WSM 22.5" Can not keep temperature consistent.


 
A

AndrewPWilcox

New member
I've had my WSM for 3 years, and I can't keep my temperature constant. All bottom vents & top vent closed, the smoker temp still creeps up. The only way I can control it is to put the cover on to help smother the fire. It gets down to my target temp (today 225 (brisket)), I take off the cover and it starts creeping back up.
Please help.
 
AndrewPWilcox said:
The only way I can control it is to put the cover on to help smother the fire.
Click to expand...
By "cover" I assume you mean "lid", and we always cook with the lid on, so this confuses me a bit.

But assuming you're cooking with the lid on the cooker and all vents are closed and your temp still creeps up, it's because you've got air getting into the cooker from other spots, most likely around the access door and perhaps a gap between the charcoal bowl and the middle section.

If you see large gaps around the top corners of the door, you can try to carefully reshape the door for a better fit. Some will replace the door with a Cajun Bandit stainless steel door, but those are not always perfect, either. It solves the problem for some people, but not for others, it just depends on the door they ship to you.

If you see a gap between the charcoal bowl and middle section, you can sometimes rotate the middle section while inserted into the charcoal bowl and it will bind in such a way that it mostly closes the gap. If that doesn't work, you can fill the gap by taking a length of aluminum foil, folding it lengthwise into a strip a few inches wide, and forming it into a disposable gasket. If you want a more permanent solution, you can install a heat-resistant gasket kit.

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Parts Troubleshooting - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Problem areas to look for when unpacking and assembling your new Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Also, solving parts issues that occur with WSM use over time.
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www.virtualweberbullet.com

Parts Troubleshooting - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Problem areas to look for when unpacking and assembling your new Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Also, solving parts issues that occur with WSM use over time.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

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By "cover" I mean the item that comes with the WSM that you keep over it when it's not in use.

I do have a Cajun-bandit metal replacement door. Around the inside of the door, I have a heat resistant gasket.
I saw a slight opening between the charcoal bowl & middle section, so I will try the aluminum foil & see if that helps, or see if I can wrap some gasket around to charcoal bowl.

Thanks.
 
You're putting the cover on a hot smoker? I would not recommend that.

Sound like the issue might be that slight opening between bowl and middle section.

I am assuming that all your vent dampers are flush and tight against the bowl and lid and not letting air in that way.
 
AndrewPWilcox said:
I've had my WSM for 3 years, and I can't keep my temperature constant. All bottom vents & top vent closed, the smoker temp still creeps up. The only way I can control it is to put the cover on to help smother the fire. It gets down to my target temp (today 225 (brisket)), I take off the cover and it starts creeping back up.
Please help.
Click to expand...
How much does it creep up? During a routine smoke the temps can climb or dive 25degs or more.
Sudden breeze or going from shade to full sun.
Even with a kamado with a ATC I get 20+ deg spikes.
WSM I just let it settle in to whatever and mine always had a happy spot of 275.

And what are you using for a heat sink, If any?
 
You got air leaks plain and simple. You got to get rid of the air leaks.

Top lid.... You need a gasket or you need a buildup of grease to seal it up there.
The door the bottom corners have gaps put dabs of high temp silicone there... If the rest of your door is snug fitting.

Body joint.... If you banged it up or it's out around it's possible to have a leak there. Normally it seals up decent and is the least trouble-free thing.... Gasket there can probably help too.

Also, are you lighting too much coals for the temperature you want,? Because if you send it to 350 when you start up it's going to take it awhile to get down to 225. And the lower temperature you try to run at the more sensitive it's going to be to those air leaks. There's really no reason to cook under 250-275 for brisket, pork butt, ribs , etc. Just let it run where it wants to run and quit messing with it... Don't stress about the temperature the only thing that affects is time....nothing else....in 225-275 range.
 
I’m of the same opinion as Martin, there has got to be significant air leakage somewhere. this can be addressed, it might just take a little time to go through the whole thing to find them.
 
I'd say something is out of round and letting in a ton of air. There has to be a lot of smoke escaping. If everything is closed it would choke out the fire on any wsm that is fitting properly. What amount of fuel are you using to start off to begin the process?
 
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If it's new, it just needs a little seasoning to fill the gaps. Smoke a Pork Shoulder or two, that'll seal it up.
 
Andrew what are you using for a heat deflector? Water in the water bowl? No water in the bowl and foiled? Or something else? As of right now I am going to say you are using and proven method for heat definition.
Then It’s sounds to me like to my openings… (Gaps). Or way to much lite charcoal? He is a suggestion. Fully Light up a half of a chimney with charcoal. Put it in the charcoal ring and add some big chunks of wood on top of the fully lite charcoal. Wait to you see the wood start to caught fire. Then put her together! You are tying to make it a very smoky environment inside her. Close down the bottom air vents about half way. Leave top vent wide open and watch and see where she is letting the smoke comes out of her. Wherever you see the smoke coming out, where it’s not supposed to. Then that is where your gap are. Go get some high temp gasket material and seal her up!!
If it is way too much charcoal that it s lite in the beginning? Then put whole ring of unlit charcoal in the ring. Then add about 7 fully ashed over charcoal onto the unlit charcoal. Watch her come up to about 180 and start shutting her down using the bottom vent. Shut all the bottom vent down to about a sliver. Watch where she goes from there and act accordingly. That will help you bring her up slowly.
Any our questions please don’t hesitate to ask!!!
 
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If Andrew verifies that his issue is attributed to an out-of-round section I would reach-out to Weber if I were in his shoes and inquire about a replacement piece. Someone, anyone correct me if I'm wrong but even at 3 years I believe it is covered under the warranty. I'd hate to think I need to sandwich foil between two sections for the money I paid for the WSM 22.
 
Chris Allingham said:
You're putting the cover on a hot smoker? I would not recommend that.

Sound like the issue might be that slight opening between bowl and middle section.

I am assuming that all your vent dampers are flush and tight against the bowl and lid and not letting air in that way.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with putting the cover on a hot smoker. But, without any other choices to choke down the fire, I don't see an alternative. I did get a gasket around the bowl, so I'll see how that helps. I also put a gasket around the middle & lid. Fingers crossed.
 
First: Thanks Everyone for their advice & help. I'm loving this forum.
Second: Hope I can answer everyone's questions here. Sorry if I don't, but here goes.
I was trying to keep the temp @ 225. Smoking a brisket flat.
Used a Hunsaker heat deflector. I can control the heat a bit better with the water pan full of water, but it still creeps up.
I don't think it's a "too much charcoal lit upfront" issue. When I dump the coals into the center hole (Minion method) the temp starts at about 100, then, with all the vents open I creep the temp up to 200, then start closing the vents.

I do about 20 smokes/year, so it's seasoned well. I might reach out to Weber if my gaskets don't do the trick. I'd hate to lose all that good seasoning.
 
You’re still getting things going nuclear with ten briquettes as an ignition count? There’s sand in the Vaseline somewhere! The only thing I can come up with is the barrel is way out of round? I start with the “back“ (windscreen covered windward side only open about half with the front (leeward) side full open. In most cases, I can back down the backside to 1/3-1/4 and things seem to be pretty solid. I really wish I had a better solution for you but, like I said “Something ain’t right.”
 
AndrewPWilcox said:
I don't disagree with putting the cover on a hot smoker. But, without any other choices to choke down the fire, I don't see an alternative. I did get a gasket around the bowl, so I'll see how that helps. I also put a gasket around the middle & lid. Fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
Also put gasket on the door. I felt mine was let in to much air no matter how much I finagled it to fit. I also use the water pan with a clay bottom inside the pan and wrap it with tin foil. Take a look at the video on how Chris foils the pan. Keep up the SMOKE!
 
Your problem seems to be too much air. And there are only a few places where air can get into the WSM, so take a methodical approach to checking them.
1. Check all the vents to be sure they are reasonably tight against the body. If a vent is bent and leaky you can drill out the rivet, reshape the vent, and reattach it with a bolt and nut.
2. Check the door. As many people have said, the stock door isn't an engineering masterpiece, but with a little gentle bending you can reshape it to seal well enough. (If you install handles on the middle section you can seal the door up completely, but that's another topic.)
3. Check the lid, middle section, and charcoal bowl for an out-of-round condition. I find the easiest way to do this is to set the part on a large piece of cardboard and trace around it. Then, rotate the part 90 degrees. You'll be able to see the wide vs. narrow spots. A little careful hugging will get it back into, if not perfectly round, at least close enough.
After doing the above, cook on the WSM a few times. It should be tight enough that the fire will go out when you close all the vents, and that's about all you can ask. My 20+ year old WSM has no gaskets and the original door. It leaks a little smoke when it's running, and sometimes the temperature will bounce around a little, even with an ATC, but when I shut it down the fire goes out, and that's all I ask.
 
I installed the gasketing on the door opening and the lid, and really don't see huge changes in temps over a cook. Maybe 10-15 degrees. I leave my bottom vents at ~50% open and the top 100% open and control my temp with the bottom, usually just using the front one to regulate.

It also depends on the wind, the sun, etc. My cooker gets sun on it all morning until about mid afternoon, and if it's breezy out, the temps will fluctuate a bit. I typically run hot-ish, around 260-265°F for everything and the results are amazing. Basically, with the vents set the way I have them, it's pretty much set it forget it for 90% of the day. A few degrees plus or minus isn't anything to sweat, IMO. If you are having 20-30 degree climbs, like everyone has said, check the door and the lid. I feel I don't need to go crazy and buy a SS door. The gasketing has worked very well, and my cooks are pretty uneventful.

Some people switch to the pellet cookers, and that's fine if you truly want set it and forget it, but, I enjoy using my skills and constant learning to fine tune my cooks. I also keep a journal app (https://tvwbb.com/threads/180que-the-competition-bbq-app-for-android.66456/). Plus, everyone says my food tastes way better than anything off a pellet smoker. And that's why I do it.
 
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