Temperature Swings Caused by The Sun.


 
Frank Eriksen

Frank Eriksen

TVWBB Super Fan
Greetings my BBQ Brothers and Sisters.

What do you do when the hot summer sun hits the lid of the cooker and sends the dome temps up from 250* to 300* or more?

Thanks for your help!

Frank
 
Frank Eriksen said:
Greetings my BBQ Brothers and Sisters.

What do you do when the hot summer sun hits the lid of the cooker and sends the dome temps up from 250* to 300* or more?

Thanks for your help!

Frank
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I typically only concern myself with grate temp. Generally the change is pretty gradual for me once the day starts heating up. If we are only talking round 250, I'll let it. I really don't want temps around 300. Usually a slight vent tweak takes care of it if you catch before it gets too hot.
 
I move mine to the shade and go inside cause it is too hot to be outside in Louisiana right now. I put mine on wheels for this exact reason.
 
I find that when the sun hits it, I can usually dial down the temp with the vents without much issue. If that doesn't work, either moving it to a shady spot (be very careful) or using a patio umbrella both help. Wheels do make it much easier and safer to move around, especially if you put water in the pan.
 
I had that condition today during my final seasoning of my new 22.5 WSM. It was in the shade with a dome temp of 300 deg F and a grate level temp of 320 deg F. The water bowl was foiled but l had a rectangular foil pan of water. I seasoned it the way l plan on using it. On both grates l had 2 lbs of bacon. The bacon was a freebee from my friends at the local grocery store. Outdated by 2 days and no sense in throwing it away. After 2 hrs of seasoning the WSM was in full sun. I had a dome temp of 340 deg F and a grate level temp of 345. That spike was 15 min after the previous check. I then partially closed all 3 bottom dampeners to the diameter of a wood pencil. 0.5 hr later l checked it l was at 240 dome and 245 grate. It held there for approximately 2.5 hrs more before it started to drop due to the coals burning out. My thought was the sun caused the upward spike also. Any thoughts?
 
I try to either cook in the sun during the whole cook or in the shade for the whole cook. But if you are only getting a 50 deg swing then it should not be a big issue. For sure try not to micro manage something like that.
 
George Curtis said:
I try to either cook in the sun during the whole cook or in the shade for the whole cook. But if you are only getting a 50 deg swing then it should not be a big issue. For sure try not to micro manage something like that.
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You are right about that George. No micro managing here. Just observations from a newbie WSM owner. I've grilled and smoked on a Weber Kettle exclusively but l really believe l'm going to like my WSM.
 
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