I'm starting from scratch


 
J

Justin P.

New member
I posted a while back about my current frustration with not being able to get my WSM above 200 degrees. I had great success with it for years, but the last year or so, I've almost stopped smoking due to the constant PITA dealing with low temps. So, I'm going to take my WSM to the car wash and power wash the inside out. Then I'm going to read the directions on the cooking topics and follow them step by step to see if I can shake this problem. I plan to cook 4 butts this weekend for about 100 friends we are having over for a fireworks party. I will be testing my thermometers for accuracy and adding a second one for verification. I only have a couple questions.

1- Are there meat thermometers I can leave in the butts for the last 3 hours or so? I'm fed up with the typical digital thermometers with removable probes that seem to get pinched in the lid and ten don't work.

2- Am I acting to extreme by power washing my WSM?

I'm determined to make this work. I'm going to be focused and prepared, and then I'm going to crank up some blues, crack a few Pabst Blue Ribbons, and find my way back to the best pulled pork I've ever tasted. Wish me luck.

Justin
 
I wouldn't wash the inside.

Are you doing Minion Method? If so, perhaps you can just start with more lit coals than normal. Leave all the vents wide open longer, even if necessary prop the side door open a bit to get more oxygen flow.

I use a Maverick ET732 and the cord never gets pinched to not use. Maybe if that is a problem you can run it through the top vent instead?
 
Your heat is determined by charcoal and air. Cleaning the inside will probably not help that situation. 1 chimney full of lit on top of a chimney full of unlit should get you going. Also, run your fingers in each of the air holes to make sure there are no spider webs. I use Kingsford and can hit 300 no problem in my 22.5 with the above method. Maybe buy fresh from the store to make sure you aren't using a damp product. Good luck and keep us posted. You are a brave man to serve 100 people!

As for thermometers, drill a hole in the side and run them through. Many here have done the same and used lamp grommets from Home Depot or Lowes with great success.
 
Shaun, I've always used the minion method. I fill the ring full, and then dump on a full weber chimney full of lit coals.

Tom, I will check the vents to make sure they are clear, and I will also go get fresh charcoal, probably Royal oak lump (green bag). I've had good luck with it in my Weber kettle lately. Yes, 100 people is a bit nerve racking, but I've pulled it off the 3 previous years, and most of my guests have asked if we are smoking the pork again this year. Last year I got it done, but I wasn't able to get the temp up over 200, so the fat didn't melt out like I was used to seeing. Thanks for the tip on the side thermometer.
 
Top vent fully opened?

All bottom vents fully opened?

As a WSM ages, the door gaps get filled with "stuff" sealing the door. This also happens to the fit of the top, middle and bottom section. As the air leaks get filled, a lower stable temp will result.
 
Here's a few suggestions. First, fill that ring up to the brim, charcoal is cheaper than meat, so don't be cinchy with it. Secondly, make sure the coal in your chimney are really white hot - be patient and give them lots of time. You should see a lot of white ash and flames flipping up the top. Thirdly, spread the colas over the full ring. If you've been having trouble getting to heat, let the hot coals sit on the unlit coals in your ring for a while before putting your wsm together.

Obviously, if you are having trouble getting above 220, you're going low and slow, so remember butts can take up to 16 hours. When you add more, cook them in your chimney first.

Hope that helps.
 
Russell, your right about the sealing stuff, I never thought of that. Yes the vents are always 100% open. I clean the ash out of the bottom, so I'm almost sure there is no blockage on any of the vents. I plan to triple check this.

Canada Mike, your exactly right on the not being stingy with the charcoal. When I cook butts, it's typically overnight, and I don't rush it. I'll be cooking a 4 large ones overnight Friday and into Saturday planning to have them done by around 2:00 pm, so they can rest a solid 4 hours.

The last time I cooked, about every hour toward the end, I would take the top section of the smoker with the water pan (empty) and all the meat off so the coals were exposed to direct air to refire themselves and get really hot. That would bring the temp up for a while, but it would slowly drift back down to under 200 degrees. I guess that means I'm not getting enough air let in. I'll try to take some pictures of my smoker tomorrow and post them. Keep the ideas coming, and thanks for the help.

Justin
 
Your not foiling any of the grates are you?
Click to expand...

I just thought the same thing.

I remember someone on here was having a similar problem a year or so ago, and they were foiling their grates to make clean up easier, but that blocked the air flow.

Justin,

You said you were going to check your therms for accuracy, did you do this in the past ?

The only time I have had low running temp issues was when I was using water in the pan & had charcoal that got damp.

Instead of taking off the lid & the meat, crack the lid while it still sits on the middle section. This will provide more exhaust, creating more draft, and bring in more air through the bottom, without having the meat off the cooker. This is what I used to do when I wanted high heat, now I have an extra exhaust vent.

Also I am guessing you are using an 18. How big are the 4 butts you are putting on there?
 
Check yer thermometers against each other for accuracy!! I was runnin hotter than I thought for a long time! Just a suggestion..
 
Bob and JMS, no foil on the grates. I haven't checked the therms for accuracy yet, but the quality of the pulled pork tells me they will be close. Good idea on cracking the lid. Yes, I have an 18, the 22 wasn't even available when I purchased mine. I get the 2 packs from Sam's club, they usually run about 16-18 lbs per package, and I try to pick out packages with similar sized butts for uniform cooking across all the butts.

Dean, I plan to check them all against one another.

Thanks for the help guys. I ordered one of those Pitmaster IQ110 devices today. I don't plan to use it right away, but I want the back up plan ready to go if needed.
 
Justin,

A few more things to check that have the potential to mess-up the WSM cooking process:

Q1. Where do you use your WSM?
Is it on a hard, level footing, and not sitting in any sort of depression / low-spot? Legs are not sinking into the ground / sand? Outside of Vents exposed to good air-flow?

Q2. Do you have a wind-break?
I don't know where you are in Husker country, but I do know that there are a lot of wide-open spaces (as in WINDY). Direct exposure to strong winds can be a bit problematic with the WSM.

I have a close-spaced picket fence that runs N-S between the house and garage. With prevailing Westerlies - I set-up my WSM on the East side of the fence. Even on days where the wind is whippin', my WSM is in relatively still air.

I also usually orient the lid vent in the down-wind direction. (Carries smoke AWAY from the lid - not trying to push it back in.) It's a small thing, but I figure getting good exhaust with a natural "boost" from a little wind should help to get some convection going inside the WSM - drawing clean air in from the bottom like it should.
 
I have put 4x 10# butts on my 18" without issue of low temps. Takes a little longer to get to temp, but once at 260-275° I had to back the bottom vents way down.

Where are you measuring the temp of the smoker ? If at the grates the temp is going to be affected by all of the cold meat, but that wouldn't explain why it was dropping late in the cook.

Check your thems in boiling water and let us know.
 
I have no problem with 300+ temps in a 18 WSM.

1. All vents open.
2. No water in the pan just foil it.
3. Crack the lid a little to get more air flow.

This should get your temps up but will also burn fuel faster.

To speed up you cook you can also cut those butts in half.
 
Ron, I cook on one of 2 concrete pads. My house blocks any wind from the west, and I place my smoker on either the north or south side of my elevated deck for a wind break. It's not completely sheltered, but I always figured a little breeze would fire the charcoal up a little more. Good idea on rotating the lid to create a draw. Yes the wind can be brutal at times.

JMS, I mounted an industrial grade thermostat toward the top of my lid, and it's the only therm I've ever used. It's opposite the lid vent.

J Reyes, interesting you mention no water in the pan, just foiled. I stopped foiling my pan about the same time this temp issue started. I have always run the pan with water, I just stopped foiling it, because it seemed like a waste of foil. I've heard the shinny side of the foil should face the direction you want the heat to transfer too.
 
I don't know if this is something worth considering but I mention it because that much meat does ask as a heat sink. There are some interesting points on adding a second dome vent discussed on this site. It is relatively easy to do. I just did that for HH Brisket and mine really comes up to temp quick otherwise I laid a large spike across the lid to get more air flow. My 18 acts like an oven now if I want it to and a smoker when I don't.

A second damper in the dome would overcome the need to take the lid off and you would hit your temps more quickly then just cut it back when necessary.
 
J Reyes, interesting you mention no water in the pan, just foiled. I stopped foiling my pan about the same time this temp issue started. I have always run the pan with water, I just stopped foiling it, because it seemed like a waste of foil. I've heard the shinny side of the foil should face the direction you want the heat to transfer too.
Click to expand...

With the foil I allow an air space between the foil and bottom of the pan. This allows a minimal heat sink and allows the easy clean up by just tossing the foil every few cooks.
 
I had real trouble with temps when I used the double charcoal grate. Went back to one grate and had no problems. Having the ash drop to the bowl seemed to be the problem.
 
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