New stoker cook gone bad. Help please


 
R

Rich S

TVWBB Member
Hi all,
I have been using my 22.5 WSM to cook the last year with no problems.

Yesterday used my stoker wifi for the first time. Cooked 4 racks of spares and could not keep the temps above 250 and was running for a while for 210.

Here are the details:
Outdoor temp in 60's little wind
22.5 wsm with water pan.
hooked up stoker to vent with vents open. top vent open. Initially had other vents closed but then resorted to opening them full. Then eventually had the door open.
Started with charcoal pan about half full. Used kinsford that was stored in the shed from last fall. Minion method. started w 3/4 chimney. Eventually added 2 more full lit chimney fulls during cook.
Used Amirs stoker log v.6 to keep track. target temp 275
10cfu fan with wsm adapter.
Fan seemed to be blowing for the entire cook. Dont know how fast its supposed to blow but seemed good to me.

Any and all critique is appreciated!!!!
 
If a 10cfm fan was running all the time, either:
1. The pit probe was not functioning properly. You can test it in boiling water and calibrate if needed.
2. The pit probe was reading low, maybe too close or touching the meat. Another ATC maker cautioned at one time that water pans/steam can cause incorrect temp readings. Not sure if that is true for Stoker. I have both but don't use a water pan.
3. Don't know how much charcoal fits in the pan of 22 WSM, but I always load as much as will fit in my smokers. Either not enough charcoal or it didn't burn right, maybe damp. When you added full chimney's, if there was no or little charcoal left, you didn't add enough to begin with. If there was still charcoal there, it wasn't burning correctly.
4. Since you've used the smoker for a year, I'm assuming the water pan wasn't filled with cold water. But if it was, it takes a lot of fuel to heat cold water.

That's my guesses. How long does it normally take you to cook that amount of ribs and how long did it take this time?
 
Last edited:
Ditto what Steve said, but in addition:

You can use a water pan but don't add water. Just foil it (if you want an easy cleanup). I've gone to just a foiled clay pot saucer. It's a great heat sink. Since any water in the pan evaporates during the cook, the Stoker is constantly dealing with a changing environment and trying to compensate. Heating up the water also uses more fuel. Try it without water.

Your bottom vents should be closed completely the entire time. Don't open them or open your door. On my 18.5 WSM, my top vent is about 1/3 open, never fully open.

The Stoker kind of "learns" your cooker so don't fiddle around with a bunch of stuff (vents, door, lid, etc.) during the cook. Let the Stoker figure out your cooker and it will get things nailed down. Also, give it a little time to come up to temp and stabilize. Trust the Stoker.

Regarding charcoal, for spares you can probably get away with 1/2 ring, but like Steve said it doesn't hurt to fill it up. Sounds like you started with enough lit coals, maybe too many. I usually start with about 25-30 on top of the unlit (Minion). You should not have had to add coals for a spare rib cook. On my 18.5 WSM, I can get 18-24 hours on a very full ring at 225-250. However, I do know that the 22 burns more coal since you're heating up a bigger space. But you still shouldn't have had to add more coal, lit or unlit.

Try it again on a dry run without food, but go through the calibration on both of your probes before the dry run. If it happens again, you might have a bad probe or a bad Stoker.

Good luck.
 
Great responses. Thanks!
Steve i have used water in the pan in the past and not had an issue with temps. I started using my maverick thermometer half way through to make sure the temp was close to each other. I usually have no problem doing spares in 6 hours and they are usually fall off the bone. I think maybe i was trying to save charcoal and didnt put in enough in the beginning.

Chad great idea. I will run the cooker again w/o food just to check the stoker.

Does anyone know if the stoker fan runs at variable speeds? I have never used it before. It was running and I think was probably fine but I dont know if it is supposed to run faster at certain times or is it just an on/off fan?
 
Hi Rich,

The stoker fan cycles on or off, ie is not variable speed. One item to check is the flapper at the fan discharge. It must be totally free to move. With the fan correctly oriented, if it doesn't open, one would possibly see low temperatures and a continuously running fan.

Just a thought... ;)

Bob
 
Everyone thank you for the help. Last night ran w no food, full charcoal ring, and no water pan. Sucker ran at 350 with no issues.
 
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