Temperature control


 
J

John J in Bensalem

New member
I smoked three racks of St Louis ribs yesterday. Temperature here in the Philadelphia area was in the mid nineties with very high humidity and full sun. I used the minion method with only about 20-25 lit briquettes to start. I had a heck of a time keeping the temp in the WSM under 275. At one point I had two of the three bottom vents closed and the third was only open 25% with the top vent open only 50%. Still couldn't get the temp down. After only 4 hours, the bark on the ribs had turned mostly black, and the ribs were over done. Any suggestions on what I could have done differently considering the weather conditions to be able to keep the temp more in the 225 to 250 area?
 
At a minimum, I'd guess too many "hot" coals to start. I'd go with 10-15 lit ones.

A shade is good but I'm not really sure how much of an impact the sun has on cooking. I do use one but it's just a guess on my part.

Ribs being blackend (is that a word ? ;) ) is more a result of too many lit coals to start off with rather than the sun's fault. Once those babies light the rest of their cousins, it's really hard to keep the temps low.

Anyways, start with fewer lit at the start and start closing the bottom vents when the dome temp gets to around 190-200 (with 225-250 being your target). AND let us know how your next smoke turns out.
 
I have a WSM 18.5", a 14.5", and, before I gifted my youngest son with it, a Mini-Joe. The 18.5 requires me to "catch the heat on the way up" (I start closing the bottom vents at 200). The two smaller WSM's require letting them get up to temperature before partially shutting the bottom vents. It is MUCH harder to reduce temperature after passing up your target temperature than it is to increase temperature with any of the units.

I use the "tin can minion start". I use no more than 8-10 lit coals to start with the smaller units and 12 with the larger unit.

FWIW,
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
John J in Bensalem said:
I smoked three racks of St Louis ribs yesterday. Temperature here in the Philadelphia area was in the mid nineties with very high humidity and full sun. I used the minion method with only about 20-25 lit briquettes to start.
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John, Len is correct in suggesting fewer lit coals to start. The rule of thumb for an 18.5 is to use about a dozen for a low n slow cook and about 20 for a high heat cook. Keep track of how many lit coals you use for each cook and watch how that number effects the temp. After a few cooks, you'll be able to judge just how many to use for the target temp.

Jeff
 
20-25 lit briqs lit ???
In a 90F sunny day ?
My turned off 22 WSM in the very same conditions shows at lid thermo 130-150F !!!
I use only ATC but before, during summer time I lit only 5-8 briqs and wait for 1 to 1,5 to come to temp (250F at meat grate).
 
John J,

I'm just up the turnpike from you in Horsham. It was damn hot this weekend, but I don't think that had as much to do with the high cooker temp as the amount of lit coals you started with. I usually use 8-10 or an equivalent amount (about 1/3 of a compact chimney) of "used" charcoal to get things started. More lit coals at the start will get you up to temp faster, but it's much harder to rein it in when you get there.

Also, I've found a shade of some kind (I use a 6x6 pop-up tent I got from Ollies for $30 last year) is essential for cooking, esp. on warm days, but it's more for protecting the cook than the cooker. High ambient temps and direct sun will contribute to the cooker temp a bit, but mostly it just makes the lid thermometer even more inaccurate. I did a couple butts Friday night to Saturday afternoon and around 11 AM Saturday, the lid therm (in direct sunlight since it rose that morning) was reading 325, but the temp in the cooking chamber was a steady 250-260.
 
Did you use water in the pan?. We have a brutally hot climate here in the summer. I'm usually smoking in similar conditions as yours, minus the humidity. I always use water in the pan for low and slow. Definitely fewer briquettes to start as Len and the others said. I usually get things rolling with 7-8. When I first got my WSM I had a terrible time with too much air getting in around the door. Upgraded to Cajun Bandit door and that really helped.
 
John J in Bensalem said:
Thanks all for your feedback . Yes I used the water pan. I'll go with fewer lit coals to start next time.
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I've also heard that the top vent should always be open all the way in the WSM, and use the bottom vents to control the airflow. It is ok to use the top vent on a kettle to help control temps. That's a rule of thumb I've followed for years but I don't remember all the reasons.
 
Hi John. I live in the central desert of Arizona, and the temp the other day was 108, with about 19% humidity. I had the WSM in full sun for most of the morning and afternoon. Smoked some chuck roasts and had no problem keeping the temp below 250.

Like those who already commented, I would start out with fewer lit coals. I only use 8 to 10 in the donut minion method.

Regarding the vents, the top one is the very last to get adjusted. For example, this weekend I had two bottom vents all the way closed and one just open a tiny crack--around the same thickness of a dime or penny. The top vent was open all the way.

Every once in a while I'll get to the point with one bottom vent open a crack and then have to close the top vent to 75% or even down to 50%.
 
I only use about a dozen lit coals in my 23" when it's hot outside and have no trouble dialing it between 225 and 250. Better to start with too few, than with too many.
 
John J in Bensalem said:
I smoked three racks of St Louis ribs yesterday. Temperature here in the Philadelphia area was in the mid nineties with very high humidity and full sun. I used the minion method with only about 20-25 lit briquettes to start. I had a heck of a time keeping the temp in the WSM under 275. At one point I had two of the three bottom vents closed and the third was only open 25% with the top vent open only 50%. Still couldn't get the temp down. After only 4 hours, the bark on the ribs had turned mostly black, and the ribs were over done. Any suggestions on what I could have done differently considering the weather conditions to be able to keep the temp more in the 225 to 250 area?
Click to expand...

275 is my norm for spares and BB and they always turn out great, you just have to adjust your times for the higher temps > in other words if the BBG gods throw you a curve, pay attention to the meat, if the color is getting darker that means you have to rotate and check for tender sooner.:wsm:

Tim
 
John J in Bensalem said:
Thanks all for your feedback . Yes I used the water pan. I'll go with fewer lit coals to start next time.
Click to expand...


I just smoked an 11lb BB this past weekend. My goal was to put it on my 22.5 WSM around midnight and run temps around 225-250* to have it fully cooked by 10 or 11am, give or take. I had a HELL of a time keeping the temps under 350*! I had my alarm set to go off when it hit 165* internal, but the damn thing hit 195* sometime before 6:30am because when I got up to check the meat it was already at 195* and BEEPING at me like a freight train. I pulled it at 7am when it hit 201* and it turned out great.

But the point is that I wanted to keep the temps low so the cook would take longer and I could get more sleep. I think these were my primary problems keeping down the temps:

1. No water in the water pan. Just foiled the pan and let her rip.
2. 25 lit briquettes from the start with a full ring of unlit. I swear I should know better and only use 10'ish lit briquettes, but it just never looks like enough at the bottom of my chimney.

Lesson - Next time give it a try with FEWER lit briquettes and a full water pan if I want LOW and SLOW cooking. High heat just the opposite.

This whole BBQ thing has such a learning curve!
 
I've gotten better and better with my temp control. I usually start with 12 to 15 lit with a ring of unlit. I usually just make a little dip in the center of the mound of unlit to put the lit in. When I hit about 200 I cut 2 vents and then I usually wind up with 1 vent about 1/4 of the way open to settle in around 225 to 245. It is absolutely critical to catch the WSM temp on the way up. Once you overshoot it's a pain to bring back down.

You can shut the bottom vents all the way and still get some air in, at least on mine. I've closed the top to half just to reign in the temps if they get too crazy. As I've cooked with it, I generally have gotten better and better at it. At first I was chasing temps up and down like a yo-yo. My 22.5 WSM takes a while to adjust to small vent adjustments so it's important to be patient before going and fiddling with it.
 
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