Remove ashes


 
C

c bain

TVWBB Fan
I've got my WSM "Roland" all fired up and am 90 minutes into a 5 hours smoke on some long beef ribs.
This is my second smoke on the WSM, and I was wondering how everybody shakes the ashes or rakes the coals.
Right now, I have a handy little tool I'm calling "Broken rake handle" to smack the smokers legs with.
Do the coals need to be physically agitated, or do you find smacking the legs to be sufficient.

By the way, it pouring out, and I can actually see the temperature swing up and down depending on how heavy its raining. Right now, I've dropped 5 degree with a particular heavy downpour. It Q 's...it smokes...and it give you the current weather conditions. How awesome is that?
 
Smackin the legs should be sufficient if you even get to that point. I have went 10-12 hrs w/out doing anything, and only smack the legs should I think I need to be sure I don't run out of heat before I am done...and only if the temp starts to decline and vent adjusting doesn't help.
 
If temps drop some, I'll kick the legs or bottom bowl with the side of my foot lightly a couple times, or if during a long cook and temps start dropping, I may gently stir the coals with my broken rake handle. That's usually unnecessary, though.
 
Agreed with the others; a gentle tap of the legs is usually sufficient for your coals. And don't worry about a 5 degree swing in temps; thats fine. If it gets to about 20 degrees or more, you might want to consider rigging an umbrella or something as a break. I've cooked in heavy rains and it really hasn't affected the temps much at all.
 
You didn't say whether you used lump or briquettes. I find that Kingsford briquettes produce much more ash than good lump.

I use a good quality lump and have very little ash after a 6-8 hours. I believe others report the same results.
 
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