WSM Meltdown


 
S

Steve Abrams

TVWBB Pro
I know everyone seems to frown
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on soaked wood chips and chunks.

At times, when I do indirect in my kettle, the temp get out of control (shame on me). If I have some soaked (wet) chips handy I place some on the hot coals. It brings my kettle temp down and appears to keep it down. The wet chips puts out some of the coals.

Now, if a WSM goes critical and threatens a melt down, can't some wet chips be thrown on the charcoal?
 
I see the wet chips as one time control.

Why not just put water on the coals? I think it is more important to understand the reason for the out of control temperatures and fix it, so it doesn't happen again.
 
I would agree with Russell but, Steve, yes you could. There are a few considerations: Coal access is much easier on a kettle--you just lift the lid. Not so on the WSM. If you over-correct on the kettle, though a PITA, it's not hard to fix it. On the WSM with its limited coal access it's more difficult. And it would me a major PITA if you had to disassemble mid-cook because you had a bunch of wet coals in there and now couldn't get your heat up.

Obviously it best to have cooks without crises. Emergencies happen though as we all know. But with a spike in temp emergency on the WSM I think it's better to get a quick read on the source of the problem and attempt the least aggressive solution first. You can create more problems than you bargained for if you're too aggressive with your fix.
 
Don't add water to your fuel pan - you're sure to kick up and float your ash with very little water.

Reach into your fuel pile with tongs and move your hottest glowing briquettes to a bucket of water, let them soak for about 5 minutes and return them to the hotspot from where they came.
 
What will work is not always the best thing to do. Use, water puts out fire and therefore will bring down your temp. Frankly, I wouldn't do it. Susan is right that cold water in the pan is a good method. Even if you're using sand, I've put some water in the pan to cool things down (of course the pan has aluminum foil covering the sand and that's where the water goes).

But what I do is just shut the top vent. I really don't understand why people are reluctant to do this. It usually just takes a few minutes and the temp is back under control. I then open the top vent and later the bottom vent(s) as needed. No muss no fuss.
 
The opinion(s) on this site seems to be that you never, ever close the top vent because of creosote buildup. That said, you still bring up a good point. Would a few minutes with the top vent closed really cause a change in food flavor from creosote? Or did I miss the reasoning for not closing the top vent and it isn't creosote at all??

Tom
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Or did I miss the reasoning for not closing the top vent and it isn't creosote at all?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nope, you didn't miss the reasoning. It's a combustion issue, creosote being a potential with restricted exhaust. A (very) few minutes might not cause a problem but that depends on what's going on in the fuel chamber at the time you close the vent. If there's smoke and it is unable to exhaust it cools and soot and other junk sticks to the meat. That's why good barbecue is all about fire management no matter what kind of smoker, open pit, or hole in the ground you're using. It's not just the heat and smoke you create to cook your food, it's also about what you do or don't do to exhaust that heat and smoke.
 
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