temps


 
N

Nathan Bauer

TVWBB Fan
Need a little help with temp control. I've only done a couple chickens so far. I haven't had time for anything low and slow yet. Can anyone give me a breakdown of how you get to the cooking temp you want and how you keep it there and what kind of heat sink, if any, you use?
 
Welcome Nathan! I assume you're asking about getting to temp and controling on low and slow cooks. You can find some good information HERE.

Personally I use a clay saucer for my heat sink, tried water once or twice and it wasn't for me. Most important thing when using a clay saucer is to catch your temps on the way up. Much more difficult to get your temps to come down when using a saucer vs. water. To accomplish this I shut down my vents about 25 degrees lower than my target temp, see where she settles in and then start adjusting slightly for my target temp. Once you get her dialed in she'll run hours without you touching her.

Hope this helps.
 
I recommend you start with water.

Water absorbs a lot of heat energy and can make it easier for you to learn how to control temps.

I suggest you try test burns without any food. That way you can concentrate on what your smoker's temps are doing without the worry of having to cook something.

Set a rough target like 250º. As Larry said, when the temp gets close, start shutting vents. Learn what it takes to stop a climb. Once you get it stopped, it doesn't have to be exactly 250º, try holding it there for a few hours. Then set a higher temp, like 300º, open the vents just a little, and try to stabilize it at that for a few hours. Then try to back it down to 250º.

Once you've stabilzation down then you can try using a clay saucer or no water.
 
Nathan, each WSM is a little different as far as dialing in that temp. You'll learn yours as you do more cooks. I don't use any water in my pan . Just cover it with foil. But if you're real nervous about your cook do the water in the pan to start with. AS you gain more confidence I'd go the empty pan. Never used the saucer so I can't say what the difference is between the two.All the water does is add a heat sink to the cook. It absorbs a lot of the heat fluctuations in the WSM temp but it's also a PIA to monitor especially on long cooks. Plus the clean up is messy.
 
I keep thinking that using water, at least for long cooks, will be a pain. So I'm leaning towards learning without it. It may not be the easiest way to start but seems most stop using it at some point and go with a suacer or just the foiled water pan. Plus I seem to like doing everything the hard way.

I've had my WSM for two weeks now and still haven't had the time do to ribs or a butt yet
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It's killing me! It sits there mocking me everytime I look at it.

I think I may have time for a "test" run tomorrow to play with temp control. I'm gonna throw some country ribs that I need to use though. I think I read somewhere on hear that if you're gonna burn fuel you might as well be cooking something. Makes sense to me! If they turn out they'll be dinner if not I'll chop them up and put it in beans or ABT's.

Thanks for the advice!
 
Nathan, you already have good advice here. I use clay for L&S and foil wrapped empty water pan for HH. Just wanted to mention that the control of temps is not instant. Once you make adjustments to the vents it takes a few minutes for the temp to change either up or down. Hence the tip to adjust vents before you really are out of control. I look at temp trends, if stable good if moving away from where I want it, then make small adjustments in vents or vent.

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nathan Bauer:
I think I may have time for a "test" run tomorrow to play with temp control. I'm gonna throw some country ribs that I need to use though. I think I read somewhere on hear that if you're gonna burn fuel you might as well be cooking something. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's the right attitude! How bad could it turn out?

Temperature control is pretty simple: limit the air going in and you limit the rate of burning. If you catch it by shutting down the vents as as the temperature rises you'll be fine.

If it overshoots your target temperature then it is harder to get it back under control. Once the chimney effect gets going too strong - lots of hot air going out the top vent means lots of cold air being sucked in the bottom vents, even if you have them mostly closed - then you will have a tough time interrupting the flow.


Water in the pan is a crutch that helps moderate your mistakes in adjustment of the vents. You don't need it. With a foiled, empty pan the WSM drives like a Ferrari - small adjustments on the throttle have a relatively large effect. It's still completely manageable, though.
 
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