temp control


 
Dwain Pannell

Dwain Pannell

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Yesterday we went to a buddy's house for a dinner party. They cooked some steaks on his Vision Grill from Costco (Komodo Joe/BIg Green Egg clone). (nice cooker) The interesting thing is this: he said his operator's manual has him open the bottom dampner 100% and control the temp with the top vent adjustment. There are even numbers imprinted into the top vent adjustment from 0 (100% closed) to 4 (100% open). This is just opposite of what I've done for ~3 decades of cooking on Weber's. I am cooking a ham on the WSM tomorrow AM and may close the top vent down a bit to help with low temp control.

Edit: After further review, the operator's photo on their web site shows the top and bottom dampers partially closed for smoking. I've always been told to leave the top vent open 100% to prevent bitterness from creosote. Live and learn.
 
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I don't see a problem in closing the top vent down a touch. Before Weber added the lid thermo on the 18.5" WSM an easy way to add a therm was sticking it in a wine cork or silicone plug and stopping up one vent hole, which basically closed the vent down 1/3.

Tim
 
If i chocke down the primo with the top vent only it starts puffing(breath) thru the lover vent. And since all the hot embers is down there i wouldent rekomend it. Im cooking on a wooden deck. Havent seen the firebox of a Vision grill though.
 
Though I am fairly new to kettle cooking, I do use the top vent to help keep the heat down on my OTP, never on the WSM. I would hesitate to fully close it due to the trapped smoke as that provides the flow of smoke over the meat................d
 
David said:
Though I am fairly new to kettle cooking, I do use the top vent to help keep the heat down on my OTP, never on the WSM. I would hesitate to fully close it due to the trapped smoke as that provides the flow of smoke over the meat................d
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I very seldom have my kettle lid vent open more than half way unless I'm looking for max temps however I always have my WSM lid vent wide open in fact I have added a second lid vent to get HH.
 
Gary S said:
I very seldom have my kettle lid vent open more than half way unless I'm looking for max temps however I always have my WSM lid vent wide open in fact I have added a second lid vent to get HH.
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Yep, sounds about right. I can get the wsm to 350 or so with just one vent, but only did it once as I don't really do high heat..............d
 
I have a Big Steel Keg which is similar to the one you're talking about. It's insulated so both top and bottom vents run almost closed to keep the temp down. No problem with creosote.
 
David said:
Yep, sounds about right. I can get the wsm to 350 or so with just one vent, but only did it once as I don't really do high heat..............d
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Dave I would suspect a WSM behaves differently in your climate than it would in mine:wsm:
 
Assuming one top vent is already shut on my bullets, I rarely close the remaining open vent any unless almost finished cooking, assuming I'm on or ahead of schedule. By then, the smoke is petered out or at least very thin, so it doesn't matter. I find that closing the top vent some to smoke low-n-slow in a kettle is just about essential unless the lid fits really nice and snug.
 
I just can't justify the price tag on the eggs or joes when the weber is just as versatile from what I've seen on here. I only throttle the top vent to control an out of control high temp. and that's just for a few mins until it turns.
 
NeilH said:
I just can't justify the price tag on the eggs or joes when the weber is just as versatile from what I've seen on here. I only throttle the top vent to control an out of control high temp. and that's just for a few mins until it turns.
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I know not everyone likes them, but for a WSM I always recommend using digital tempcontrol fan. You get the steady temps of a ceramic cooker, at half the price. They are awsome to use on those weekends that you have to many things to do(wife, kids, dogs, house).
 
On my Primo, I use both vents together, to control the temp. For a low and slow both vents would be open about 1/4".
 
Nathan Thompson said:
I know not everyone likes them, but for a WSM I always recommend using digital tempcontrol fan. You get the steady temps of a ceramic cooker, at half the price. They are awsome to use on those weekends that you have to many things to do(wife, kids, dogs, house).
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Good idea Nathan as I have all four of those to keep me hoppin.
 
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