Dual Exhausts

[Gary S]

It was a warm day here today 40 degrees reaching 50. Planned a brisket cook, HH. Heard about using cans to improve performance in windy conditions. I thought I would try it out even though the smoker was somewhat sheltered. I have two dome vents. I cooked a 13 lb brisket to 168 degrees in three and a half hours. The wind came up for a few minutes...pretty gusty and took 50 degrees from my smoker in no time flat.

For the most part the Dome therm stayed at 300 degrees otherwise.

I pretty much followed the compilation Steve Cutchen put together and with the exception of being done a bit sooner it worked out really well. I used my own rub but otherwise followed the instructions for foiling and cooking the point. I can't honestly say there is any advantage to placing cans over the dome vents.

I have also found there is not the smoke flavour with HH. This is the 4th HH I have done this year. I really put the oak and maple to it, four pieces at a time up until it became time to foil. None of my HH cooks produce the same smokey flavour of LNS. I continued to smoke the point after foiling the flat. The flat after foiling came off in an hour and a half and yielded a cup of liquid. I rested it and then put it in the cooler with towels. The burnt ends dissappeared before we knew what happened?? Everything worked out really well. I can't beat the convenience of HH but I can beat the flavour with LNS.

 

[Morgan C.]

Hi Gary!! I have read this a couple times and don't get it? So are the cans just set over your top vents? Oh and I totally agree with your flavor observation! I often have thought the same (depending on what I cook)...I seem to get more smoke flavor on the slow and low as well..poultry I can get smoke smokiness but beef and pork not so much!

 

[Gary S]

Hi Gary!! I have read this a couple times and don't get it? So are the cans just set over your top vents?

Yes Morgan, these are just 19oz soup, tomato, bean cans whatever. They are just marginally smaller than the vent tabs on the 18 and so you just squeeze them over and friction does the rest. They won't fall off and you can rotate the can for top vent settings. I put some black paint on them for effect. Can't have my smoker looking too shabby. I thought I would try them.

 

[Dave Russell]

So Gary, do you think the cans helped much?

I like J. Hoke's rainy weather suggestion of leaving the can bottom alone and cutting out an opening on one side with a church key. I also like the easy removable friction fit of a regular can on the 18.5", but I haven't found cans to fit my 22.5" yet, the one I use the most.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Not sure if they are effective but the cans look cool.

 

[Gary S]

Dave, I must have missed J. Hokes post so not sure about that but from my point of view I think the wind simply blowes most of the heat right out of the smoker. I know you have the second dome vent as do I. Once you generate that extra air flow we know temps come up pretty quick but I was really surprised at loosing 50 degrees in practically no time at all, less than thirty minutes. All vents were open and it had been holding steady at 290-300 degrees for about two and a half hours. The cans did not help prevent that in my view. I pulled the mat with the smoker in closer to the house and temps came right back up. Funny thing was I moved the smoker before the cook to give it more shelter as I usually have it on the other side of my deck. I would not consider the wind to have been extreme, just started to gust a bit and then tapered off.

I wish Weber made an insulated smoker, it would certainly retain the heat much better. I think this is why we see some of our members building complete enclosures for them.

 

[Dave Russell]

Thanks. Guess there's no substitute for a good windbreak or something to actually insulate a wsm. Tell you what, though. Even with two top vents and nice weather, to maintain temps much over 300* for any length of time I need a LOT of fully lit K Comp or fresh lump, and NOT a lot of meat.

 

[Gary S]

Thanks. Guess there's no substitute for a good windbreak or something to actually insulate a wsm. Tell you what, though. Even with two top vents and nice weather, to maintain temps much over 300* for any length of time I need a LOT of fully lit K Comp or fresh lump, and NOT a lot of meat.

Agreed. I could not have gone hotter if I had wanted to. I had my custom charcoal basket full, packed tight and then used a full chimney of lit Maple Leaf briquettes. I was up to temp in something like 39 minutes with the 13 lb brisket, dry pan foiled.

 

[J Hoke]

I did 2 spatchcocked chickens and 4 big breasts on Sunday. My smoking area is totally enclosed and as soon as I put the meat on, the temp dropped from 325 to 280 and even with all vents open, 2 top vents, and the Auber blowing continuously, 300-305 was it. I only used about 1/3 chimney lit on Royal Oak lump so may try more lit next time plus I have ordered the larger Auber fan.

The only time temp went up was when I didn't want it to, when I took the grate off to turn the birds and I did that as quick as possible. Lid off, grate off, lid back on, the the reverse. Temps shot up to 350-360 and it took a lot of work to get them back down. I have started closing all vents a few minutes before I remove the lid, but it isn't long enough.

Any suggestions on controlling these spikes?

 

[Gary S]

I think it's all about the extra oxygen the fire gets when you lift the lid. When you really think about it our smokers are just big chimneys with a top on them. They are reduced 3 to 1 with the lid or in our case 3 to 2. Lid comes off and it becomes a free burn with no restriction. I agree with your idea of smothering the coals before hand. I think it will help but the faster you can get the lid back on the better. Kinda like a wood stove when you open the door.