Hello!
So I just made this modification to the same Air Bend model; however, I am getting rather poor results. In fact, the results were better when the thermostat was in its original position. I was wondering if you could help me troubleshoot this. So, my first attempt consisted of less than 1/2 cup of Sweet Maria's beans. I watched the Air Bend outside for 15 min and I didn't hear a single crack. I reopened the Air Bend and verified the thermostat was in an appropriate location. While not fixed, it's sitting at the bottom near the circuit board. I have some qualms that this unfixed thermostat may be causing a problem, but then I think "well, it's no longer attached to the hottest piece of the unit, so it should be reading a lower temperature and the unit should be performing accordingly". My second attempt: I used less than 1/4 cup of the same beans and watched it again for just under 8 min. Same thing; no cracks. I can post a picture of the results from attempt 2 if you're curious.