Bringing down temps?


 
DBono

DBono

TVWBB Super Fan
What is the best way to bring down run away temps.Today my WSM 22 hit 400 when I had to open the lid. I tried spritzing with water, help some still temps were high.
Thanks Dan
 
less airflow & less unlit if you started with a lot.

I wound up with an upside-down rocket engine one time when I walked away from my WSM with the lid off, the coals got ripping hot & started the fat in the waterpan on fire. It snuffed out quickly with minimal aftertaste but I won't be doing that again on purpose.
 
I usually have to close the lid vent some to try to bring temps down. Usually, I put it to 3/4 open. That is a problem on the WSM. You can't sit with the lid open too long. I've set the lid down where it didn't quite get seated and it let a ton of air in and I had a massive overshoot.
 
What I did flies in the face of conventional wisdom. I shut all of the vents until I got the temp below 300 and then slowly worked the top vent open. I sometimes close the top vent to 50% if I'm having trouble keeping the temp down. The culprit is usually wind for me. I have never had bitter tasting meat doing this.
 
I'd do as suggested; reduce airflow. Then, I would make a note about my starting method compared to ambient conditions and consider a change-up on my next cook. Unsure about your target pit temp given that you're in the Barbecue section, but you might consider starting with lesser-lit fuel on your next attempt. Or maybe I'm clueless about what you're working with :)
 
I'm with Lew. I imagine if you ran a few hours with the top vent closed you would run the risk of getting bitter meat but I've never had a problem with shutting everything down for 15 minutes or so. My WSM is 15 years old, been knocked over a few times, and isn't as air tight as it once was. Shutting all the vents is sometimes the only way to get the runaway temps down.
 
DBono said:
Hi All Next time I'm starting with fewer coals.
Thanks Dan
Click to expand...

Fewer lit. It's kind of like balancing available Air, Fuel, & existing fire (heat)

You start with a fully engulfed full ring (~15#?) & you'll have to choke it (significantly reduce available air) to lower the temp.

The very popular Minion Method calls for just a few lit coals at the beginning.

Running water in the pan helps control runaway temperatures (water boils off & turns to steam) I think....I can't really explain it and could be wrong, it might just be thermal mass but there's some evaporation effect going on in there. Water in the pan also would have likely prevented my potentially catastrophic pan fat fire. Sometimes I cringe when I see people putting their WSMs too close to the house or in covered porches.

People also run sand in the water pan, or ceramic discs but I don't see a lot of that mentioned lately. That (IMO) provides a greater heatsink so the cooker will respond slower to your efforts to raise or lower the temperature....that's pretty much why I almost always run a dry pan, the changes are more immediate.

I'm pretty much at the point where I don't really care about the temps, I mean, I have my goals and desired affect, but I haven't even been using any thermometers other than the lid & instant read (meat). I do like logging & watching the graphs, I just haven't seen my heatermeater for a while!
 
DBono said:
Hi All Next time I'm starting with fewer coals.
Thanks Dan
Click to expand...

My 15 or so years with the WSM confirms that. Keep a note of how many briquettes you fire up with and the "comfortable" temp that the WSM settles at. You'll get very helpful info.

Jeff
 
Was pan full? COLD WATER

PS A WSM ring is a Saturn rocket booster. Once it goes rogue, it's best to sit back and pop another top.
 
When you remove the lid to futz with the food, pull the whole cooking grate off and set it on a couple 2x4(s) or foil covered bricks and put the lid back on. Do whatever you gotta do then take the lid off, put the cooking grate back on, and put the lid on. The few seconds the lid is off shouldn’t let the temp get out of hand.
 
Dwain Pannell said:
When you remove the lid to futz with the food, pull the whole cooking grate off and set it on a couple 2x4(s) or foil covered bricks and put the lid back on. Do whatever you gotta do then take the lid off, put the cooking grate back on, and put the lid on. The few seconds the lid is off shouldn’t let the temp get out of hand.
Click to expand...

That's why I like adding/having handles on the mid-section. Take that off and set it on something, then put the lid on the charcoal bowl.
Gives you all the time in the world to foil, spritz, baste or whatever.:wsm:

Tim
 
timothy said:
That's why I like adding/having handles on the mid-section. Take that off and set it on something, then put the lid on the charcoal bowl.
Gives you all the time in the world to foil, spritz, baste or whatever.:wsm:

Tim
Click to expand...

Hi I'm going to put handles on the mid section, so I can pick it up.
Dan
 
DBono said:
Hi I'm going to put handles on the mid section, so I can pick it up.
Dan
Click to expand...

Putting handles on the mid-section is pretty easy, but there is a caution if using water in the pan.
You don't want that greasy stuff sloshing around hot coals.
I only run a dry foiled pan.

Tim
 
I just let my heatermeter handle it.

it's pretty rare but occasionally if the top is off for a long time and there's a lot of coal's going it can spike by 25 to 50 degrees. If just the right amount of coals are going the spike isn't really noticeable in fact it comes back to right where it left off.
 
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