Problem getting up to temp


 
R

Richard King

New member
I have had my 18.5in WSM, 2009 model, for about eight months now and am experiencing inconsistencies in getting it up to temperature. Sometimes it will easily get to up to the 225-235 range, but other times it never gets there or only stays there for an hour or two and then begins to fall. I generally do things as follows:
-Shake off the ash from partially used charcoal from the previous cook (in the bottom of the charcoal pan)
-Fill the charcoal pan to nearly full, puting new, unlit, charcoal on top of the unused charcoal
-Start about half a Weber chimney and spread the hot coals on top of the unlit charcoal.
-Add a full water pan (hot tap water)
-All vents all the way open
-Add a chunk of wood
-Add meat

What am I doing wrong? Why won't the temperature get high enough, or only stay there for an hour or two without dropping? Could I have an air flow problem? How can I raise the temperature in the cooker without adding more hot charcoal? I have produced some great results using the WSM, but it seems like others are not spending nearly as much time monitoring the temperature as I have been. Thank you.
 
Richard,it sounds like you are doing everything right. Are you letting the smoker come up to temp before you add the meat? If you add the meat too soon,it can act as a heat sink and suck up all the heat. Try that. HTH
 
Couple of thoughts.

I don't advocate re-using charcoal. I tried it a couple of times and the used charcoal was very wet and hard to burn. It's possible that being in a high humidity area has something to do with it but it did essentially what you're describing.

Try going with less than full water pan. I've found that going with a half full pan of water (or none at all) allowed the temps to come up much quicker than with a full pan. One other item, heating the water in the pan uses up a lot of fuel for no gain. That's why I only go with dry pan anymore. Yes, the temps are quicker to move around but knowing how to control your smoker needs to be second nature anyway.

Russ
 
Richard, I have just the oposite problem in that I have a hard time keeping my temps in the low range. I use lump. perhaps we should combine our methods and reach a happy medium. One thought might be for you to use at least 1/2 lump and me to use 1/2 briquets.
Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">What am I doing wrong? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Where are you located?
 
I'll add my vote to the "start with less water" camp.

The water is cooling your cooker even when it's boiling (it's only 212). The larger the water mass the more heat energy you will need to counteract it's cooling effect.

If you are going to use a full water pan I would suggest filling your chimney and letting it get good and lit before dumping. You will need all the heat you can get.
 
Thank you for all of your suggestions. I am located in Utah, and I have often wondered how big an effect the outside air temperature has (I have been known to smoke in the snow). However, the last time I cooked it was 60 degrees outside and I still had trouble keeping the temperature up. I will try it with the water pan half full the next time, and then empty after that. I thought the instructions on this site indicated that you should put the meat on before the smoker comes up to temp? Am I hearing otherwise here? Thanks again for the help.
 
The problem is your elevation. Skip the water entirely.

I always load the meat when I assemble the cooker. Only a substantial meat quantity will act as a significant heat sink. And, still, I much prefer the heat sink, if present, to be there from the get-go as it avoids a later drop in temp, avoids adding to the draft so early in the process, uses less fuel, and is simple to do right at that point.
 
I add the meat when I assemble the cooker, ... lotta smokin gets done while the WSM is coming up ta speed!
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I'm experimenting with the elevation issue myself. I'm at about 5500 feet here in Nevada. The good folks on this forum suggested going with no water in the pan. I have been lighting 1 and 1/2 chimney's, getting up to temp and then adding my wood and meat. It has been working excellent. I hit 250 degrees the other night and it stuck for 5 hours while smoking baby back ribs. They were excellent.

I have been reusing some of the unused charcoal but kicking out some of the crappy ones. So my suggestion would be use more lit charcoal then called for, and cook with no water in the pan. I hope it helps because it has worked excellent for me.

I am in the middle of the beginner salmon recipe now posted on the forum. Its really windy here today and I'm at 250 and holding strong. I continue to be surprised how the WSM just holds its temperature with little alteration of the vents. Good luck.
 
I was having a similar situation recently. I had used my smoker several times, and had been able to easily get to 250*. But, on a couple recent smokes I was having difficulty getting up to 220... very frustrating. I decided I had to have done something to my smoker making it act badly. Turns out that, by adding a side-table to the unit, I had introduced a couple ever-so-small air leaks into the lid. Sealing those off (removing the side-table) resolved my temp issues. I also spent a little time re-shaping the access door, just to make sure. End result is that I've done my last 2 cooks (Stoker-assisted) at 290* for 9 hours each (beef chuck roast... highly recommended!) and I've no doubt the thing could go another 6 hours like that, with no additional fuel. And, fyi, I'm at about 5700', and have some difficulty keeping temps at times without the Stoker... there's just not much air up here!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Richard King:
Thanks again! I will definitely try it without water. Will this result in the meat being drier? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I sure don't think so but we all have different tastes. I've even read some people speculate that the increased air flow in the cooker from the water might actually dry the meat out more! I have no idea if thats true, but it sounds good
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Uh-uh. Dryness comes from overcooking, not the lack of water in the pan. With water, steam rising from the pan can, say, moisten the surface of the bottom of the meat, but the steam generated into the draft is not enough to increase humidity where it has a significant effect.

(Commercial steam/roasting ovens are different; they can generate humidity into the high double-digits. That is effective.0
 
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