Too Much Sun Too Much Wind

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I figured out why this last weekend's cook went awry. It was a too sunny and too windy. I noticed that while the I was getting the coals ready that I leaned down to touch the lid and it was very warm almost hot to the touch. Also it was very windy but the wind usually comes out of the SE so I keep that bottom vent mostly closed. All of my previous smokes came out great. Mostly cloudy and only one cook was relatively windy, but still a success. The wind is not going away for awhile and it will be soon summer. 97 degrees and 100% humidity. I think I need to build something to keep this thing out of the wind and the sun. I have an EZ up and will use that this weekend, but I am leaning towards building something to put the WSM in to protect it from the wind and the sun. Any ideas??
 
In the absence of wind, the sun is your friend. Solar gain will let you cook longer with less fuel expenditure. I'm looking forward to cooking on sunny 80*-plus days this spring and summer.
 
Sun is great! I would much rather cook in the sun than the shade.

You just need to choke down that fire more when it is sunny. If using MM, use fewer lit coals and control the temp on the way up. It will be much harder to cool the WSM in the sun. So, don't let it get hot to begin with.

Plus, like Doug said....much better fuel efficiency.
 
Bryan, how windy was it? I did a MM cook with sand in 15-25 mph wind. I kept all the bottom vents closed for most of the cook.
 
It was 25-30 mph. I am going to try the MM method this weekend on a pork butt and see if that makes a difference. I think it will be easier to fight the heat on the way up than trying to bring it down from the standard method. I was thinking about building something in the corner of my backyard that attaches to the fence to provide shade and wind protection. That way I should be able to have a consistent cooker environment year round. A few 2X4's and some plywood and a couple of hinges and a door handle and I good build a nice little home for my WSM for cooking.
 
Bryan,
I took 3 pieces of plywood about 4x4 and screwed them together with small L brackets.

It's easy to set up and knock down. I use 3 sides and lay a top on it. I guess in high winds the top would need to be fastened as well.

Usually, though, I don't have the winds here you typiclly have.

Sun isn't too much of a concern for me, I Q at night.
 
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