Temp rising at the end of a cook


 

Brantley Morris

New member
I used my Weber Summit Charcoal Grill for the first time this past weekend. I was using the Weber charcoal briquettes. The last 30-45 minutes of the cook, the temperature kept slowly rising. I had not touched the vents, top or bottom, nor added any charcoal. Have any of you had this happen? If so, what can I attribute this to? Thanks in advance.
 
Possiblly spent coals fell through the grate and opened up new airways, allowing more of a draft which then fanned the lit coals and ignited more.
 
Thanks, Len. I was thinking along those lines, but I have never had that problem with my WSM. That charcoal grate is lower than the bottom vents, so that would never be an issue with that.
 
How long did the cook last? In other words, how long did it hold a steady temp before the temp started raising?
 
Did the weather conditions change? An increase in the wind or temperature could have been a factor. Also as the temperature of the meat approaches the finish point it could have an impact especially if your were working with a large volume of meat.
 
Did the weather conditions change? An increase in the wind or temperature could have been a factor. Also as the temperature of the meat approaches the finish point it could have an impact especially if your were working with a large volume of meat.


Yep yep. Inside of the chamber is basically a little micro-climate. The meat in the chamber would act as heat sink. Presuming constant temp from your fuel, as the internal temp of the meat rose, so would your overall chamber temp. It's kind of the reverse of the drop in chamber temp you get when you throw a cold 12lb butt in. You might have settled in at 250 for a half hour before adding the meat. Throw in 12lbs at 40 degrees and the cold thermal mass will bring your chamber temp down (even once it recovers the heat lost from lifting the lid). As the temp of the meat rises, so does the chamber temp (again, presuming consistent heat from your fuel).


Also, as Mike said, changes in outside temp will affect it as well. If it's 50 degrees outside and your fire has chamber temp at 250, if outside temp goes up to 60 degrees, your chamber temp will rise as well.
 
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Outside temperature did not change. There was no change in wind speed. It went from 320 to 366 and was still rising. I spoke to someone who has the same cooker and he said his did the same thing his first cook.
 

 

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