learning from my first attempt

[Mitch Durham]

good day
Although I am not completely new at the smoking process (I know enough to have a beer or two handy). I am new to the weber smoker.
- Last weekend I used the weber for the first time and there were some other problems that I would like to correct and that is why I am looking for advice.
When starting the fire, I loaded the box with charcoal and started with what I think is the minion method. After that, I gave the "bad smoke" time to clear and then added the meat.
After about 4-5 hours, the smoker temps dropped dramatically and it looked like the coals had burned down. I added new charcoal and also added a few wood chunks. The temp rose but never got higher than 250 even with the vents fully open. (I really did not want it to get higher than that, but from reading previous posts I expected to have to shut the vents almost completely)
My questions are:
- is it common to have to add charcoal after 4-5 hours ?? From reading prior posts and looking at reviews, I thought that the coals would last much much longer.
- also, when adding additional charcoal and wood chunks, what if anything can you do to protect the food from the "bad smoke" that arises initially ??
I apologize for the long email and thanks for
any advice.
mitch

 

[Jeff R]

When you say "box" I assume you are referring to the charcoal ring.

Yes, a WSM with a full load will last more than 4-5 hours. How many lit did you add?

 

[Mitch Durham]

good day
yes -- when i typed "box" - i did mean charcoal ring
as far as how many lit briquettes I added - gosh i don't
know - i filled up a starter can and added them after they
had burned down - did not know to count -
my guess would be 20 or so

which brings to mind a couple of more questions
-- how much charcoal should i put in the ring before adding
the lit briquettes ?? (after the cook, i saw a youtube clip where someone used
an entire bag of charcoal - i only used 1/2 bag or so)
-- and how many lit briquettes should i use ??

thanks
mitch

 

[timothy]

Good day right back at ya Mitch<.
What type of charcoal and wood chunks are you using that you are worried of "Bad Smoke"?
And what size WSM?

Tim

 

[Tim Y]

What were your initial vent settings & did you adjust them at all? You may have choked out your fire.
What was the temp when you decided to add more charcoal?

"Bad Smoke"......well, that's illegal in the lower 48 & sometimes frowned upon in the remaining 2, but when I set up, I get the minion going, set up the body and rack(s) and put the meat right on cold.....unless your using lighter fluid to get the coals going, I know no "bad smoke"....though I see where some folks may debate that.

 

[Jeff R]

A full weber chimney will hold 80 or more briquets. If you only used half a ring of charcoal, added that much lit, I could see you burning down in 5 hours, or at least a temp drop. Also, if you were using the weber dome thermometer, based on other peoples experiences, your temps would have been higher than what you thought.

I try to start with enough unlit for the job needed. 12 hour pork=full ring. Slabs of ribs= 1/2 to 3/4.

Most people count out the amount of lit and keep record as that is how you learn better temp mgmt.

The amount lit determines how fast temps come up and the amount of unlit determines total burn time. You can get to the same temp with different amounts lit. The differece is how much momentum the fire has. The faster it rises, the harder to tame.

 

[Mitch Durham]

good day
i really appreciate ya'll taking the time to answer my questions - and i am going to apologize in advance for the long-winded email, but i figure some of it might be useful

the brand of charcoal i used was kingsford competition briquettes and i also added apple wood chunks -- i have the 22.5 inch wsm

my prior experience with smokers is limited to a big green egg and a barrel type smoker with the fire box attached to the side -- and with these i was told to beware of the "bad smoke" -- the advice was to start the fire and then wait until the thick smoke cleared(about 30 minutes) before putting the food on --
and i was told to never ever never use lighter fluid and if i did - deny it

as for the vents - started with them 3/4 closed
then adjusted them(closing them further) to keep the temp around 225 -- it stayed there for 2-3 hours and i wandered off for an hour or two -- next time i looked, the temp had dropped to about 150-175 degrees - at that time the vents were mostly closed; however, i don't think any were shut all the way -- when i saw the low temp, i opened up the vents but it did not do anything to raise the temp
at that time (it was about 6:00 a.m.) i opened the door and added more charcoal briquettes (not sure how many but about a dozen or so) -- waited a few minutes and no change -- panic set in because i was having a bunch of people over that night - so i went to the charcoal starter and lit some more coals (no lighter fluid) and once they burned down, i added them to the smoker
the temp rose back up to around 225-250 and stayed there - but i would periodically add more briquettes in fear that it would burn down again -
so - in my next attempt -
how much charcoal do i need to put in the ring to begin with and how long should i expect it to burn before needing to be refueled ??
and how many lit briquettes should i add when starting it up ??
is it okay to add wood chunks ?? - from my prior readings, it seemed like that was okay

thanks
mitch

 

[Jerry N.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mitch Durham:
good day
so - in my next attempt -
how much charcoal do i need to put in the ring to begin with and how long should i expect it to burn before needing to be refueled ??
and how many lit briquettes should i add when starting it up ??
is it okay to add wood chunks ?? - mitch </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Load the ring full. Throw some wood (chunks) in there. Get about 10 or 20 briquettes going in a chimney and pour them on top of the pile. Keep your temp around 275 and you should be good to go for 10 hours with little problem. Out of the wind and without using water, I can get 16 hours out of a ring.

 

[Dave Russell]

Mitch, while I prefer to mix wood chunks in with my charcoal around the ring perimeter before lighting, I don't think bad smoke is much of an issue if only adding one chunk at a time once or twice in a cook. Lots of folks do that. As you probably know, you just want to make sure the wood is well seasoned. My experience with bad smoke in the bullet is from green wood, wood that catches fire from the cooker being opened (and then smolders from being shut up), and then me messing with a wood chunk by turning it over trying to get more smoke out of it. No idea why, but that'll give me stinky strong smoke. Just leave it alone and add another one if needed.

As to adding charcoal, you can certainly add some unlit K Comp or most anything else besides regular Kbb to the fire as long as the fire isn't already too low or you don't add too much at a time. I don't have a 22.5", but I'd check your Weber manual as to recommended charcoal amounts. The guys at Weber aren't idiots, and actually, the firestarter method they recommend in the manual is a fine one.

As for loading unlit charcoal to the ring, a buddy prefers to push the lit coals toward the center and lay a few unlit coals around the outside perimeter next to the lit. He rotates the cooker on top of the bottom ring carefully as needed to access the opposite side of the fire.

You don't mention your water pan, but do realize that there's quite a few of us that use the pan as designed for most cooks. No, keeping some water in the pan won't keep your meat from drying out, but it certainly makes it harder to oversmoke, as well gives you a couple other more obvious benefits.

 

[Jeff R]

Jerry gave good information. That is what I do. I haven't used water yet but it more of a stubborn personal agenda

. I start with all three open, then shut two down completely and one to half then end up shutting it too. Last cook was dialed in at 2 hours then ran 240 with all three shut for 8 hours. If you started with them 3/4 closed I feel you were just hanging on with a fire and may have snuffed out.

I notice heavy smoke when I first assemble but I know it is not from wood as my wood is mixed in the unlit and I barely have wood touching the lit. I believe it to be part minion and part burn off in the smoker as I notice my grill smokes heavy when first dumped with coals and lidded and that is without wood

I strongly suggest note taking so that you can adjust next time. There are log sheets on the site you can use.

 

[Dave Russell]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff R:
I haven't used water yet but it more of a stubborn personal agenda

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Love the honesty, Jeff!

As to the heavy smoke at the start, you're probably right, (although Kbb for the unlit will smoke some at first if that's the case). Have you tried a putty knife or something for "hitting the high spots" on the bowl and ring? I'd been putting that off, and on my last HH brisket cook I didn't have to open the door. (Smoke flavor wasn't the best.)

 

[Ron G.]

With a new smoker - I wonder if your temperature might have "spiked" with a boil-over of the water pan, which may have doused yer coals? Wet coals would have been hard to get heated-up, like you reported.

Particularly if you let it burn for a while with the top off (to burn-off the bad smoke...). Temperatures may have been headed towards red-line shortly after you put the lid on and it would have been hard to "snuff it down" with a new WSM. Particularly with a new WSM, it's probably good to get your starting temp while it's still rising, and start earlier / watch it more closely if your WSM is new...

WSMs are usually pretty "leaky" air-wise when they are new. Did you check the mid-section sitting on top of the fire bowl and rotate it - to see what rotation gives you the best fit? If not, I would suggest doing that next time.

Also, if you're using the water bowl - check it periodically to maker sure that it's mostly full.

I like to check my food at the "halves":
If I estimate that the food "should" take about 8 hours:
1st check @ about 4 hours (half-way)
2nd check @ about 6 hours (half-way, plus half of remaining)
3rd check @ about 7 hours
(by now, I should have a clue on if I'm on schedule, ahead, or behind and adjust subsequent checks accordingly)

Hope this helps - it gets easier once you get a few cooks under your belt and after the WSM accumulates a little crud to help it seal-up.