Lump Charcoal: Smoke in Progress/Advice Needed


 
T

Tim Dirgins

New member
First time lumper. I started up the WSM last night at midnight with a full ring and topped with a 1/3 chimney to get it going. Temps shot up past 300 and I fiddled with it half the night to get the temps consistently between 225-250... Opening and closing vents (including all bottom closed and top 50%) Is this common?

I like the idea of less ash but I like to sleep too! With Kingsford I'm usually rock solid at 225.

Pork shoulder is at 174 according to the Maverick. Any advice appreciated!
 
Tim -
The trick to an overnight cook with lump/Minion start is to catch the temps on the way up.
When your thermo hits 200, leave the top vent open 100% (always) and close down your bottom vents. I find that one vent at 50% and the other 2 essentially closed will have the temps leveling off at around 250.
Were you using water in the pan or Piedmont pan?
If the temps do get that high on you, understand that any adjustment you make is going to take a little while to take effect.
 
Well, the butt is fine!

No, not common.

More info needed:

You're not using Cowboy are you? Wht brand lump? It's hard for lump to 'shoot past 300' unless it's getting lots of air (especially if lower-end, less dense lump), too much lit is used to start it (doesn't sound that way), or an insufficient heat sink is used and/or the vents are not closed off soon enough. What kind of heat sink are you using: water? standard or Brinkmann pan? sand? pot?
 
thanks for the tips. The WSM is buttoned up with no airleaks. I was using Cowboy. Is this a brand I should stay away from?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I was using Cowboy. Is this a brand I should stay away from? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That depends on whether you like to fire your cooker with recycled flooring, plywood, and ceramic insulation. Click here for Cowboy Review.
 
Yes.

Though I don't like it for anything (it's too porous and often there are unburned pieces in the bag) it's okay for grilling when quick lighting and rapid burn might be helpful--but keep it out of your WSM as these 'qualities' aren't useful there (and it produces quite a bit of ash).

Go with a quality lump, preferably one that's denser.
 
I always use Royal Oak lump with my overnight cooks and never have a problem with too high of temps or uncontrollable spikes! Like the other guys said the wsm is easiest to control with some kind of heat sink( water, sand, ect...) and ALWAYS try to catch the temps on the way up instead of fighting them to get back down. Even with good quality lump your WSM can be "set it and forget it" on overnight cooks. Good luck!
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Windy City Smokers
 
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