sure if it matters, but I only use my JB for low and slow smoking.

Getting my grill setup for my first cook.  Any new info on shield placements or additional tips?

Thanks!

I remember a thread on pelletheads that was about the SS heat shield in a DB.  I ordered one to replace the old 3 piece for my 2011 DB and I thought I'd give it try.  The fellow was having issues with left to right temps being way different.  He finally talked to someone at GMG who told him to center it, then move it 3/4 of an inch to the LEFT.  I did that from the get go and sure enough my left to right temps were pretty close throughout the first cook and I haven't worried about it since.  I put pieces of firebrick inside to keep it from moving side to side because I have to roll it out of my barn onto crushed granite when I cook and that made it vibrate off the measurement.

Currently doing a small brisket and have the temp at 225. I have a couple oven therms, one in the left front corner and the other in the right rear corner and both are right at 225. Also using the server mode and it is pretty darn sweet to change temps! I started at 170 and increased the temp every hour by 20 degrees and finishing it at 225 and wasn't home when i did it!