How to keep smoker temp up in colder weather?


 
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PaulBz

TVWBB Fan
Ok so I did a brisket cook last night and had it today for xmas eve. So I started at 9pm and it was already very cold. It was about 15 degrees overnight. I got up at 8am to check it was good but at 9 it started going down very quickly. I used weber charcoal. My last cook was great and the coals lasted over 20 hours. I used a little less charcoal this time so I could fit the wood in it. So the temp was at 156 and I slept for another hour and the temp went down to 151 and it was dropping quickly. This is the first cook I have done in weather this cold that required more than 5 hours of cooking. So I am thinking that when the temps are that low then I need to take the whole base and top off and replenish the coals that way after say maybe 10 hours or so in the colder temps. It also started snowing pretty heavily early am so I am sure that didn't help. I hope my atc didn't break. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to keep temperature up in the extreme cold?
 
It's all about sheltering from any wind and making sure you've got enough hot fuel in the cooker. If you're comfortable doing the "hot squat" you can lift off the lid + middle section with food in place, stir the remaining charcoal to dislodge ash, add some pre-lit charcoal, and button everything back up. Otherwise, you can *gently* stir hot coals through the access door opening so as to not cause too much flying ash (or bang the legs with a broom handle), then add hot charcoal through the opening using a small shovel, a v-shaped metal chute, or similar. Or if you catch it early enough, you can add unlit on top of the remaining lit.

Good luck!
 
I don't know if there is much you can do in the middle of a cook but I've had decent luck cooking in the cold using hot water heater insulation that you can buy at the big box home improvement stores on my WSM 18.5" cooker. I am starting a brisket in a few hours and its my first cold weather cook on my 22.5 WSM and I'm hoping the new insulation I picked up at Home Depot keeps my temps up.
 
Like Chris says, out of the wind and ensure you start with enough unlit. I went the blanket route in the past and it helped but only because it stopped the wind (or so I believe ;) ) AND if you're using water (I don't anymore), ensure it's boiling when first put into the water bowl. Remember, the water is only meant to moderate the temps. You may not want to use water in the winter because of this.
 
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Some very helpful information here. I remember there being a whole section here or thread on building shelters or wind proof boxes for our WSM’s. People as so talented and some are quite elaborate and some are basic, it all gets the job done but it so cool seeing others ideas and skills at work here.
 
When you checked and felt all was good at 8 AM did you look at your fuel supply? I am by no means expert but in my personal experience if my temps began plummeting at 9 AM then at 8 AM I would have seen that my fuel was spent. I have enough time invested in my 22" that here in Ohio if I had been doing an overnight smoke I would have expected to add some fuel by morning. If I were using my 18" I am still curious about how it would coast during an overnight smoke in the teens; I've had it for several months and have only done daytime smokes with it but I have a feeling there is something about it that enables it to cruise longer. That is not yet proven, though.

When I add KBB, I judge by looking at my fuel as to whether or not I add lit, or unlit. Albeit, I readily admit that some of my methods used today are different than what was used last year--and next year may still differ. But for me, I enjoy that smoking is different enough from driving a car, yet similar enough that I can tend to other interests.

Merry Christmas!
 
I did not check the fuel at 8am. I think I am going to go with taking the whole base off with food in it. But when should I add lit and when should I add unlit. And if I am adding lit then I need to also add unlit right? Or else it will go out quickly.
 
The wind is the enemy when smoking meat. I've smoked pork butt and brisket successfully in very cold temps, even down to 10 below! But I kept it out of the wind, I keep my WSM on a large wheeled plant stand that I picked up at a large box store. I'm able to wheel my WSM around to different sides of our garage and house to get it out of the wind.
 
PaulBz said:
I did not check the fuel at 8am. I think I am going to go with taking the whole base off with food in it. But when should I add lit and when should I add unlit. And if I am adding lit then I need to also add unlit right? Or else it will go out quickly.
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Yea I have handles on mine, so taking the mid-section off is easy to tend the fire, add coals, etc.
How much lit vs unlit is based on knowing your smoker, ( I love BFletcher's comments above ) :cool:

I don't run with an ATC. But you do. So that should play in the amount of lit vs unlit and maybe someone that has experience in that will chime in.

Tim
 
I have a shovel from a fireplace set that readily fits through the door on the 18.5" WSM. If fuel is running low I'll add a shovel full (about a dozen briquettes) and do my best to drop it evenly over the existing coals. If need be I'll add more half an hour later. As long as I don't add more than a shovel at a time it doesn't significantly drop the temperature. I view the fuel like most all temperature adjustments on the WSM -- a little bit at a time, then wait to see what happens.
 
I use an ATC along with a welding blanket and a 4' wall to keep the cold air off of the smoker. Eventually, I'd like to build an outhouse type shelter that I can just roll my WSM into (it's mounted on a dolly).

I also use my fireplace shovel (from an older set) to add charcoal (if needed).
 
I agree with what's been said by others. What happened on previous cooks is only an approximation of what will happen on your current cook. Different atmospheric conditions make each cook unique. If I add lit coals I also add unlit. To me smokers are like airplanes. I didn't want to run out of fuel before I landed on the ship and I want charcoal in my WSM when I finish a cook. If you don't have handles on your center body you might consider it.
 
Bill Elwell said:
I use an ATC along with a welding blanket and a 4' wall to keep the cold air off of the smoker.
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I read about the welding blanket idea and looked into getting one. They were $40 at Harbor Freight. I didn't want to spend that much on something I wasn't sure I needed in the first place. I'm thinking four metal fence posts and an old tarp clipped to the posts will do nicely to cut the wind and somewhat retain the heat.
 
This is quite timely for me, planning a brisket cook for the last 2017/first 2018 cook tomorrow. It’s single digits around here for another week from the guessers. I’m planning on a plywood windbreak held in place by a cement block wall on one side and the plywood on the other, it will be pretty well protected and I think if I load properly, I should be alright until morning but, I don’t know how well I will sleep!
Has anyone done a spiral “guard” in the basket to create a kind of track for long cooks? Curious more than anything else, I wish I had some metalworking skills!
 
Very interesting and useful information from everyone. I'm smoking some bacon today and would love to put some of this information to good use.....unfortunately I cannot its 65 here, sunny and calm.
I do envy those of you that have the fortitude to do long slow cooks in freezing weather, I do not, guess I'm not that dedicated anymore.
Back to my football game.
Happy News Years to you all. Stay safe and keep warm.
 
JayHeyl said:
I read about the welding blanket idea and looked into getting one. They were $40 at Harbor Freight. I didn't want to spend that much on something I wasn't sure I needed in the first place. I'm thinking four metal fence posts and an old tarp clipped to the posts will do nicely to cut the wind and somewhat retain the heat.
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That should work, but the blanket rests right on the smoker like a cocoon. I have an 8X8 folded in half. I hang it from hooks under my deck and ropes tied through the grommets.
 
Bill Elwell said:
That should work, but the blanket rests right on the smoker like a cocoon. I have an 8X8 folded in half. I hang it from hooks under my deck and ropes tied through the grommets.
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Oh, I'm sure the welding blanket is a better solution. It's just that it's also a more expensive solution requiring the purchase of something for which I have no other need. With the tarp and posts I can use all the pieces for other things. I actually have four tall fence posts in the garden as supports for tomatoes. If I'd though of it before the ground froze I could have put them in around the smoker after I pulled out the tomatoes. Then just clip a tarp to the posts and I've got a wind break around the smoker. Not insulation like the welding blanket, but at least already paid for. (I already have a suitable tarp.)

If I had a welding blanket or knew somebody who was discarding an old one, that would likely be my preferred approach.

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BFletcher said:
We should take their bacon :D
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All your bacon are belong to us.
 
The thing with welding blankets is you have to watch out for the cheaper ones. They shed fiberglass and are not user friendly when handling.
I would not want to wrap one of those around my WSM .
Tim
 
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