Temps still too high


 
J

John_S

New member
During various Minion cooks I've consistently struggled to keep my cooker temps down below 250. Usually only cooking for my family (5) so mostly brisket flats, ribs, turkey breast..not 25 lbs of meat at once is the point. Would prefer no water in the pan and so far have just gone with a foiled clay pot base. No matter what I've done, and after reading everything I can find here and on other popular sites, my WSM just seems to like 250-275. This past weekend I had two separate cooks with the same result. Between cooks I sealed my door shut completely with aluminum flue tape. Did a 9.2 lb butt overnight Saturday. I would normally have lit about 20 briquettes, like I did the day before, but this time I only started with about 10 lit in my chimney. Used Trader Joe's pvt. label (which is really Rancher) atop a crammed-full ring of unlit. I know this stuff is supposed to burn hotter than Kingsford so that was another reason to light less on the front end. After I spread out the lit, I put the center section on by itself for about 5 mins. Then put in the wood chunks, pan w/pot base, even poured probably a pint of hot water in the clay base, and put on the meat and lid. It took 25 minutes to bring the lid temp up to 150 with vents all 100% open. Shut the three base vents down to 25% and after about 90 minutes, lid was at 220 and I thought I finally had it knocked. Wrote down never to use more than 15 lit on a warm, windless day. She steamed along for the next six hours at around 225 and I never touched the base vents--they stayed at 25% open. After 11 1/2 hours, lid temp was up to 250, still at only 25% vents!
What I know for sure:
1) My Tel-Tru therms are not the culprit. Check them often and they're accurate.
2) The only other air getting in this thing is through a single Guru eyelet. My lid probably isn't a perfect seal but you couldn't call it leaky.
3) This is driving me nuts.
The good news is that the meat all turned out excellent. I've read numerous posts from guys who cook pork at 275 as a practice and think their results are every bit as good as if they ran 225. Maybe I shouldn't hassle it but after reading about how so many of you have no problem holding the lower temps, I at least want to figure this out. Also like to cook salmon sometimes which should really be at temps below 200. Any help appreciated.
 
I probably would not sweat-it too much.

A few possibilities to examine:

How long is the probe on your Tel-Tru?
(They are available in several lengths, and if yours is short, you're measuring the lid temperature - not the grate temperature, which could typically tend to be around 25 or so degrees hotter.)

Maybe try it with briquettes instead of lump - you may get a more consistent burn at a bit lower temperature. I have not tried this (I always use lump).

As your end results have proven - It sounds like you're getting "into the ballpark", and in most cases, I would not worry too much about the 25-degree difference at the lid.
 
Like Ron said I wouldn't worry at all. 250-275 is perfectly fine for most anything you'd want to BBQ. Some cookers seem to have a sweet spot where they like to settle in and it's Sisyphean Task to get them out of that zone. Mine likes to run above 250, I used to fight it but now I just relax and let it settle in where it wants to ( within reason of course).
 
I actually have two Tel-Trus--one mounted on the lid and one right below the top grate (through the top hole for the grate strap support). Lid therm is 4" stem, with about 3" exposed due to the fitting I used to mount it. Grate therm is 6" stem, thought was to keep the tip out of any convective draft that happens up the cooker walls. Tel Tru says you need at least 2 1/2" of tip exposed to get an accurate reading. I've traditionally burned Kingsford briqs, but really liked the flavor I got from the Trader Joe's (private label Rancher) I used last weekend, so I think it will be my go-to briquette for now. It is thought to burn a little hotter than K. Haven't tried lump yet.

I know I'm making too much of this but you know how much fun it is to tinker with these WSMs. You're right though--if the Q turns out as good as it did last weekend, I should just shut up and cook!
 
John:

I've been using TJ private label (Rancher's) too with just the opposite problem -- temps too low. Also starting w/ MM, but half ring of unlit and the 10-20 lit dumped in the middle of the unlit -- coffee can method w/o the coffee can. My temps are around 250F before an adjust open the door and a crack the lid. My temp goal has been 325-375F -- high heat stuff -- but have cooked at the low temps and finished off well. Have been wondering if the coffee can method might be culprit and sounds like it might be.

So, if you want lower temps, maybe a try at a modified coffee can MM might be worth it. I'm going to try the spreading the lit across/atop the unlit and see if that gets things hotter.

All that being said, things seem to cook to done at both sets of temps. I'm just looking for a slightly faster cook (w/ smoke ;-)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I know this stuff is supposed to burn hotter than Kingsford so that was another reason to light less on the front end. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Not really. Only if the air is unrestricted.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> After I spread out the lit, I put the center section on by itself for about 5 mins. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Don't do this. You're starting to defeat the purpose of a Minion start.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Then put in the wood chunks, pan w/pot base, even poured probably a pint of hot water in the clay base, and put on the meat and lid. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>If you want to go with clay then skip the water. It won't help. Assemble the cooker immediately after adding the lit; add the wood and meat right away. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It took 25 minutes to bring the lid temp up to 150 with vents all 100% open. Shut the three base vents down to 25% and after about 90 minutes, lid was at 220 and I thought I finally had it knocked. Wrote down never to use more than 15 lit on a warm, windless day. She steamed along for the next six hours at around 225 and I never touched the base vents--they stayed at 25% open. After 11 1/2 hours, lid temp was up to 250, still at only 25% vents! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>After 11.5 hours you can expect a different temp. Not that it will always happen but so many things can change. Just adjust the vents prior to much of a climb.

Frankly, 250-275 is, imo, a far better cooktemp range than the 225-250 one often sees. I wouldn't worry about it. If you need very low temps (like for smoking bacon) just use water (without the clay).
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I'm just looking for a slightly faster cook (w/ smoke ;-) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Empty pan?

A coffee can shouldn't make a difference. Still, I prefer just spreading. Simpler.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Empty pan? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Kev: clay saucer, waterless. Didn't expect the coffee can method to be an issue either, but need to do the experiment to satisfy my curiosity...
 
when i run my wsm's either the 22 or the 18 my bottom vents are typically open only about 5% or so. top vent should always be full open.

but i dont use the minion start as i find it takes forever to get going. for the 22 i use a full chimney of lit for the 18 i use a half.

i have bent the door so it fits the opening better or as much as i can manage to get it fitting right. this might have a lot to do with why mine runs at such low vent settings.

pick one place to measure and go with that. measuring multiple spots leads to overthinking the process.

whichever spot you measure the temp stick with it. dont overthink the bbq. its not as mysterious as people make it out to be. whatever temp you pick bbq cooks well from 225-275 or even 300 using a low and slow approach. regardless of the place of measure i shoot for 250 if its a little more or a little less it really doesnt matter as long is it remains the same for the vast majority of the cook.

in a way temperature within reason is kinda irrelevant to good bbq. time is irrelevent as well in a sense. your aim should be to cook till it is tender. time at temp gives you an idea of when that will occur. time at temp is not a destination it is merely a roadmarker.
 
Get rid of the saucer. Use an empty foiled pan. I use ~ 22 lit to start and usually stall in the upper 200s. Then I just crack the door 1/4-inch or so.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
A coffee can shouldn't make a difference. Still, I prefer just spreading. Simpler. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I always looked at "the coffee can thing", as not really making much sense too me. I'll leave it at that.
icon_biggrin.gif

I agree with Kevin on the spreading of the lit. It gives you more uniform heat, verses a small circle of lit coals in the center of the charcoal ring. Also the lit comes in more contact with the unlit, which should help you with your low temp issue. HTH
 
Sounds like you're keeping your lower vents too open too long. I just switched over to clay saucer and my last long cook I found that I had to almost close all of the bottom vents (one was open 5%) to maintain 250-260 at the lid.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I always looked at "the coffee can thing", as not really making much sense too me. I'll leave it at that. Big Grin
I agree with Kevin on the spreading of the lit. It gives you more uniform heat, verses a small circle of lit coals in the center of the charcoal ring. Also the lit comes in more contact with the unlit, which should help you with your low temp issue. HTH </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks... that confirms my suspicion. Looking forward to the next smoke.
 
any reason why you don't close your bottom vents all the way? I usually have mine completely shut by 200* if I want to have any hope of maintaining a <240* wsm. Once the wsm is burning cleanly, a couple of hours into the cook, I'll start to nudge the top closed if I need to slow things down further. The way I look at it,if I have a breeze that's drawing extra air through my vents and gaps, shutting the top vent to get me back to a normal draw isn't going to choke my fire. and I haven't seen it yet where white smoke starts billowing out once my bottom vents are all closed.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">any reason why you don't close your bottom vents all the way? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If I did that my cooker would nearly extinguish itself.
 
The last two responses to this thread sort of buttress my contention that each WSM has it's own personality and it's sort of pointless to talk about vent settings -- at least to such an exact degree -- because they don't necessarily transfer from one cooker to another.

You can use others' settings as a reference or a starting place but there really is no other way to find what works for your cooker, with you at the helm, in your environment than to just do it and see what works, and how you need to set your vents to hit the range you want. JMO
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The last two responses to this thread sort of buttress my contention that each WSM has it's own personality and it's sort of pointless to talk about vent settings -- at least to such an exact degree -- because they don't necessarily transfer from one cooker to another.

You can use others' settings as a reference or a starting place but there really is no other way to find what works for your cooker, with you at the helm, in your environment than to just do it and see what works, and how you need to set your vents to hit the range you want. JMO </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll give you another observation. At a recent competition we ran three wsm's. started them all similarly, and closed the vents at approximately the same time and temps. two wouldn't stay below 300* and one wouldn't get over 200*. it was the weirdest thing.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:

I'll give you another observation. At a recent competition we ran three wsm's. started them all similarly, and closed the vents at approximately the same time and temps. two wouldn't stay below 300* and one wouldn't get over 200*. it was the weirdest thing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yessir, just from reading these forums I see that Bryan's cooker runs cool and he has to fight to get it above 300, Kevin's likes to stall in the upper 200s as does mine, others settle in < 240.

I first got my WSM last October and only got to use it a couple of times before winter and I chased temps all up and down trying to set my vents according to what others had done. But this year I took the approach that I would let the cooker tell me where it wanted to be and not worry too much about it within reason, and by doing that I have learned how to get it into the temp range that I want by varying the amount of lit I start with and vent settings, and water pan configuration. Now I bet I could never go to your cooker and get the temps I want with the vent settings I typically use.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I usually have mine completely shut by 200* if I want to have any hope of maintaining a <240* wsm. Once the wsm is burning cleanly, a couple of hours into the cook, I'll start to nudge the top closed if I need to slow things down further. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
j, you either have an out of round condition, or a real bad fitting access door, or..... With all the bowl vents closed, and you're still running that hot, the WSM is drawing in a lot of air from somewhere. If I closed all my bowl vents, my WSM would got out. Each one is out of round or different in their own special way. Finding out what yours likes and disslikes is the key. Once you figure it out, it's automatic. Mine runs cold because I worked my bowl, and mid section, and door over the years for a zero gap fit. When I'm done cooking, I close all the vents and my fire goes out in 30- 45 min.
 
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