Does the wsm bottom vent position affect smoke quality?


 
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Dan A

TVWBB Member
On my wsm I've always smoked with the bottom vents around 1/2 way open and left the top vent fully open. My reasoning behind this was temp stability and an easy exit for the smoke. I can hold 225, 250, 275 or anything in between for hours with as little as a couple degree fluctuation. Recently I was watching a bbq tv show and they recommended that the wsm bottom vents be fully open and adjust the temp by the top vent (opposite of what I do). So I researched it and weber also said that. The reasoning behind their theory was that it allowed more oxygen to fuel the fire and produce a higher quality whiter smoke. I've always thought that you want the smoke to travel out the top vent quickly and not sit in the wsm. Has anyone tried different vent settings and noticed a difference in smoke quality ( white or dark smoke)?
 
Dan Abeyta said:
On my wsm I've always smoked with the bottom vents around 1/2 way open and left the top vent fully open. My reasoning behind this was temp stability and an easy exit for the smoke. I can hold 225, 250, 275 or anything in between for hours with as little as a couple degree fluctuation. Recently I was watching a bbq tv show and they recommended that the wsm bottom vents be fully open and adjust the temp by the top vent (opposite of what I do).
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If it ain't broke don't fix it Imo..:wsm:
You do want the white smoke to get outa thar quickly so you can achieve the thin blue smoke.
Tim
 
There are many paths to the same destination. If you found what works for you why change?

This works for me: I use both. I rarely use water anymore therefore I barely crack the bottom vents. Sometimes that's still too much so I close the top vent up to 50%. I can lock in temps for a very long time this way.

I always keep the top vent open more than the bottom. This way I maintain a positive chimney effect where hot air escaping from the top draws in cold air through the bottom.
 
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Dwain Pannell said:
There are many paths to the same destination. If you found what works for you why change?

This works for me: I use both. I rarely use water anymore therefore I barely crack the bottom vents. Sometimes that's still too much so I close the top vent up to 50%. I can lock in temps for a very long time this way.

I always keep the top vent open more than the bottom. This way I maintain a positive chimney effect where hot air escaping from the top draws in cold air through the bottom.
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I had the same question as the OP. My biggest mistake on my first few smokes was using to much lit charcoal when using the minion method. I was using 40-50 lit coals and reduced this to 15 on my last cook. I used the exhaust vent(1/2 open)on my last smoke and had a much easier time holding stable temps. I only used one bottom vent, which I left almost fully open and closed the other two. I'm not sure if only using one bottom vent will allow the coals to burn evenly. I'm new also, so Dwains method of opening each vent probably works better. Also, I did not use a waterpan last cook and found it just as easy to maintain temp( maybe I got lucky).

I don't know if I buy into the leaving the exhaust vent open fully to not allow white smoke to accumulate in the top of the smoker and cause bitter tasting meat. If you let the white smoke stop billowing while bringing your smoker up to temp and then put your meat on, I would think you are probably OK as long as your top vent is somewhat open and you have some intake air coming in. The BGE and WSMs using an ATC all use the top vent to control temp. Many people use these set ups and produce good products.
 
KenB said:
I don't know if I buy into the leaving the exhaust vent open fully to not allow white smoke to accumulate in the top of the smoker and cause bitter tasting meat. If you let the white smoke stop billowing while bringing your smoker up to temp and then put your meat on, I would think you are probably OK as long as your top vent is somewhat open and you have some intake air coming in.
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Different strokes..:wsm: Some of us don't wait for anything before we load the meat on. To me waiting for the WSM to come up to temp is counterproductive because whatever you have gained is quickly lost by adding a big ole hunk of heat sink.
Now if your waiting for a clean burning fire? fine, just leave the top vent fully open to exhaust all the white smoke, but as far as getting the WSM up to temps? You'll have to start over once you add the heat sink.

Tim
 
Tim, the white smoke doesn't impact the taste of the meat? It smells pretty nasty.

I usually wait 5-10 minutes for the heavy smoke to stop and then add my meat.
 
KenB said:
Tim, the white smoke doesn't impact the taste of the meat? It smells pretty nasty.

I usually wait 5-10 minutes for the heavy smoke to stop and then add my meat.
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Depends on what you call "white smoke" that smells nasty?

Brother I use good quality smoke-wood with the right moisture content and if any of that smells nasty I certainly wouldn't use it!
Edit: I should add that smoke-wood should make you want to be there, as in a pleasant smell that makes everything in life good.:wsm:
Tim
 
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Maybe eventually I will try lump, but I still need more practice controlling my temps. I have heard lump runs hot and is more difficult to control temps.
 
KenB said:
Maybe eventually I will try lump, but I still need more practice controlling my temps. I have heard lump runs hot and is more difficult to control temps.
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It will run hot (if you let it) but so can any fuel. The thing is lump is a natural product, you never know what you'll get when opening a bag. Briqs are uniformed in shape and burn times, lump requires some sorting, shaking in the ring to really pack it in and avoid any huge gaps.
I started with lump when I bought the WSM and it did take some trial & error to dial in at first, but no more difficult then when I started switching between briqs and lump.
Give it a go one day and see what you think.

Tim
 
I'm of the belief that you shouldn't choke the exhaust (top vent) to control temps, but rather use the intakes (lower vents) to do so.
 
The first book I read on smoking meats, Low And Slow, the author was adamant about using lump and not briquettes. Maybe I'll try his methods on my next smoke. Has anyone read this book and used the authors techniques? They look fairly straightforward
 
Miguel M said:
I'm of the belief that you shouldn't choke the exhaust (top vent) to control temps, but rather use the intakes (lower vents) to do so.
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Miguel, like I said in my first post I agree with you on which vents to use for temp control. However, I have on occasion been unhappy with the taste of different smoke woods. For example, cherry and apple don't taste as good as hickory or oak to me. Not sure if it's the wood or maybe how much oxygen it takes to smoke different woods properly. I've also watched a couple of videos for the automatic thermostatic temp controllers and they recommend you choke the top vent quite a bit. Ultimately temp control is important, but I want to make sure the smoke wood is smoking properly. Stick burners seem to have actual flames, not smoldering wood sitting on charcoal. Maybe I'm thinking to much though.
 
Dan Abeyta said:
Miguel, like I said in my first post I agree with you on which vents to use for temp control. However, I have on occasion been unhappy with the taste of different smoke woods. For example, cherry and apple don't taste as good as hickory or oak to me. Not sure if it's the wood or maybe how much oxygen it takes to smoke different woods properly. I've also watched a couple of videos for the automatic thermostatic temp controllers and they recommend you choke the top vent quite a bit. Ultimately temp control is important, but I want to make sure the smoke wood is smoking properly. Stick burners seem to have actual flames, not smoldering wood sitting on charcoal. Maybe I'm thinking to much though.
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Good point on the ATC. The only way to control temps that are getting to hot is to dial back the exhaust vent. All the bottom are closed except for the vent the ATC is installed on.

My concern with only using one bottom vent is not getting a clean burning fire. The more oxygen, the cleaner the fire burns. I guess the blower on the ATC pushes air under the entire bed of coals allowing a clean burning fire. By just leaving one vent open on the bottom w/o the ATC I don't think the fire is getting enough oxygen. I'm finding( for me and Im just a beginner) that my cooks with all three intake vents used resulted in meat that was less smokey.
 
I haven't used lump yet, but I have recently started warming to Stubbs all natural briquettes. Personally I like the predictability of briquettes. I had some issues with long (14+ hour) cooks and too much ash from Kingsford blue and opted to try Stubbs at the recommendation of a friend. I once read charcoal types described a bit like a spectrum. On one end you have lump, on the other end you have "traditional" briquettes (i.e. KBB) and somewhere in the middle you have "hardwood" or "all natural" briquettes. These "hardwood" or "all natural" briquettes have the clean burning nature of lump but the predictability (and "ease") of briquettes, making them sort of the best of both worlds.

They are more expensive then KBB, but they burn cleaner (especially when lighting) and they burn more fully (so there is less ash).

Just an idea if you're looking for something other than a "traditional" briquette.
 
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