Controlling the Air with the Lower Vents


 
Roger R.

Roger R.

TVWBB Fan
I've been using my little 18.5" WSM for several years now, and love it.
Most times I can zero it right in, for a steady temperature, with no problem.
But some days I fiddle around with it trying to keep the temp exact... Which
is a big bother & a lot of work.

I always burn with all 3 of my lower vents adjusted the same, and the top
lid vent 100% open. On the bottom, if I close (or open) one - they all get the
same amount of open or close.

So my question is this - to eliminate 66% of the fiddling around, can I cook
with one lower vent only? Long ago someone who was mentoring me how to
smoke meats told me that you must use all 3 of the lower vents on a WSM
or the fire will burn uneven and cook the meat uneven. BUT - I see that a lot of
people are using Guru's these days, and Guru's only blow through one hole.

I'd like to hear comments on this question, as I would love to cut my temp adjusting
down 66%, as long as it doesn't affect the meats that I cook.

Thanks!
 
It's no problem using one vent at all. The heat is all rising up anyway. There may be a slight difference around the edge of the grates but I have never heard anyone on here mention it as far as uneven cook. Most of my cooks end up with only one vent open.
What CAN make a difference is how the open vents are in regards to wind direction.

Hope this helps. I'm sure other will chime in
 
Roger R. said:
...Most times I can zero it right in, for a steady temperature, with no problem.
But some days I fiddle around with it trying to keep the temp exact...
Click to expand...

You can use one vent if you want. It's your cooker. Make it cook the way you want.

My philosophy is the temp is a range, temps tend to rise and fall within that range. I let it happen. I'm not going stess over dialing in a temp and it stay at exactly that temp without computer aides. I shoot for 275* measured at the grate on most cooks and if it is inside 230* thru 290* I'm OK with that. If you want to shoot for another temp range go for it. You don't want it to stay at the peeks forever but as long as it comes back up/down you're fine. I like to let it cook.
 
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Rick Body said:
It's no problem using one vent at all. The heat is all rising up anyway. There may be a slight difference around the edge of the grates but I have never heard anyone on here mention it as far as uneven cook. Most of my cooks end up with only one vent open.
What CAN make a difference is how the open vents are in regards to wind direction.

Hope this helps. I'm sure other will chime in
Click to expand...


I live on a river, so I get wind a lot. I made a wind screen which works very well, but it seems
like, if I start using only 1 set of vent holes, that I 'might' be able to just switch vents and use
the wind screen less? (Does it work that way?)
 
I leave the top vent fully open.

I start a cook with all 3 bottom vents fully open. After it gets going, I close 2 of them and only use 1 vent to control the cook.

Bob
 
Bob Mann said:
I leave the top vent fully open.

I start a cook with all 3 bottom vents fully open. After it gets going, I close 2 of them and only use 1 vent to control the cook.

Bob
Click to expand...

This is what I do.

Depending on the wind and what I'm cooking, I may open the vent facing the wind or the one opposite the wind.
 
I'm with Bob, top vent fully open, close 2 of the bottom vents and adjust the third. Not sure if it makes any difference but I use the bottom vent thats closest to me and have the top vent located furthest from me. I've only done 1 cook so far, an 11 hour pork butt, that turned out great and had no problems with temps. May have been beginner's luck but I'll take it!
 
I figure if Weber designed it with 3 bottom vents, that's what I use.:wsm:
If winds a problem, I'll rotate the lid vent downwind, and use a wind shield.

Tim
 
Rick Body said:
It's no problem using one vent at all. The heat is all rising up anyway. There may be a slight difference around the edge of the grates but I have never heard anyone on here mention it as far as uneven cook. Most of my cooks end up with only one vent open.
What CAN make a difference is how the open vents are in regards to wind direction.

Hope this helps. I'm sure other will chime in
Click to expand...

So the vents are not actually placed down there to be used necessarily at the same time -
more to be used depending on wind direction?

Do you tend to rotate the upper lid vent to be opposite the one lower vent you are using?

I will try this this weekend. I typically always have good cooks, but "sometimes" I spend a lot of time
chasing the fire, to hold it steady.

I am investigating an automatic fan system, as that too might take a lot of the work out of the process...
I just hope it doesn't take the "soul" out of the process too!
 
Use one vent on bottom if you want to and don't worry about positioning the top vent one way or the other. I feel you don't need a fan system. In fact, I had one and sold it because the WSM rides within a range. I like to use water within 1" of the lip and let the temp rise and fall as it wishes. This is a stress free hobby. Don't chase temps. In this chart of an actual pork butt cook -- the blue line is the cooker temp. I used two chimneys of unlit lump and one chimney of lit lump and did not adjust lower vents -- I think they were open 100% the whole time. I pulled the butt off at 1700. Just let it go.

PorkButtCook_zps2402aedf.png
 
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I haven't used water for years. I filled my water bowl with sand and placed a foil lined terracotta tray on top of that.

This holds the temp and I don't have to mess with water.

I will try the one vent cooking and see how it goes - which I think will be fine, after reading all
the positive posts.

Thanks for your tips.
 
I cooked some ribs last night - using only one set of holes (no fan).

It was easier than messing with the three vents, but the ribs came out dry, after 4 hrs at 225 - 235.
That could have been the meat, but could it have been the use of only one vent and an uneven cooking?

I ask this because I am thinking about buying a BBQ Guru, but if using the 1 vent, with the Guru, is going to
dry out my meats, then I will rethink my Guru purchase.

Does the use of 1 vent dry your meats out?

Does using a Guru tend to dry out your meats?

...again - it could have just been the particular ribs that I bought.
 
Tim McCann said:
4 hours using the 3-2-1 method or did you leave them on for 4 hours. I'm assuming that you did the 3-2-1
Click to expand...

I never use the 3-2-1 method... I have, but typically, I like the results that I get just smoking them.
As I was eating them, I did think of the 3-2-1 method!

Frankly, it might have been the actual meat. Sometimes it is better than others. I was just asking
about this because it was my first time using one vent only. Using the one vent (vs all 3) seemed
to be a bit easier. If it is "as good" on a WSM, I'd like to take the next step with an auto fan, like the
Guru. Going back and forth to control the temp gets really old and during the night (sleep time) it
gets even older - faster.
 
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