WSM 22 Temps Question


 
DBono

DBono

TVWBB Super Fan
Hi All I've been cooking a brisket since 4:30AM.. The temps were getting quite high for my cook, so I closed all bottom vents, top full open temps have been hanging around 250-260.. Is this normal? I was thinking with vents closed the temps would go lower or shut down..No air going in so what is keeping the temps up,air leak?
Thanks Dan
 
You may have leaks around the door. If so use some foil to seal it. How seasoned is the WSM? You may also want to close down the top vent some, especially if you have a lot of coals burning. Are you using the water pan with water? That will also bring the temps down. Where are you measuring the temp?
 
Hi All Only started with 6-8 lit coals..Filled the ring up removed some coals by one of the vents and added the lit ones.
The door is not tight saw some smoke coming from the sides of the door. Top vent was fully open at all times.
Lava rocks in the water pan.
Thanks Dan
 
My 22 runs hotter than the 18" and your temps are the same I got with my 22 on my first cook with it. If you close the top vent to 1/2 open you will be fine. The 22 just has more area for air to sneak in. The door on mine leaked like a sieve so I put a gasket on it. That and seasoning improved my temperature control.
 
ok 6-8 dosnt sound to much.
I also do like Lew close the top vent sometimes on my 18", i still struggling with the right amount of lit coals.
My door leaked a lot but just for the first 4 smokes, id tried to bend it but got tired as it was impossible to get it perfect
 
Hi All I think I found where the air is leaking in..At 12 I shut all the vents, now at 1:45 the WSM is still hot to the touch..I opened the door and seen some light coming from one of the vents, vent hole is shut but the metal ring is the not flush with the bowl. I'm going to see if I can slip some aluminum tape in there to make it tight.

The brisket looks good.:)
Thanks Dan

http://imgur.com/LTkPDXB

http://imgur.com/ecW1TBY

PS For some reason I can't get the pics in the post?
 
Last edited:
DBono,

If the goal is low & slow, 225 degrees F............fill the water pan with water. That is what enables the lower temps. With water in the pan, 225 thru 275 or so should be a piece of cake. The door is thin metal and can be bent slowly by hand to seal reasonably.

Top vent(s) open and adjust bottom vents for desired temp. When tweaking the bottom vents, give it 15 or 20 minutes to stabilize. When I started with my 18.5" WSM I only needed one bottom vent open about 1/2 way to reach 225. This was with a full load of blue bag briquettes. Darned wind direction & velocity plays with the temps also.

Craig H
 
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