Always behind getting WSM up to temp - ?


 
G

GregInTexas

New member
Howdy All,

Got an 18" WSM back last October and since then have had some of the best meats of my life. However, every time I light up, using a (full) Weber Charcoal Chimney, I load the lit charcoal, close it up, top vent open, bottom vents 100% open to start.

The internal temp ramps up to about 250 at which point I choke down the 3 bottom vents to about 50% open. Then, within minutes it dies out and drops below 200. I remove the lid for a few minutes to jump start the charcoal again (Jealous Devil Lump) and repeat this cycle until I get the temps where I need them, 250-275.

This process/result has been very consistent. What am I doing wrong that causes it to take so long to get the charcoal going?

Suggestions?

GT
 
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I find it easier to sneak up on my target temp. If I want to cook at 250, I start closing off my vents at about 230. Close the vents little by little. Others may have other advice. This seems to work for me. Not to much roller coastering of temps
 
ChuckH said:
I find it easier to sneak up on my target temp. If I want to cook at 250, I start closing off my vents at about 230. Close the vents little by little. Others may have other advice. This seems to work for me. Not to much roller coastering of temps
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Keep in mind, all vents are open 100% initially until I hit that 250, then I choke down in efforts to nail that 265-275 temp. However, once th evnets are choked, it just seems to die out.


GIT
 
Just so I understand your method, you are dumping a full chimney of lit lump charcoal into your WSM with your goal of having a stable temp of 265-275? That much lit JD Lump is going give a temp of over 400 degrees.

Chris A. has an excellent instructional page on lighting the WSM:

https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/firing-up-weber-bullet-2/#minion

To hit 265-275 and be stable at that temp for hours on end, dump a bunch of unlit JD lump in your charcoal ring. Then light a few pieces of lump in your chimney. When those few pieces are lit, dump them on the unlit, assemble the cooker leaving all the vents (bottom and top) wide open, and add your food. Then follow Chuck's advice and start to close your bottom vents little by little when the temp hits 230 or so. My rule of thumb is it takes about an hour to start the cooker from dumping unlit charcoal into the charcoal ring to having a stable 275 degree temp (assuming you are not using an ATC to control the temp). Also, lump can have some temp swing to it due to its nature.
 
Maybe you're just shutting the vents down too fast. Sometimes folks get too concerned with an over shoot so they over adjust. You also can see another drop when you put the food on.

I find it easier to adjust one vent at a time rather than doing all three in portions (which is what Harry Soo recommends). But there's nothing magic about doing it that way. I start with all three fully open - so that's 9 holes on a WSM 18. Then close one vent completely -- now six holes. Then close another vent - now just three holes. At the beginning of the cook, I try just to run on only one vent (part or fully open). Then eventually start opening up vent #2 as needed. And then #3 as needed.
 
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J Grotz said:
Just so I understand your method, you are dumping a full chimney of lit lump charcoal into your WSM with your goal of having a stable temp of 265-275? That much lit JD Lump is going give a temp of over 400 degrees.

Chris A. has an excellent instructional page on lighting the WSM:

https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/firing-up-weber-bullet-2/#minion

To hit 265-275 and be stable at that temp for hours on end, dump a bunch of unlit JD lump in your charcoal ring. Then light a few pieces of lump in your chimney. When those few pieces are lit, dump them on the unlit, assemble the cooker leaving all the vents (bottom and top) wide open, and add your food. Then follow Chuck's advice and start to close your bottom vents little by little when the temp hits 230 or so. My rule of thumb is it takes about an hour to start the cooker from dumping unlit charcoal into the charcoal ring to having a stable 275 degree temp (assuming you are not using an ATC to control the temp). Also, lump can have some temp swing to it due to its nature.
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Correct.

Perhaps I am not starting the lighting process soon enough. I start about 30 minutes before I plan on placing the meats in the WSM.

Above you suggested at least and hour. I will try that.

G
 
Like was said above, if you wait to add your meats you are going to have a temp drop.
Using a good quality lump or natural briquets, load the meat on as soon as you start your minion.
 
GregInTexas said:
Correct.

Perhaps I am not starting the lighting process soon enough. I start about 30 minutes before I plan on placing the meats in the WSM.

Above you suggested at least and hour. I will try that.

G
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I re-read my post and I don't think I made the most important point clear enough: you are starting with too much lit charcoal.

It doesn't take much lit lump charcoal to sustain 265-270.

Here's a good step-by-step of the Minion Method with lump:
https://www.smoking-meat.com/minion-method-weber-smokey-mountain

In particular, step 4 is only 1/2 full (see pic). He says 2/3 full in the write-up, but 1/2 full is enough.
minion-method-4.jpg
 
In addition to too much lit, could be that your temps are a bit more fickle/reactive to vent fiddling due to using lump?

Lump generally burns hotter and faster than briqs do. So maybe try briqs and see if you get a smoother ramp on your temps. I use briqs myself (KBB or K Pro) so I can't speak to the difference between the two. But when using briqs, all I need to get 250F is 10-15 coals lit. Like 1/4 of a big chimney or 1/2 of the compact.
 
I’m going to ask a dumb question here, and I’m not trying to come across as insulting. The lit charcoal in your chimney... you are dumping that onto a bowl of unlit charcoal, yes? I kind of get the impression that the charcoal that is lit in your chimney is all you are using.
 
To add:

One of the things that I think is hampering the cook temp is that lump charcoal tends to have some really big pieces in there, that do not light easily with respect a lump next to it. I will also begin to break up those larger pieces during my next smoke.

G
 
my 18 wsm is well broke in, first thing I do with a new unit is make sure all sections are not out of round by measuring across in 2 directions and squeeze the sides to get the measurement within 1/16" of each other...once the unit has say 5 or more cooks in it any gaps should start filling in lowering air leakage...over time I recheck for out of round and adjust accordingly if needed....doing all of these I mostly run the bottom vents wide open and of course the top vent always wide open...I start a full chimney of coals and dump them onto unlit coal, assemble the unit with a DRY water pan covered in heavy duty foil....9 times out of 10 the unit runs between 250 and 280, I rarely make any adjusts to the bottom air vents...



try backing the vents down to say 20% when the temp is about 10-20 degrees from target, make micro adjustments to all vents equally until the unit stabilizes the temp you want .... say 1/8" increments
 
One of the things that I think is hampering the cook temp is that lump charcoal tends to have some really big pieces in there, that do not light easily with respect a lump next to it. I will also begin to break up those larger pieces during my next smoke.

That could be part of it. Briqs pack together tighter and more uniform. So the fire spread in Minion mode is very consistent. Here's why our Dear Leader Chris A. recommends new WSM-ers to start off with basic KBB briqs:

Why I Recommend Kingsford To New WSM Owners​

I recommend Kingsford Charcoal Briquets to new WSM owners because it’s a very consistent product that is available nationwide, at an affordable price, and it provides a long, consistent burn. Using Kingsford takes one variable out of the barbecue equation, making it easier for folks to duplicate the recipes I publish here on the website.

However, once a person has some experience with Kingsford under their belt, I would suggest that they experiment with other fuels. Some will stick with Kingsford, while others will switch to other brands of briquettes or lump charcoal.
 
Bradley Mack said:
I’m going to ask a dumb question here, and I’m not trying to come across as insulting. The lit charcoal in your chimney... you are dumping that onto a bowl of unlit charcoal, yes? I kind of get the impression that the charcoal that is lit in your chimney is all you are using.
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GregInTexas said:
Yes indeed. A full load.


GIT
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Thanks for clearing that up. I was under the same impression as Bradley. I hope that none of my comments came across as condescending or insulting.
 
GregInTexas said:
To add:

One of the things that I think is hampering the cook temp is that lump charcoal tends to have some really big pieces in there, that do not light easily with respect a lump next to it. I will also begin to break up those larger pieces during my next smoke.

G
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Hey Greg, lots of good advice for you in this thread. I have not tried JD lump, but I have been using lots of Rockwood and I think you're on the right track here with breaking up the bigger pieces. When I see pieces much over 5" long I break them up. Usually I can break in half just using my hands but once in a while a hammer or other such implement of destruction comes in handy. I have no issues maintaining temps with lump, but generally agree that briqs are easier to use due to the uniform shape. I like the one vent at a time approach as well. I don't think a fire in the WSM cares which vent the air is coming from for the most part (given calm winds and favorable weather).
 
Heya everyone I struggle with fire mechanics also... after reading your thread and hearing people’s processes I’m a little confused now.

On my 22.5 wsm I usually have a fire ring of unlit coals over ~2x2” wood chunks. Almost a whole 18lb bag... and I evenly spread out half a chimney of lit briqs and I start with the bottom vents 1/2 open until the internal temp reaches about 175-185. Then I drop the B vents to 30% open. Top exhaust 100% open. Once it starts reaching 245-250 (about 45 minutes to an hour)I close the top exhaust a little bit to maintain and get a thinner smoke. if I’m not careful the coals will all catch fire and it will be very hot and rising rapidly.
How is everyone leaving everything open until 230 ish??
 
KevanCronk said:
Heya everyone I struggle with fire mechanics also... after reading your thread and hearing people’s processes I’m a little confused now.

On my 22.5 wsm I usually have a fire ring of unlit coals over ~2x2” wood chunks. Almost a whole 18lb bag... and I evenly spread out half a chimney of lit briqs and I start with the bottom vents 1/2 open until the internal temp reaches about 175-185. Then I drop the B vents to 30% open. Top exhaust 100% open. Once it starts reaching 245-250 (about 45 minutes to an hour)I close the top exhaust a little bit to maintain and get a thinner smoke. if I’m not careful the coals will all catch fire and it will be very hot and rising rapidly.
How is everyone leaving everything open until 230 ish??
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I leave the top vent open 100% of the time, section air leaks can cause the temp to spike up if you are closing the bottom vents down to almost a closed position. I have a tel tru gauge mounted in the dome which is more accurate than the stock gauge ...
 
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