Trying to dial in low temps on my kettle


 
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DK Smith

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Sigh, another kettle slow temp question.
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I seem to find threads on setup and other things but not the actual process for "dialing" in the temps on the kettle. Thought I would address it with a new thread.

Here is my setup:
22.5 kettle OTS
2 firebricks on its side indirect
small water pan seperating meat and coals
minion method
6 coal start w/ coals packed tight
1 chunk of wood about 2in by 2 in or so
No wind to speak of



I can "control the temps" as well as I want maybe with an exception of a spike from the wood chunk catching or the lid opening. I can keep it almost anywhere by adjusting vents.

My problem is keeping the temp level. I am constantly fluctuating up or down. I keep battling with the vents but can't seem to find the right fit to make it steady. Does anyone have a vent setup they have had success with to maintain a steady temp (250 or so)? Or any other tricks?
Any help would be great.
 
DKSmith17, welcome. I have used my Weber kettle 22" as a smoker a couple times. I now have a WSM for the following reasons. I can maintain a pretty even temp on the kettle but for only about 1 1/2 hrs at a time. I believe that this is due to the small amount of coals that fit in the 1/2 space created by the bricks. My last smoke I averaged temps about 225-230. I keep the top vent open 100%, bottom vents I started full open till smoker temp of 227 then closed all bottom vents to 1/2. next hr close 2 vents to 1/4 and 3rd totally closed. 2 hrs later after adding coal made adjustments based on temp. So bottom line is IMHO you can do a good job of keeping temps constant BUT it takes some adjustments during the cook. With my new WSM I got about 3-4 hrs constant temp with very little adjustment and never added coals for a 6 hr smoke. Even had left over coals and only started with about 3/4 of the ring full of lump.
Good luck with your cooks, It definately can and is done with the kettle, just needs a bit of attention.
Mark
 
i never actually tried very low temp cooks. lowest is 250-275. but took to long for me so i went to high temp and havn't looked back. one thing that will drive you and the kettle nuts is constantly adjusting things. try to find a happy area and leave it alone. on my ots i will foil the coal grate up to where the coals are so almost all the air goes through the coals rather than straight up and mixing with the heat from the coals. i think this is very important. when i'm doing mine i shut the lower vents until there is very little gap. as to the top vent i will shut it down to about 50% once the kettle starts to stabalize near were i want it. also i would get rid of the water.
 
I've been doing a lot of smoking on my performer. Here is what I do:

I start with about 8 lit coals on top of unlit. I then keep the vents open 100% until it hits about 180. Then I shut the vents down to about 25 percent and let the temps slowly creep up to 225. I then monitor for the next 1/2 hour to see if it will keep rising or lower or stay. If it keeps rising, I will barely tap the vent to close it another 5% percent or so, if it is barely getting lower I will tap the vents a little to open. Once I do that, it will usually settle in to my target temps and I'm good to go for about 6 hours.

Last time I did this, I even left the house for over two hours. When I left, the temps were at 230, when I came back they were at 225.

I should say that I keep the lid vent open 100% all of the time.
 
Maybe it's where you're placing the lit coals.
If I put them in the center of the pile I seem to have trouble controlling the temp.The fire burns downs and out in both directions lighting to many coals.
Now I put them to the side either the right or left and have less problems.
 
Looks like there is a lot of different ways to accomplish this. I guess I will just have to play around with it and see what works for me.

The foil of the bottom grate interests me I will have to try this.

I have been primarily attempting to do what Andy is doing just having a tad bit of trouble after it hits 225. It seems to creep up to 300 so I shut down the vents. Creeps down enough I have to open them up. So I am constantly fluctuating. I guess I will just have to try smaller adjustments and be patient.

@MK
Yes I want a WSM. One day, one day!! In the meantime I love playing around with my OTS. Great food, just a tad more work until its perfected I guess.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I guess I will just have to play around with it and see what works for me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is your best course of action. This site has taken a decade off the learning curve of grilling/BBQing for me but I still find that some of the techniques others use on here don't always work for me. The best part...grilling, grilling, grilling until I get it right.
 
I'm with George... I started cooking with higher temps, and things turn out great every time. I also like George's method of foiling the charcoal grate
Once, I was short on time so I deboned and butterflied an 8 lb pork butt, cooked it indirect at nearly 400 for a couple of hours before foiling for about 30 min. People swore it was the best pulled pork they had ever had.

That said, to keep things low, I have had a lot of success with a water pan over the coals. Regular red bricks under my drip pan have also added some stability, as well as quick recovery after lifting the lid.

While you are working to find a comfort zone with technique and setup... always feel above the vent holes with your hand. Compare the way the heat at the vent feels to the reading on the thermometer. You can get very good at estimating temp. My kettle likes a certain temp range with my current setup... I just go with it, instead of fighting it.

My Weber kettle cooks at the temp it likes best, and the meat is ready when it is done the way I want it. A few guys on this forum taught me that philosophy, and I love it. I use specific meat temps when I want something "just done" like turkey, pork loin, prime rib, etc. But for longer cooks, I go by tenderness.

Good call, Don... Practice is fun.
Good luck
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by george curtis:
need to start closing down the vents before you get to the temp you want. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I will let you know after the weekend how it turns out.

I am going to:
Drop the water pan.
Foil the bottom grate.
Close the bottom vents around 190.
And shut the top ones halfway about 225.

Thanx for the help.
Beef ribs and Country Style ribs on the menu this week.
 
Sorry for the long delay in reply.

I was pleased with how my temps turned out.
Got a solid 6 hours between 235-250.
I think foiling the bottom grate is key (with firebricks).

I also dumped the water pan. It worked, my temps held steady. But I didn't like the moisture level of my meat compared to using the water pan. I tried it again with the water pan and it worked fine. I am going back to water pan permanately.

FWIW I am now actually hard pressed to cough up the cash for a WSM after getting used to kettle smoking. Sure if I had the need to do partys or really long cooks it wouldn't be a hard decision. I love the amount of coal used on the kettle too.
 
on 5/29 i did a rack of spareribs and later on a JD fatty. the bowl and charcoal rack were covered in HD foil. fire bricks placed on there side. then packed smaller area with kingsford and some RO. started about 10 brickette, once they were greying over placed on top of pile. top and bottom vents open 100%. as temp. started to rise i closed down the bottom vent half way, with top still wide open. as temp. started to rise above 175 i dialed back the bottom vent to 1/4 open and closed down the top to half open. after that i was able to maintain temps. in the range of 220 to 235. it settled at 235 and held from then on. i shut it down after 7 hrs. had to get ready for the holiday. i hope this will be of some help to someone else attempting a low and slow. keep trying, thats the key. sorry about no pictures this time. still trying to learn to post pictures. as i have said before. GREAT SITE GANG
 
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