How many chimney's of K Blue to reach 300.....


 
B

bryan baker

TVWBB Member
in a Weber 22" I usually fire off 2 full ones and only reach 250. I want 275 to 300 for chicken. Thinking about buying another chimney starter to do 3 full ones but wanted to make sure something else wasn't screwed up.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
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I use 1/2 chimney for 250 and a full for 300.

On my 22" I crack the lid with all 3 bottom vents (and top vent) wide open till I hit 300. I will be replacing the worthless thermo with an extra top vent as my 22" seems to need more exhaust than intake.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JSMcdowell:
I use 1/2 chimney for 250 and a full for 300.

On my 22" I crack the lid with all 3 bottom vents (and top vent) wide open till I hit 300. I will be replacing the worthless thermo with an extra top vent as my 22" seems to need more exhaust than intake. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm interested to know how you came to that conclusion.
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Charles,

On my 18" I have to crack the door when I am doing high heat cooks thus feeding more air to the coals.

On my 22" I cracked the door, with an elaborate system since I have the arch style door and was not getting much extra heat. After experience a huge spike in temp from having the lid off while glazing ribs, the next time I needed some extra heat on the 22" I cracked the lid instead. Unfortunately, cracking the lid is not such an exact adjustment that you can dial in. After seeing one member (can't remember who) on here add an extra vent on both top and bottom, I figured adding a vent to the top to replace my thermo would be perfect for me and allow me to dial in the adjustments better.
 
It'll be easiest to reach 300 if you're cooking without water in your pan. If you want a heat sink to stabilize temps then use a clay saucer covered with foil in the water pan and then cover the whole pan with foil as well. Leave some low spots in the foil so the fat has a place to pool.
 
You guys are losing me a little here. I've only had two smokes so far and both times, with a water pan partially filled, I had trouble keeping the temp under 300. I had the top damper fully open and completely closed two of the three bottom dampaers.

I was using one chimney unlit and one chimney lit (K blue briquettes). But it was windy both days and I'm sure that had something to do with the thigh temps.

After my WSM 22" gets broken in and seasoned can I expect lower temperatures and have trouble achieving higher temps? One of my reasons for chosing a WSM was that I'd be able to smoke chickens and turkeys as well as low and slow recipes. I don't want to fight with the darn thing during HH cooks.

-Steve
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve_N:
You guys are losing me a little here. I've only had two smokes so far and both times, with a water pan partially filled, I had trouble keeping the temp under 300. I had the top damper fully open and completely closed two of the three bottom dampaers.

I was using one chimney unlit and one chimney lit (K blue briquettes). But it was windy both days and I'm sure that had something to do with the thigh temps.

After my WSM 22" gets broken in and seasoned can I expect lower temperatures and have trouble achieving higher temps? One of my reasons for chosing a WSM was that I'd be able to smoke chickens and turkeys as well as low and slow recipes. I don't want to fight with the darn thing during HH cooks.

-Steve </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Your cooker's leaking like a sieve, Steve.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve_N:
You guys are losing me a little here. I've only had two smokes so far and both times, with a water pan partially filled, I had trouble keeping the temp under 300. I had the top damper fully open and completely closed two of the three bottom dampaers.



I was using one chimney unlit and one chimney lit (K blue briquettes). But it was windy both days and I'm sure that had something to do with the thigh temps.

After my WSM 22" gets broken in and seasoned can I expect lower temperatures and have trouble achieving higher temps? One of my reasons for chosing a WSM was that I'd be able to smoke chickens and turkeys as well as low and slow recipes. I don't want to fight with the darn thing during HH cooks.

-Steve </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Your cooker's leaking like a sieve, Steve.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry man, couldn't resist.
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Did ya check out what Chris had to say here? http://www.virtualweberbullet....tempcontrol.html#hot

If none of that helps, I'd call Weber. They should take care of ya.

Weber suggests smoking most meats at 250*, and the only suggestion in their manual under troubleshooting a heating cooker with the bottom vents closed is to add HOT water to the pan. (Cold water is just a temporary fix.)

Air is what makes a fire stay hot, and if you can't slightly tweak the cooker for better seals where needed without cracking the porcelain coating, I'd have Weber send replacement components that are ROUND and within spec.

Since the door is aluminum and not painted, tweak it all you want if you think it's got a big leak in any certain area.
 
Dave, The aluminum door was a little out of shpe but not much. I spent a few minutes bending it and it seems to fit better now.

The bowl, middle section and top seem to fit well together so I don't think I have an out of round problem.

Tomorrow, Sunday, will be a brisket. We'll see then.

Steve
 
OK everyone the results are in. My first longer smoke. The temps held really well. I was surprised.

The brisket was ready in about 6 hours and the temp held steady at 250 (dome thermometer) for at least 7 hours.

I filled the ring with about 75% unlit K blue and about 75% lit from a Weber chimney.

Very nice and consistent

The brisket could have been a little better but I think I know what I did wrong but that's another thead

Steve
 
Steve,

Glad to hear you had better success with the temps.

I thought my 22" was fine as it fit together okay, but then I took a tape measure to it. From West to east compared to north to south it was 3/4" difference. The bottom of the section was within a 1/4". Called weber and they sent me a new one.
 
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