Fuel usage and temp too low?


 
W

Werner

TVWBB Member
Hi...

I bought the new WSM last Xmas and am embarrassed to say that today was the first time I was able to use it after a very busy summer.

I chose something prety basic. After my first cook I have a few questions. I did some loin back ribs and used the minion method. I figured I wouldnt fill the bowl completely since I would only need 4-6 hours on these. What I noticed is the temp having trouble getting above 225. I think there is some learning curve with the new WSM and the dampers with me but I was surprised how quickly the fuel was consumed and how difficult it was to get above 225. Usually I dont smoke much above 225 but its nice to be in a 225-250 range.

I got maybe only four hours out of the charcoal (just Kingsford) before having to add more. If there was a leak I would suspect I would be running hot.

Here are a few obvservations and mistakes I know I made. First I used cold tap water for the bowl. Probably quite a bit of charcoal used getting this up to temp. I varied the dampers from full to half without getting a good equilibrium, but I think thats mostly me getting used to it.

Also it was 55 or 55 degrees all day with a slight breeze. Its 40 now and dropping quickly. I live in New England after all.

I guess the question I have is whether this is normal? More fuel at the start? Set up a barrier? Dont cook in the fall? I hear of folks getting 18 hours with a load of charcoal and was surprised to only get 4 hours with maybe 1/2 to 2/3 full. Again the cooker is brand new so maybe that is part of it.

Lastly, whisps of smoke from the door and lid I am assuming are pretty normal especially before more use.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or comments.

Werner
 
Werner,first of all.welcome to the forum!
Second,always load the charcoal chamber full! It is better to have more fuel,than to have to add more later!
Also,the thermometer on the WSM is notoriously off! You may have well been running at 250+. And sometimes even a slight breeze will burn your charcoal faster.
Another thing. Until you get several cooks under your belt,the WSM will not be "seasoned". Each cook will build a layer of gunk that will seal off the joints. You don't want it completely air-tight though!
But everyone has to start from the beginning. Keep up the good work,and sooner or later you'll have some d#&%! fine Q!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Werner:
Hi...

I bought the new WSM last Xmas and am embarrassed to say that today was the first time I was able to use it after a very busy summer.

<span class="ev_code_BLUE">Is it a 18" or the 22"?</span>

I chose something prety basic. After my first cook I have a few questions. I did some loin back ribs and used the minion method. I figured I wouldnt fill the bowl completely since I would only need 4-6 hours on these. What I noticed is the temp having trouble getting above 225. I think there is some learning curve with the new WSM and the dampers with me but I was surprised how quickly the fuel was consumed and how difficult it was to get above 225. Usually I dont smoke much above 225 but its nice to be in a 225-250 range.

<span class="ev_code_BLUE">I always start with a full ring of charcoal. Are you just adjusting the bottom dampers and leaving the top one totally open? </span>


I got maybe only four hours out of the charcoal (just Kingsford) before having to add more. If there was a leak I would suspect I would be running hot.

Here are a few obvservations and mistakes I know I made. First I used cold tap water for the bowl. Probably quite a bit of charcoal used getting this up to temp. I varied the dampers from full to half without getting a good equilibrium, but I think thats mostly me getting used to it.

<span class="ev_code_BLUE">I agree that trying to heat cold water will use more fuel.</span>

Also it was 55 or 55 degrees all day with a slight breeze. Its 40 now and dropping quickly. I live in New England after all.

I guess the question I have is whether this is normal? More fuel at the start? Set up a barrier? Dont cook in the fall? I hear of folks getting 18 hours with a load of charcoal and was surprised to only get 4 hours with maybe 1/2 to 2/3 full. Again the cooker is brand new so maybe that is part of it.

<span class="ev_code_BLUE">I would say normal to me. There are plenty of us that cook all winter in well below freezing temps, but it will use more fuel.</span>

Lastly, whisps of smoke from the door and lid I am assuming are pretty normal especially before more use.

<span class="ev_code_BLUE">Smoke whisps from around the door and lid are normal, after you get some gunk built up it will leak less.</span>

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or comments.

Werner </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
Go without the water--just foil up the water pan. Search/read all the posts on clay saucer etc. I never seem to have runaway temp as a problem.

Smoker will hold heat a little better when it gets "seasoned" some.

Keep a BBQ log in a spiral book. Note teh weather, how much weight of meat you have in the cooker, how much of what fuel, water, rub, sauce etc. Chart columns with time, temp, top vent %, bottom vent % and notes. Good way to see how your WSM works on your patio in your weather. Also note at the bottom of the page how it looked and tasted.

I use 3/4 ring unlit and almost 1 full chimney of lit. If you put too much coal in the ring the water bowl will bottom out on the coals so "dish in" the coals in the center a little if you are stoking up for a 12 hour cook.

Craft up some windbreak or blanket (search on here) for the next Nor-Easter or that wind will knock 25 degress off that WSM easy. Same problem in Colorado.

Keep smokin! Try some more ribs or a couple whole chickens to dial in your cooker before going BIG with brisket or 20lb of butt.
 
Thanks folks for all the help so far.

Jeff, its a 18.5". I also always leave the top one open. I say always because I have always done this with my old smoker (GrandMac Triple Crown) and my Weber kettle. This has made the most sense as I understand you dont want to trap the smoke too much inside.

Chris, the bowl looked like it was a good distance off the coals. Does the bowl sitting far enough off the coals hold true for both the newer and older WSM?

Im hoping to get this down so I can gear up for a pork butt. My old smoker needed babysitting every hour or so, so it was really painful for those 14+ hour cooks.

Thanks again folks
 
I'm a NB at this, but I'll still throw in my 1 cent...

I've only done the minion method twice, both of my last two cooks actually, so again, I have limited experience, but, here's what I found...

I used about 2/3 full ring both times with 25-30 lit briquettes on top (K Blue, like you said). Top vent open 100% the entire cook. Bottom vents varied between .25,.25,.25 (the majority of the time), to .5,.5,.5 when I was trying to get fancy and get an exact temperature, to 0,0,0 when I screwed up the temp with that .5,.5,.5 approach (don't do that, btw). And had luke warm sink water 2/3 full in the water bowl.

Anyhow, after 3 hours around 250-260 this past weekend I shut her down and now have probably 75% of the unlit coals still good to go on a later cook. On the first cook I went lower, more like 240, and went longer, maybe 6 hours. I then used the coals for grilling, 9 hours after starting!

So yes, I'm personally a bit surprised you ran out and couldn't get the temp up. But, A) I'm new to this, and, B) I live in San Diego and the temp was no lower than the high 60s if not hotter. So that could be the difference.

Good luck!
 
Basic step by step:

  • Fill ring 1/2 way with Kingsford/or good lump.
    <LI>Put about 2 or 3 fist sized chunks of flavor wood on top.
    <LI>Fill ring rest of the way and top with 2 or 3 more chunks of wood.
    <LI>Get 1/2 a chimney of FULLY lit charcoal and dump it in the middle of the ring, full chimney if it is really cold outside. Don't spread it out.
    <LI>Wait for 10 minutes then assemble the middle section. If using water in the water pan either use boiling water or HOT tap water.
    <LI>Put lid on and watch lid therm carefully. It should hit 200° fairly fast.
    <LI>When lid therm hits 200° damp it down hard to 3/4 closed on all 3 bottom vents (top stays 100% open).
    <LI>Should stabalize out around 220-250. If you want it hotter let it get up to 225-230 before you damp it down. But always easier to catch it on the way up than it is to try and bring temps down.
    <LI>Once temp. is stable add meat, grab a beer, and leave it alone.

    Your two biggest problems were the cold water and not starting with enough lit charcoal in chimney. And you will use a lot more fuel once the temps start to drop bellow about 40°. If you live in an area where it gets cold consider insulating the middle section, or building an insulated box with bottom and top vents.
 
Cold water is keeping the temp down. I've been foiling the pan only lately and I love the results.

The lid temp is wrong in a way. While at the lid it might actually be 225* the grill surface temps will be different. For example, I did two 15.5lb briskets and the lid temp was at 220-225*. Top grate (using a surface thermometer) was 250*, bottom grate was 270*.

I don't use K for smoking I only use lump. I like the flavor of lump more and far less ash as kingsford is sawdust. Full ring, MM to start it and I have gotten a solid 12hrs out of it with enough left that it could have gone another couple hours. I live right on the water and I battle wind a lot but even with that, I get that much time out of it.

Get some more cooks in for the gunk build up!

Lastly, welcome to the forum Wener! Don't feel that you'll be attacked for asking questions on or for something you did in your cooks. That's not this forum! Keep asking and you'll get the help and answers you want.
 
One other piece of advice. I keep all vents 100% open until the cooker reaches about 200 degrees farenheit. Then I close my bottom vents to about 10-20 percent open (I think the percentage may vary from cooker to cooker and you need to find what works for your cooker). My cooker then comes up to about 225-250 and hums along at a stable temp for a long time. After a number of hours, you might need to open the bottom vents or close them depending on lid temps. If I close the bottom vents too early, I have trouble getting the right cooking temp going.
 
Warner,
I start with a full ring of lump and I add my 3/4 fully lit chimney. I assemble the middle section with water in the pan and leave the lid off. I leave the vents 100% open until the lump gets going good. I put the meat on and the lid and within an hour my temps are pretty high and I start closing vents down to around 3/4 of the way to get a temp down to the mid 200's. I have a lot of air leaks arounf my lid so this may be part of the reason why my temps run high. Everyones smoker is different and it will just take a little time for you to adjust to yours.
 
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