Adding Temperature Control, 18.5" WSM

Over Friday and Saturday I cooked butts starting at 8pm using the 30 coals on a full load of charcoal (Kingsford Original). I have cooked butts about 5 times and use a Maverick dual probe. I got it easily locked in at 230 about an hour after putting on the meat, and for the first 12 hours the temperature stayed fairly stable 220-230. I only had to adjust it once to open the vents about 2 am when the alarm went off for below 220. About 8 am I started fighting low temperature, it just would not come up and stay from about 205 (meat temp 170). I stirred or bumped the kettle and gradually opened vents to 100% and it would jump about 10 deg but soon fall back down to around 205 (the vents were clear, I checked). So I took the center section off, there was still plenty of partially consumed charcoal but I stirred the charcoal then I went ahead and added a single layer of new charcoal and shut the vents back down to about 50% and still the temp would not come up so I opened the vents 100 % and surprise surprise I overshot to 250. Realizing I was likely low on water I refilled the water pan but could never get them temp back down to 225, I steadily cut the vents down to almost closed but stayed in the 240 jumping quickly to 260 range and I had to open the top a few times to keep it from going over 260. With the temp 240-260 the smaller piece finished cooking fairly quickly (17 hrs. elapsed) and once it was removed the temp finally stabilized around 245 (vents almost closed) and the other finished 2 hrs. later, meat was at 189. I held both pieces covered in a cooler for over an hour before pulling and the meat and it was excellent, many raves from friends (I used Jane’s Butt Rub Recipe)

Having cooked butts at 250, which is easier to control, they are just not as good as ones cooked at 225. However, this is not the first time I have struggled holding the lower temp, it just seems harder. Several people in my area have Backwoods Smokers or Green Eggs and I thought that would be a solution to set it and forget it low but the more I read, people fight those too, easy to overshoot and never get it back down because of the mass/insulation and they end up paying more money for a BBQ Guru or similar. So I am talking my (wallet) out of that idea and into a Stoker as I have a decent feel for my WSM and am a computer/wireless/iOS nerd too and that would be less hard on my wallet. Assuming I am just not being unrealistic and lazy since I did get delicious meat after cooking 19 hours and only fiddling with the temp 7 of them, this LONG post leads to my questions...

1. Any ideas why I could not bring the temp up after 12 hours, I still had plenty of unburned charcoal in the bottom.

2. Will a Stoker really give me tighter temp control, more of a set it and forget it so I don’t have to fight the 225 temp like I did.

Thanks, Robert

The 18" is a good cooker, I would have to guess that there was some sort of air restriction or the charcoal wasn't up to par

I fought with similar problems during the first few runs on my new 22.5 a couple of weeks ago even with a cyberq controller. Just couldn't seem to get the temps up or couldn't keep them up. I follow the advice of a number of people on here and replaced the water in the pan with a terra cotta dish covered in foil. Have cooked on it twice and have had absolutely no problems holding temps rock solid at 225,250 and 325. The controller definitely makes life a lot easier, but the terra cotta dish is the big difference.

JasonWB said:

I fought with similar problems during the first few runs on my new 22.5 a couple of weeks ago even with a cyberq controller. Just couldn't seem to get the temps up or couldn't keep them up. I follow the advice of a number of people on here and replaced the water in the pan with a terra cotta dish covered in foil. Have cooked on it twice and have had absolutely no problems holding temps rock solid at 225,250 and 325. The controller definitely makes life a lot easier, but the terra cotta dish is the big difference.

Click to expand...

Hi Jason
Your post is absolutely important for my plan.
I'm going to buy a cyber q for my 22.5 WSM and I was struggling about the best briquettes set up and water in the water pan.
Now you can ensure me that NO WATER IN THE WATER PAN AND NO WATER PAN. Only terra cotta dish. Wich size????
Is it wright?

Do you have any other good suggestion about briqs set up.
I was thinking about this



IMG_4107 di BBQness, su Flickr


IMG_4109 di BBQness, su Flickr

Just set the lit briqs in front of the ATC vent. What do you think???

Thanks folks for helping out....
- I don't think I had an air restriction, I used a small screwdriver to go round & round in each vent hole
- Brand new un-opened bag of Kingsford Blue charcoal
- Knowing I was looking at a 18-20 hr cook, I did pile the charcoal up as high as I could around the edges of the fire ring, higher than the center (at that high a charcoal the water pan would not have seated). Maybe I got a heavy rig of ash on those outside coals. I could go to Kingsford red but it burns faster so the it seems like it might be a wash
- I have read about replacing the pan with the terra cotta, but I also read in the same place you had to spray water to provide moisture to properly form a good bark. I use Jane's very flavorful rub which produces a delicious bark, I don't want to lose that.

I'll give you my opinions and story with my 18.5 WSM and my Stoker...

first off let me say that I love both of them...they do the job and they do it right...

when I first got the Stoker, I had about 10 cook on my WSM, maybe not enough to seal everything up like it should have been...I dunno...

I do know that the first cook was awesome..held 250 consistently for 5-6 hours no problem...next cook I couldn't get the temps out of control...

first cook when everything went right, I used the minion method and very little lit charcoal...also I use Frontier Lump so that's a difference from you...

second cook, I put the lit in front of the fan just like the fella above me...that's a big No No...the fan is not sensitive enough to have the fire right in front of it like that...

I was told by Rock to fill the charcoal bin with charcoal and wood and then take 2 wax chimney starters and set them on top of the charcoal bin together right in the center...on top...

Light the chimney starters and then let them burn until they stop smoking...then assemble the WSM and let the Stoker bring the temp up...

Well, I JUST started another cook for Ribs at 225..I did exactly what Rock said and it just got up to 215 and it took 30 minutes...Rock said it would take 30-40 minutes to get up to temp...

I'm gonna log it with Stoker log and if you want me to show you the log I can when I'm done...anyways...that's my 2 cents...I'm hoping this sorts out my spiking problem I was having

Chuck:

Thanks so much! I've cooked on mine over 10 times but looked at my WSM last night and noticed the door was not sealing well and looked at a photo I took Friday night and saw smoke coming out around the lid. So just before lunch I ordered a gasket set and a Stoker. With your (and Rock's) lighting advise I'll have confident "start" with the Stoker and I'd very much like to see the log. Another question please, I mentioned this above, but do you use water in the pan? It seems you have to babysit the bark a bit if you don't.

Thanks, Robert

I don't use water...I use 2 - 12" clay saucers...each saucer is foiled and then they are stacked inside the water pan...and then the water pan is foiled top and bottom...I don't put anything between the saucers and the water pan...the only thing in the water pan is the 2 saucers...

It's been on a couple of hours now and it stayed really steady for a good while and then it started fluctuating some....nothing like before, but about 25 degrees up or down...once it started fluctuating I went out there and put the temp probe on the top grate right below the top vent...I'm gonna see if that'll help some

Thanks! Hmmm....25 Degrees. Some of us are (mostly) working so I'll try to follow-up. Btw, thats NOT a White Zinfandel, but a nice Pinot Noir Rose, we do have some level of so-fista-cay-shun here in Mississippi!

I don't drink wine...sorry lol

btw, here's my answer to your question about bark...I don't think no water is a problem at all...

These are the rib tips after I glazed them and let them sit on the smoker a while

Well, I changed ONE thing on my Stoker setup and my temps have been rock solid ever since...I'm so happy that maybe I have this crap figured out...

I had the pit probe about an inch to and inch and a half from the edge of the pit because I had read somewhere that it works good there...well, I moved it in to where it's not directly over the gap around the edge of the water pan and now it's working awesome...I'll go ahead and post a picture in a minute of the pit probe placement and the Stoker log...gotta go pull the ribs off

ok so ribs are devoured...and I'm sitting fat and happy with some pics lol...

here's some pics of where I put the pit probe on the top grate...






Also, I thought it would be of some interest how far my top vent is closed...

almost forgot...here's the Stoker log...

Chuck-
Nice looking ribs...I noticed that after about 2 hours, your Stoker couldn't keep steady temps, kept spiking/dropping...is that normal? Mine did that and I was thinking something was wrong with it since most people claim theirs holds rock steady for hours on end.

Robert-
I have a Stoker ATC that I use (well it's getting fixed) but I was still struggling to keep temps rock solid. I'm still trying to narrow down why I can't keep steady temps for longer than 3 hours but it I may need more smokes on my WSM to help make certain the little leaks are plugged.

Dave

Dave, the ribs were only like the third time I cooked with the Stoker...once I moved the pit probe about 3-4" from the edge the temps leveled right out and it quit spiking all over the place...I think that's the key

I just put on 3 butts on both WSMs with the Stoker controlling both of them...it's going to be an over night cook...we'll see how it does

Sorry so Long getting back, the email notification thing seems to be spotty. Great looking ribs, helps to know about the bark, thanks Your probe placement is about where I put my Maverick probe and I always thought I was getting good readings. I received my gasket kit and my stoker is on order but probably won't be here for the weekend so I'll have to wait until the next one to try it. Looking at the chart... The fan is on short quick cycles in the 14:00-15:00 time frame controlling nicely then "something" happens, the temp is dropping even though the fan is on in quickening pulses, finally with the temp continuing to drop the fan goes on for a long pulse and not surprisingly it overshoots then turns off as the temp slowly drops and again pulses again holding at a slight low temp. What I find most interesting is the two dips with the fan running in a long pulse at about 15:10 and 15:40. Maybe Rock can answer what could cause the 10-15 deg dips even with the fan is running as I think this is the real culprit

My Stoker did the same thing, at the major drops, the fan would run but it would keep dropping and dropping...my thinking was that the briquettes were covered in ash so the breeze from the fan just acted to cool off the smoker since it couldn't stoke the briquettes any hotter. With the temp spikes put into its learning algorithm...it throws the rest of the cook off. Even though turning the Stoker off and back on should reset the learning algorithm, mine continued with the same temp spikes/drops after power cycling the Stoker.

Can't wait to get my Stoker back from Rocks...I have some other things I want to try (moving the temp probe, putting the lit briquettes opposite the fan, making certain the top vent is opposite the fan side vent, Kingford comp briquettes, empty water pan with clay saucer on top, etc). So many options so few weekends left...lol

Dave

Since I have a Stoker on order, I decided to email Rock and see if he will add to this forum. If he replies directly to my email, I'll post the reply.

Robert

Here's the reply I got from Kevin at Stoker. Obviously I can't answer the questions but maybe this will help:

Hi Robert,

Was the cooker opened to spritz or to check color at those times? If so it is important to use the blower off 5 minute feature.
Also how much fuel was in the cooker to start and how much lit? It is important to have enough fuel for the entire cook and keep the fire extremely small to start.
Was the fire managed at any point during the cook? Briquettes tend to ash over and can cause the blower to stay on longer leading to overshoots when more of the fuel bed is lit. It is important to check your briquettes periodically to be sure they aren't ashing over too much. I use lump to avoid managing the fire so much.

Regards,

Kevin