WSM running too low

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Howdy.

First, let me say that I already read the section on temp management and I'm not sure that any of that applies. Just wanted people to know that I did my research. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

I'm cooking about 8 lbs of spareribs. I've put in 1 full heated chimney of Kingsford, and then spready 2/3 of unheated on top. I've added my wood, and some more coals and I still can't get more than a temp reading of about 210 at the top cooking grate. The ribs are for father's day, and while we're all willing to wait until they're done, I'd like to know if there's something I can do to bring the temp up some. I'm concerned that it's going to keep falling.

All vents are 100% open. If I open the WSM door, and let some air stoke the fire that way, will I have to be concerned that the charcoal will burn out too soon? BTW, the meat went on at 8:35, so it's been over 2 hours now. If anything, the temp has dropped about 15 degrees.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Brandon
 
Brandon,

Did you let the unlit coals completely catch fire before assembling the WSM? When lighting using the standrd method, you need to make sure that everything is fully lit before assembling the unit, otherwise I think you can smother the coals because of inadequate airflow.

Tim
 
Yes sir, I did. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif That is good to know though for future reference. I just turned and basted the ribs and from the looks of things, the cooking process is moving along well enough. I'm amazed at how well the WSM keeps its heat. Maybe next time I need to just use more charcoal?
 
It's June, so I am assuming it's hot and sunny where you are. A couple of thoughts:

Is the WSM out in the sun or in the shade? Solar gain on a sunny day can add quite a bit of heat energy to a cooker.

Is your chimney a Weber? Webers hold 33% more charcoal than the average chimneys sold do.

Have you checked your thermometer in boiling water to see how accurate it is? Many can be off by sometimes 10 degrees.

My usual cruise-control setting for average 235* at the top grate is 2 Weber chimneys fully lit; cooker on unshaded patio, average outdoor temp 85*; vents open 30%/30%/0%.
 
You could start up more coals in the chimney and add them to the WSM with some long-handled tongs through the access door. You probably won't need a whole chimney.
 
I would fireup a whole chimney full, pull the middle section and dump this on the ring. If you had a weed burner, I would pull the middle and nuke it with the burner. I don't even use my chimney anymore I just dump charcoal in the ring and blast it with the burner. When done I put on my wood chunks and assemble. Quick, easy and no problemo.
 
Thanks for all of the great advice. I think it was a faulty thermometer as the thermo read 210 for the entire cooking process and after 5 hours or so, the ribs were ready and out of this world. Granted, this was with the bottom vents open 100% the whole time, so there's still some tweaking to be done, but I think that the thermo wasn't 100% correct.

Next time I'll try with more charcoal and see what happens. Makes me want to fire it up again to see what the problem was. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Thanks again.

-Brandon
 
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