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.
-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.