Lid Down, Temp Down?


 
Doug M said:
It seems like every time I dump a chimney full of smoking hot charcoal onto the charcoal grate of my OTG, put the cooking grate in place, and close the lid, the next time I open the lid (10-15 min later) my nice hot fire is gone. I always wait until flames are coming out the top of the chimney and the coals are covered in grey ash before pouring them out. Bottom and top vents are fully open but I can't seem to get the temp back up high enough to put a good sear on some strip loins. If I leave the lid off completely the fire gets out of control hot and flare ups become a problem.

Any suggestions on what I may be doing wrong? Thanks all.
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I keep reading this post thinking that I'm missing something or reading it the wrong way, or missing what you are asking so I haven't replied. But it keeps screaming out at me so what the heck.

You put the lid down and the temp goes down. Nothing strange about that at all, it's the physics of fire. Even with top and bottom vents wide open, closing the lid reduces air flow which reduces oxygen for the fire, which reduces the temp.
 
Doug, I think the cast iron grates is the way to go, read a lot about the heat retention and grill marks you get, I'm gettin one for my kettle soon.
 
Clint said:
leave the lid offset just a bit, maybe 1/4" or 3/8", like you meant to put it on right but oops you didn't.
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Jeff F said:
Fire up a full chimney, dump in in the middle of the grate, take a pair of tongs and stack the charcoal in a tight, deep pile right where you're going to cook.
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I decided to look up this post again to reference some of the great advice here. Last night I was cooking chicken breasts, so I used a full chimney of briquettes, gave them 15 minutes in the chimney (flames were just starting to appear), kept them in a tighter pile in the center of the charcoal grate, and kept the lid offset. The fire stayed nice and hot with the lid offset, and gave the chicken a great colour/sear.

Much happier with the results, thanks to all for the excellent suggestions.
 
So, do y'all always leave the top off while searing? It makes sense that the open source of oxygen will result in a hotter flame; I guess I've been playing the role of the minion and keeping the top on at all times "just because".
 
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