First Time Smoker - Temperature issue


 
R

RobGensior

New member
Hi everyone,

Just purchased the WSM 18.5 after years and years of gas grilling and always wanted to try a smoker. First time out I made baby back ribs. Used a nice dry rub, filled the water pan, minion method, used my maverick thermometers, etc. Felt like a pro.

Saw a recommendation on here regarding the thermometer mount so I flipped the door on the smoker and threaded the probes through the small gap. Worked great.

Maintained 250 for three hours and all was going great. My recipe called to check the ribs after three hours but it would probably take another 1 1/2 hours to finish. I lifted the lid to check and I opened the door to check the wood and sealed everything up again.

Next thing I know the temperature climbed to over 300 and I couldn't get it down. Tried closing all the vents (with the top open just a bit). Any thoughts? I'm assuming I let in too much air and with a new smoker it can be difficult to control, but everything was going really well those first three hours.

Anyway, I took them off a bit earlier than I would have like but they were really amazing. What a difference with the smoke. I used KC masterpiece and a bit of honey to finish them. Came out great.

Just a little nervous to open the grill next time.

Thanks.

Rob
 
I think your diagnosis is correct. The new ones are tougher to bring down because they are so "clean" there are small air leaks and a lot of heat reflecting on the shiny inside. The probes through the door may also be allowing some air in.

Do you use water in the pan? If not you may consider doing so, at least until the smoker is more seasoned. If you did use water, it is also possible that it used up the water and lost its "heat sink" and needed a refill.

But my guess is that it is an air flow issue. I would close up the bottom vents completely if this happens and expect to need to restrict the air flow more than others until you get some gunk built up. if you don't want to wait, there are some gasket kits and other mods posted to that forum that folks use to help out with this.

The important thing is the ribs turned out great!
 
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I am a new owner of a 22.5 WSM. It has been hard to control the temps after taking the lid off or opening the door. I am 6 cooks into my smoker, and I can say each time the WSM has responded better to airflow/temps control. I started out on the first smoke with the bottom vents closed and the top vent 1/8 open. Now I have the top fully open, and the bottom vents 1/8 open. I have been averaging 265 for temps.
 
I agree with J, but would just like to add one thing.... sometimes when you open up the smoker and you still have wood on the coals, the wood will ignite instead of just smoldering and bring the temp up.

Also, do some reading on here and see what you feel about using a heat sink like a clay saucer instead of water in the pan. I find it to be easier to control and less hassle, but everyone has a different opinion for their own setup

Ok, so that was 2 things

Welcome to the forum
 
Yeah, leave the top closed as much as possible. If you're opening it to check ribs, do it *fast* then get it closed. The longer the lid is off, the more your fire gets to breathe and get roaring hot.

When it's time for me to foil ribs, I lay out the foil and everything that goes in it, then I quickly lift the edge of the lid enough to get my tongs in and pick up a slab, then close it right up while I do my thing with the foil. Reverse process to put them back in the pit.

I also agree that the newness of your pit made it harder to wrestle the temps back down. But the most likely culprit is just that you left the lid off way longer than necessary.
 
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