Heat Management & Shutting Down


 
Alan F

Alan F

TVWBB Pro
Two questions.

Do you always adjust temp by making a uniform adjustment of all vents, or are there times where you might close one or two? If so does that affect the pattern of how the charcoal burns?


When your smoke is done do you close all the vents or only the bottom 3? I've been closing all of them have have noticed water dripping off the bottom vent cover. Condensation is running down from the lid.

Thanks
 
Vent adjustment? - depends. Sometimes you may get a temp spike due to a breeze. In that case you could close down the vent facing the wind. I don't always adjust all vents the same - it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes I do - but sometimes I don't. Like I said, it doesn't make a difference.

As far as shut down, I've always closed the bottom 3 vents. I leave the top one open all the time - cooking or not. Closing all 3 puts my fire out and I don't get any of that wierd condensation you mentioned. Plus keeping the top open allows air to flow through the unit which can prevent mold and other stuff like that.
 
I like the idea of being able to make micro temp adjustments by only working with one vent instead of all three. Glad to know it won't effect the burn.
 
I'm pretty uniform in vent adjustment but sometimes close one fully if wind direction is an issue per Russ above. For shutting down, I close all vents, top and bottom. I've never noticed a condensation issue but I tend to forget the cooker once I'm in eating mode and sometimes leave it outside for a few days before begrudgingly doing clean up. I've never had mold issues but I do a pretty thorough clean of the base, grates and bowl when I do get around to it. Once in a while I get flaking in the lid but a blast of the hose gets rid of that.

Sometimes, after a shorter cook like ribs, I'll remove the pan, open everything up 100% and let the remaining fuel burn off what it can. I tend to overadd fuel for short cooks so I generally get 350F+ burn off temps for a few hours in these rare occasions.

JDH
 
Well...my smoker won't shut down by only closing the bottom vents. Did that about 3 hours ago and it's still quite hot.

How is everyone turning it off?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Alan F:
Well...my smoker won't shut down by only closing the bottom vents. Did that about 3 hours ago and it's still quite hot.

How is everyone turning it off? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I always close all four. Usually takes 1-2 hrs to cool down depending on the time of the season.

Tim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by timothy:
I always close all four. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Do you get water running into the ashes?
 
Nope, never noticed that. I store my WSM in my garage uncovered. The only time I've had water running into the ashes is when it was left out in the rain.Oh I run an empty foiled pan, no water.

Tim
 
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