I am noticing a trend here at TVWBB


 
Mike P.

Mike P.

TVWBB All-Star
This is just my .02.

Being a member of this Fine Site since September 2011 and being a HVAC controls guy, Temperature is my living. I've put bread on my table for 32 years understanding it. I have noticed a trend by observing many posts here over the last 6 months. I'm sure still trying to learn this cookin' gig though!
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It correlates time and again with location and weather. One example is that today here in Shreveport it was sunny and 57* F. with winds less than 5 mph in February. What's happening with the weather from our Friends in Toronto or Minnesota today? I DON'T KNOW. North California to South California? New Jersey to Missouri?

My point being that it would be helpful with all our posts when asking an/or debating about the benefits of water or no water in the pan, how long to cook for a given cut of meat for an overnighter and especially controlling temps in the WSM to state at least the OAT (Outdoor Ambient Temperature) you expect your rig to operate at.

The biggest thing I've noticed here is that MANY ASSUME THEIR WEATHER TO BE THE STANDARD for the advice they offer, that's the way they learned. Geography counts.

I don't mean to over complicate this great experience but in the future when I ask a question I will include OAT and any high winds encountered. After all, it is outdoor Q.

Best Regards to all.
 
Mike, good point and very interesting, as well. I obviously am not a seasoned person, but am currently in northern California and will be moving to Virginia this summer. I have also lived in Morgan City, LA, and you are absolutely correct in your statement...we assume that where we are is the "standard". You have sparked my interest into what I might expect at my next residnce and if there will be differences from where I am at now IRT my cooks! Interesting and thank you.

Again, no expert here by any stretch of the imagination, but I do move every 3-4 years, so...something to look at here, for me. I must say, I learn more and more from this site than just the "basics"!
 
good isea. but it seems that much is missing in many posts including what is being used and where you are located, etc. hope we all can improve on this.
 
I would also like to see us list our general location under our name.

Live in SW Ohio and we have been having a mild winter with almost NO snow (not characteristic of this location).

One thing I have learned, however, is that while temperature has to be taken in to account it is not the biggest problem regarding weather. Wind seems to me, to be far more important. I don't grill outside at zero. However, I do grill outside when it is tolerable (35 degrees on up).

My biggest problem in the winter is the lack of light. I cook in my back yard and have no patio cover. That makes lighting a problem. I sometimes cook at noon (I am retired) and use the grilled food for supper. This is not always practical. Sometimes we have the largest meal at lunch time and of course that pretty much solves the problem (eat grilled food at lunch).

Just a thought or two...

Dale53
 
I agree. Outside temperature does not matter much. I've used my WSM in temps from -20 to 85 degrees.
I must admit, never overnighters in such temperatures.

Wind shielding is much more important.
 
Considering the temp seldom dips below 60 and only rains maybe 3 weeks out of the year in Southern California, I haven't the slightest idea of what you guys are talking about
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Thanks for the replies guys.

Wind is certainly an important consideration but on the other end of the spectrum, smoking meat with an OAT of 105* in the sun will shorten cook time considerably. This is exactly the point. In my world, I have more difficulty keeping the temps low enough. Since being a member here, I've taken the great info supplied (lighting fewer coals etc.) and adapted it to my needs. Heck, my first 100* are free so I've got to be able to reduce coal output to around 175* and maintain it. I've also noticed this on my gasser.

The beauty of the WSM hot or cold is that you don't have to be in the elements for it to do it's thing other than short periods for vent adjustments and such.
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My Give-a-chit broke many years ago. I cook mostly HH in temps from 15-105F. Temps just don't seem to be much of a problem, I don't pay that much attention. I drilled permanent thermometers in my WSM & OTP a couple of years ago & haven't used my wireless since (that I remember).

I'd say it (temps/wind/weather) wasn't important if I hadn't stumbled on the "Homebrew" thread in the temp control section - obviously, a lot of people feel differently (killer display & mod on that contraption).

I'm easy with baking, soup recipes, etc, too. My recipes are all simple and I can't seem to screw them up with my imprecise measurements. I'm about to start brewing beer (considering it anyway), we'll see how that differs
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If you are going to throw in "ambient conditions" then let's include altitude....

In Colorado at 6K feet the fire needs a lot more oxygen to get the same temps. I'm ready to drill more vents into my WSM upper and lower so I can get higher temps easier for chicken and HH cooks. I can get the temps easy in the kettle but WSM needs more air and I've pretty much fubar'd my door by propping it open, bending it etc and the airflow works better from the bottom. ?

Also when calibrating your thermometer (the bolt on kind...) you have to account for altitude and pressure to get the temp for boiling water.

I never use the water pan cuz I have a hard time getting the temp over 200.

Sun in CO at 6000 feet can also raise the temp on my wsm by 25 degrees when it comes around the corner of the house and shines on my cooker too.

As an engineer, this is helpful when translating your settings and recipes into my environment. But the key is getting consistency of temperature on your thermometer based on results judged by your mouth!!

That's why my BBQ journal has air temp, conditions but more importantly what I thought after i ate it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris E:
If you are going to throw in "ambient conditions" then let's include altitude....

In Colorado at 6K feet the fire needs a lot more oxygen to get the same temps. I'm ready to drill more vents into my WSM upper and lower so I can get higher temps easier for chicken and HH cooks. I can get the temps easy in the kettle but WSM needs more air and I've pretty much fubar'd my door by propping it open, bending it etc and the airflow works better from the bottom. ?

Also when calibrating your thermometer (the bolt on kind...) you have to account for altitude and pressure to get the temp for boiling water.

I never use the water pan cuz I have a hard time getting the temp over 200.

Sun in CO at 6000 feet can also raise the temp on my wsm by 25 degrees when it comes around the corner of the house and shines on my cooker too.

As an engineer, this is helpful when translating your settings and recipes into my environment. But the key is getting consistency of temperature on your thermometer based on results judged by your mouth!!

That's why my BBQ journal has air temp, conditions but more importantly what I thought after i ate it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Excellent point Chris. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think water boils at 196* in Denver instead of 212* at sea level. We are only 210' above SL here. I did some work several years ago in Buena Vista, CO. We were on Mt. Harvard (or Yale, cant remember) at about 6 to 7 thousand feet. In HVAC you have to be able to pull a near perfect vacuum which is approx. 30" of mercury. We could not do it until we recalibrated our gauges to compensate for altitude. We also had a natural gas heating system that we had to replace the orifices in to compensate due to lower oxygen.

As for solar load, that too is very true. I've used the Maverick ET 732 to observe as much as a 5* swing during a passing cloud and have watched the temp drop quickly when a stiff breeze blows and then subsides.

Back to point is that we all live in different places with different conditions. It would be helpful to include any additional info in questions and answers so we all can get a feel for the knowledge and apply it to an individuals particular situation.

This is another Great example of others not knowing a persons cookin' conditions when comparing their experience to other locations.

And as you say, The proof is in the taste no matter how you get there.

Thanks Chris.
 
Clint,

I've only homebrewed a half dozen times, but you'll want to be a little more precise with that than the soup.
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... especially when measuring specific gravity so you know it's ready to bottle. Bottle too soon, and you get a bunch of glass grenades in the basement.
 
I think most here post weather conditions for cooks if they are outside of the norm. If I had a bad experience due to wind I'd note it. If I'm cooking in -45, I'd note it. I like that we have a free forum to express our opinions and post questions. I'm not a fan of adding rules to the site posts that may not make them any more relevant. Just my 2 cents.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James Harvey:
I think most here post weather conditions for cooks if they are outside of the norm. If I had a bad experience due to wind I'd note it. If I'm cooking in -45, I'd note it. I like that we have a free forum to express our opinions and post questions. I'm not a fan of adding rules to the site posts that may not make them any more relevant. Just my 2 cents. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point James. I'm not talking about any rules. What is your NORM in Toronto?
 
Some anecdotes

I've been smoking from -15F to 40F this winter in cowtown, mostly the difference has been whether I
- use the water pan (when it's below 15F, I don't bother)
- use more or less briquettes as part of the startup (i.e. 30 to 40 with the Minion method)

Also note we're at 3500 ft. Not quite Denver levels, but similar effects.

Today I'm in Fernie BC with the WSM, same altitude, but I'm noticing the air is drier, and it's snowing - it's requiring more vent flow than usual (50-50-0 vs. my usual 25-25-0) with the BRITU recipe to maintain 200-225F.
 
Thanks for that info Stuart and Welcome to the forum.

It's great to get a feel for the weather conditions other members use their rigs in and really helps the Pro's here (I'm not one)answer questions better.

To give you the contrast in our locations, I'm doing a pork butt tomorrow. We are 210 feet above sea level. Will start with an OAT around 37* F and expecting a high of 60* F. Light winds from the north.

Also, what is the BRITU recipe?

Thanks for the reply.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned rain. In my experience a good heavy rain can do more to affect temperature than anything with wind next and ambient temperature following. Of course any of the three can dominate on a given day and as noted, altitude has an impact too (though it usually doesn't change as rapidly as weather.)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hank B:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned rain. In my experience a good heavy rain can do more to affect temperature than anything with wind next and ambient temperature following. Of course any of the three can dominate on a given day and as noted, altitude has an impact too (though it usually doesn't change as rapidly as weather.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hank, that is a very good observation. Again to the point of this post, I don't do it so it never occurred to me that someone else might. With a hot rig and cold rain, it seems you would have an accelerated evaporative effect quickly dropping the temp in the rig. Throw wind into the mix and it might be hard to maintain the desired temps for an extended period of time.

Thanks!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hank B:
altitude has an impact too (though it usually doesn't change as rapidly as weather.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL!! I'm waiting for someone to post they've used their WSM on an airplane. Knowing this crew there probably is.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris E:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hank B:
altitude has an impact too (though it usually doesn't change as rapidly as weather.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL!! I'm waiting for someone to post they've used their WSM on an airplane. Knowing this crew there probably is. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's why it's fun.
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