Lots of smoke coming from around the lid


 
A

AlanK

New member
I smoked my first Turkey on Thanksgiving, which came out very good. WHen I first started the smoker, a great deal of smoke came out from around the lid. Is this normal or is there something wrong with the fit of the lid?
-Thanks-
 
Normal. Not an issue. When the lid gets gunky at the edge that will decrease but as long as your lid vent is open smoke from around the lid is okay.
 
If it stopped during the cook, that's normal. When you were done with your cook, did you close all vents and did the fire go out (unburnt charcoal left)? If so, that would show that the WSM is air-tight enough not to worry about the lid.

Also, Kevin's right that some gunk will help seal things up, but don't let that gunk build up too much. I actually had to take a screwdriver to my lid to pry it off once. Keep the lid rim and the middle section lip clean with some vinegar on a paper towel. I don't scrub mine, but I keep the build up to a minimum. A wipe every couple of cooks is sufficient.
 
If its more than your comfortable with you can try tweeking all 3 sections by measuring with a tape at 12 and 6 then at 3 and 9. Get them withing a 1/4" by gently bear hugging. But as noted if your fire goes out after shut down in less than 1hr your fine.
 
"great deal of smoke"?

A "great deal" is not good but "some" is normal.

Like this is normal (and about ideal) ...



If you're getting a lot more than this, you might have an "out of round" condition. Check out the Out of Round section.
 
Thanks. The smoke was more than shown in your picture. Next time I smoke, I will take a photo.

Alan
 
". WHen I first started the smoker, a great deal of smoke came out from around the lid. Is this normal ...."

Yes. The charcoal smokes more in the beginning. I sometimes let it sit and burn a bit until the smoke settles before I put the top and meat on. Not sure why; I just do. But it definitely can smoke a lot in the beginning.
 
Even after seasoning in the WSM (building gunk) it will still leak around the lid and access door until the unit settles in for the cook. After about an hour, the smoke leaks should be minor.
 
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