Cannot keep temp up on 14" WSM


 
J

Jimmy D

New member
I'm in the middle of smoking a 7.5lb pork shoulder and it went extremely well - right around 225F for the first six and a half hours.

After that time, the temp has been progressively getting lower and I'm not sure how to get it back up. I've tried stirring the coals, adding coals, adding wood, etc. Those all seem to temporarily get it back up to the correct range, but as soon as I put the door back on, it begins dropping quickly again. All vents are wide open.

As I write this, I'm sitting at 212F and falling. Anyone have any quick tips I can use to get it back up to at least 225F?

For what it's worth, this is a new WSM and I lit a full ring of charcoal utilizing the Minion method. I'm using the Maverick 732 to measure temps. Thanks for any help!
 
Try propping the door open a bit, or set the lid cocked a little to see if more air helps.
and like Dave said, look for vent blockage.
 
Vents are obstruction-free. I just went and stirred things up again and it's 225 on the money, but it's been falling again ever since the door went back on. Would love to know what I'm doing wrong.
 
Is it windy outside. Last weekend I did 16.5lbs of butt on a 14.5 and after about 10 hours I had to stir and add about 10 to 15 coals every hour and half because it was windy cold and raining. This was just to keep it at 225.
 
Jimmy D said:
Vents are obstruction-free. I just went and stirred things up again and it's 225 on the money, but it's been falling again ever since the door went back on. Would love to know what I'm doing wrong.
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I don't think your doing anything wrong, just could be a bad/damp bag of charcoal.
Like Bob pointed out crack the lid or prop the door open a bit to let more air in.

Tim
 
Taking the door off definitely helped to get the temp up. I got it up to 250 with ease. Putting it back on and leaving it cracked looks like it might be doing the trick. Currently sitting at 243 and dropping slowly. It is overcast / rainy out - think the moisture in the air could have something to do with it? The wind isn't blowing much at all.
 
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the coals you added were they lit or unlit? I like to add coals that I started in the Weber chimney that have a covering of ash on them.

RIght now I am doing chicken wings with Wicked Good Charcoal, trying it for the first time, it has some monster size chunks, at least for my 14.5. I am sitting at 325 which is what I wanted but I am only going to smoke them about 90 minutes but I did let it run about 2 hours before adding the chicken, just cause I wanted to.
 
Maybe just a crazy day.
My old 18.5 normally runs hot, but today it's running lower than normal, even with strong winds.
I have a butt going, mix of KBB and lump, on since 8:30 AM, foiled dry pan, meat at 163, grate at 241, all vents wide open.
Have to dance it around every so often to keep the temps up.
 
Jeff Padell said:
the coals you added were they lit or unlit? I like to add coals that I started in the Weber chimney that have a covering of ash on them.

RIght now I am doing chicken wings with Wicked Good Charcoal, trying it for the first time, it has some monster size chunks, at least for my 14.5. I am sitting at 325 which is what I wanted but I am only going to smoke them about 90 minutes but I did let it run about 2 hours before adding the chicken, just cause I wanted to.
Click to expand...

The coals I added were unlit. If I continued to have trouble, I was thinking of adding a dozen or so after lighting them in a chimney, but looks like things are back on track now. Thanks again for all the help guys. I'll make sure to let you know how it turns out. My wife's got the cole slaw done and sitting in the fridge, so the pressure is on!
 
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