New mini wont get hot?


 

MilesVDustin

TVWBB Member
Made a new mini from an sjs. Vents clear, flower pot tray diffuser, 15 briqs lit dumped on top of 20 unlit, 3 hunks of apple for smoke during this seasoning run. Cant get temp over 200, have a dial thermometer in the side at 5" down from the pot rim. Ideas?
 
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Any wind? That'll keep it from getting hot.

Buy a 4x8 piece of plywood, cut it into 4x4s (or buy 2 4x4s) and add a couple of hinges for a portable wind barrier. If you have the tools, cut some slots for carrying handles.
 
Look for threads in this forum by CaseT, he's got the mini SJS down to a science - my only question is did you do the the tuna can vent block? It's most important
 
Did a tuna can vent, yes. It was pretty windy. I stuck a thermometer in the top vent and it read a lot higher than the one in the side, about 70 degrees higher. Which should i trust?
 
I would put more faith in the one that was reading hotter.

FWIW, I smoke under my 2nd floor deck. When it's windy I hang a welding blanket (hanging from ropes looped into hooks) from the rafters.
 
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Did you cut the bottom of the pot out, or just drill holes in it? I've built 2 mini's and cut the bottom out of both. Never a problem getting the temps up.
 
I cut the whole bottom out of the pot, flower pot base diffuser sitting on a charcoal grate in the very bottom. The diffuser cracked about 30 minutes into the seasoning run. One thing i need to do is make the charcoal basket.

That stinks that the side thermometer is pretty much worthless. Wish i hadnt drilled the hole.
 
Take the side thermo out and put a screw and nut in the hole. Only other thing I can think of is the flower pot base is to big and restricting air flow. I had to go to a smaller one.
 
Miles, you might try replacing the clay pot base with a 10"-11" stainless or aluminum pie pan wrapped with foil. That is what I use in my Mini, and can get to 350* with no problem.
 
Would a 9" pan fit the bill? And just wrap it in foil?

Miles, I have been using a Fat Daddio's 12" pan I ordered off of Amazon (using the link on the forum of course). Yes, I wrap it top and bottom with hd foil, and leave the top concave but not touching the bottom to catch grease. It comes in 9"-12" sizes. I think a 9" might be a little on the small side. I left about a 1" or 11/2" "lip" around the diameter of the bottom of the pot when I cut it out, so the 12" has worked well in it. Your guess is good as mine as far as which size to get, but experimentation is part of the fun of the Mini. Good luck.
 
Miles, thought of a question, are you running the top vent wide open, and controlling temp with the bottom one? I only close the top vent down (no more than 1/2) on any of my Webers if I have to, to get temp down.
 
I had it running wide open. Right now with a smaller clay diffuser its saying 250 on the side probe about 1/2" under the grate, my thermomter from my big green egg in the top vent says 350.
 
So I decided to just trust the side thermometer and I cooked a big fatty in it for its maiden cook. Thing turned out spectacular and I was able to dial in the temp at about 240-250 with the bottom vents half open. Wide open ran to about 365. Overall, I am pleased with the cooker!
 
I fired up my big green egg and stabilized it at 300 and the thermo stuck in the top vent would read 75 degrees or so higher than the regular thermo, so its the same as the mini.
 
Unless you test your therms you'll never know which one is accurate. I don't have any fixed therms in my mini-wsm's. I have never found one that is accurate enough for me to drill a hole in the side of my smoker. I also like to monitor the pit temp where I'm cooking. So for me remote therms with probes that I can place at cooking grate level is what I prefer. Being able to test the probes is also key. I use the iGrill2 4 probe unit. All four probes are with in a degree or two of where they should be for my elevation. I test them monthly and sometimes even more often than that. My 14.5 WSM with factory lid therm reads 25°-30° degrees higher than my tested probes placed at the same location.

For the mini you will find that you get best efficiency with a charcoal basket. I'd also ditch the tuna can and add two side vents. Ash becomes a moot point with that mod. When lighting the mini, fill the basket completely full. If you have side vents use a torch to light (Side light method). You'll be at pit temp in 8-10 minutes with no white smoke. When you are done smoking close all vents to snuff the fire. Next smoke shake the ash from the charcoal basket dump any ash that's in the base. Add new charcoal to the old that's in the basket.

Diffusers, I rarely use them. When I do its the steamer insert wrapped in foil, or I have a 8"x9"x1" hunk of granite wrapped in foil.

As mentioned one of the biggest culprits in fire management is wind. A good solution is to get some reflectix insulation (My Ace hardware sells it by the foot). Its a foil faced bubble insulation. Comes in several widths. Cut a length big enough to wrap around the mini, leaving a 2"-4" gap all around. Tape or use binder clips to join the piece to form a cylinder. Place around the mini.

Something like this:

6613683f_Reflectix225.jpeg


900x900px-LL-5733a297_downsized_1127140953a.jpeg
 

 

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