Tips on getting a good stable temperature


 
B

BJPirt

New member
Hi all,
After the raft of extremely helpful tips on my brisket technique, I've got a few queries on how to keep a good, stable temperature with my 18.5" WSM. Here's what I usually do:

- I put a layer of unlit coals in the holder like in the Minion method with some pieces of wood (about half way up the holder)
- I light a full chimney and get it so the coals are white on the top (20mins or so)
- I put it on top of the unlit layer and spread it around
- I give it a few minutes to settle and then put the top on with the meat on water bowl in place

While cooking:
- I find that if I leave all vents fully open the temperature will gradually drop to <200F so (the ambient temp is around 50F - 60F)
- When the temp gets to ~ 210F I crack the lid open which causes it to rise
- I normally put the lid back on around 260F - 280F
- The temp will gradually drop again
- Occasionally I will remove the top and move the coals into a pile because I find that the coals at the edge are not burning at all

I read about people leaving their WSMs smoking overnight, but there's no way I'd be able to do this, it just seems to tend towards going out. Any advice on what I could do to get it more stable? I'm quite tempted to build a HeaterMeter but I'd like to master it without first.

In any case, I'm still having a lot of fun - today I'm smoking a Butt (or Pork Shoulder as we Brits call it :) ) - here's a quick shot at the 8 hour point...

mjT1xke.jpg


Happy smoking,
Ben
 
I am fairly new to using a WSM as well, so take my comments with a grain of salt, but a few things you stated above confuse me.

I light a full chimney and get it so the coals are white on the top (20mins or so)
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I find that if I leave all vents fully open the temperature will gradually drop to <200F so (the ambient temp is around 50F - 60F)
Click to expand...

I thought leaving the vents open (or opening them more) INCREASES the temps, not decreases. Also I just have 5-6 smokes under my belt but the first two times I started with a full chimney stacked almost to the top and I found once poured onto the main charcoal pile it was WAY too much, created a lot of heat. I jumped to over 300 degrees QUICKLY and one time took almost an hour to get temps back down even with all vents closed. now I will say it is a new cooker so maybe not sealed as well either yet. Still I am now using about 1/2 to maybe 2/3 (at most) of the chimney.

Again I am new to but I feel if I poured a full chimney onto a cooker with all the vents open I don't know how I would get temp down to < 200, would be just the opposite

Occasionally I will remove the top and move the coals into a pile because I find that the coals at the edge are not burning at all
Click to expand...

Are you taking the full center section off in mid smoke? That seems dangerous if so. wouldn't the access door and a pair of long tongs work better?

In general it seems like a lot of tinkering (taking lid off, putting it back on, taking center section off) and that you are getting way too much oxygen to the coals with some of these various methods, which would expain why you can't get a good all night burn

Please anyone else with more knowledge amend or correct me, but years or weeks of experience I still think taking the center section off etc (if that is what you meant) really is not proper.

My method (still learning and being perfected)

1) Use 1/2 chimney or so
2) Fill charcoal ring up about half way for 4-6 hour cooks, almost all they way for longer ones (I have done a boston butt twice) and then slightly hollow out center as best I am able (I have not tried using a can or something yet)
3) Pour chimney coals into center area, 3-4 pieces of wood on the outside of the center lit part
4) Start with all vents almost al the way open, wait for it to get creep up to 215-225 or so range, start shutting vents except for top and part of 1 bottom one. Is about 45 min for me, also gets all that white smoke gone. I have tried to get the temp stable before adding meat.
5) Add meat when cooker gets to 225-240 and holds as noted above. Once I add meat temp usually drops to about 200 for 10 min or so but comes right back up.
6) I can keep at about 230-240 range using bottom vents and every once in awhile shutting just a bit of the top.

I have been doing this on what has seemed windy days in fairly cold weather. I am looking forward to trying on a calm warm day and seeing if I can keep temps even more stable

temp control (I think) should not include having to take the lid off for an extended period or removing center section.
 
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In normal weather if I was to light a whole chimney of charcoal and put in WSM I would be over 300 degrees quickly! What temps are you shooting for? For a long cook I will fill the charcoal ring with charcoal and light anywhere from 30-50 briquettes and dump on the middle of the unlit charcoal. I normally cook between 225-275. With the vents 100% open temps should climb not lower. I have never taken the cooker apart mid cook to add or stir charcoal. With a hot water pan and meat that is prob not the best idea. You say a layer of unlit charcoal. Do you mean one briquette deep across the bottom of the charcoal grate or multiple briquettes deep?
 
Fill the charcoal ring with as much coal as it will take, then pull about 20 bricks out of the center and light them. Pour them back into the hole you created. That will give you at least eight hours of low and slow cooking.
 
By spreading the lit coals around the top, you're lighting everything and burning the reserve, which would otherwise be lit later in the cook if the lit coals were concentrated in the middle.

I haven't tried the coffee can method, but I usually dump about 16-20 list briqs in the center of the unlit on my 22.5" WSM. I used 12ish lit briqs on my 18.5" before I sold it.

Hope this helps.
 
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Ben, fwiw, here's my routine to get stable temps on my 14.5. (250F-ish).

Coffee/bean tin in the middle of the charcoal grate. Fill up the charcoal ring around the can, with new briqs & with wood of your choice buried. (What I do is place the wood so it's touching the can. That way it gets the heat straight away and burns outward slowly). Put 12-15 lit briqs in the can and then remove it.....carefully.

All 3 lower vents and top vent 100% open. As the cooker reaches +/-200F I close all 3 lower vents about 50%. Once at cook temp, close the 3 lower vents so the are about 10% open. Top vent remains open 100% throughout the cook. I use a foiled water pan, no water.

I have stuck to this method since getting the WSM. Once the temp is stable, I just wander off and do other stuff. If the temp creeps up, or drops by a few degrees I don't sweat it. 220F-275F is good in my book.
 
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Thanks everyone for the tips - I'm going to try the approach of making a ring of coals with some wood and put the lit coals into the centre next time.

One more question: when you pour the lit coals into the hole, how long do you normally leave it before putting the top half on and the meat in?

Cheers,
Ben

P.S. It WAS delicious! Here's the last bit of leftovers in yesterday's pulled pork sandwich:

u0qEgBL.jpg
 
BJPirt said:
One more question: when you pour the lit coals into the hole, how long do you normally leave it before putting the top half on and the meat in?

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I assemble immediately and give the WSM 15-20 minutes to warm up and let the thick white smoke burn out. My theory is when wood is catching fire the first couple minutes the smoke does not give a good taste. I wait for that to go and the smoke coming out of the top vent is the thin blue/clear smoke. I know a lot of guys dump the charcoal in and assemble with meat on the racks. I don't think you can go wrong.
 
Ben I had an 18.5 before my 22.5 and 14.5. I miss it. I don't think you're using enough charcoal. I always started my cooks with a minimum of 2 1/2 very full chimneys, sometimes more. If you're doing a short cook (5 hours or less) you will have a bunch left over and can reuse the coals towards your next smoke. I've done cooks with 2 1/2 chimneys that lasted 10 hours and didn't have to add any, in fact I still had some left for the next smoke. What I did was-
1 1/2 chimneys unlit spread equally spear over the bottom in the ring (no open center)
1 full chimney hot coals. I let the coals burn until the white smoke burned off. Usually about 12 -15 min. Spread them evenly over the unlit coals, from center to edge.
Wait 5 minutes to place the middle section on. I always add my hot water and thermometer probes in during that time.
Quickly put the lid on
All vents should be fully open. Watch your temp on the grill and 15 - 25 degrees below your target temp close the bottom vents to about 1/2 to a 1/3 of the way open and leave the top open the entire cook.
You should be able to hold a stable 225 - 275 for many hours. I find that with water I can't get my temp to hold above 282, but without water I can hold much higher. But I'm a water guy.
 
Ben.

As soon as I have the lit briqs in the middle I assemble to cooker. (Meat is on, probes in, top on). Lift the whole lot in a one-er.
 
Just thought I'd give a quick update as I had some good success today after following some of the advice in this thread. I put in a decent amount of briquettes in the bottom with a hole in the centre and some chunks of wood around that. I then poured in about half a chimney of lit briquettes, let it get going for five minutes while assembling the top and then put it all together.

It held a good stable temperature between 220F - 270F for the 9 hours it took to cook the ham I did today - success! Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions everybody.
Cheers,
Ben
 
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