My smoker is getting too hot

[bogan]

Hey everyone,

I am new to BBQ and I was given my grandfather in law's smoker. It is the outdoor gourmet sold at Academy. It is probably 1/8 in thick steel with an offset firebox.

Last weekend I decided I was going to smoke a tri tip and some pork chops. I filled my charcoal chimney with Kingsford and lit it with newspaper. I waited until about 2/3 of the charcoal were ashing over and then dumped it into the firebox. I piled them in the center and laid a couple pieces of hickory on top. I adjusted the air inlet to about 1/3 open. No matter what I did, the pit would stay at 300. I tried closing then air inlet further until it was only about 10% open but the themometer still read 300 after 45 minutes of waiting on temp to come down.

How do you adjust the temp on your pit? I am trying to reach a pit temp of around 225. The food cooked very quickly and I did not get as much smokey flavor as I was hoping for. Any suggestions?

[RogerB]

Your gonna get a lot of different answers on this but I for one don't use charcoal. Not for any other reason than I just don't use charcoal, preferring instead to use mesquite. The more you use the smoker the more familiar you'll become with how much charcoal/wood to use and how to correctly control air flow. Sometimes the location/position can make a difference. For example if the wind is blowing towards the fire box, it can creat more heat/draft than you might prefer. There's no hard and fast answer on this - just takes practice. Have fun!

[Old Whaler]

I only use a little charcoal to get it started and then use oak or pecan. Usually have no problem keeping it around 225-250. Charcoal burns hot

[Viking48]

I agree with both of the above. I have a huge smoker at the beach which usually burns great but once I fired it up and went to bed and apparently didn't close the firebox door completely so the wind turned it into a forge. I had 4 big lumps of charcoal that had started off as briskets. http://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/images/icons/icon9.gif I also use a little charcoal to start the fire but cook with wood. Be careful of green Mesquite - I think it gives food a bitter taste. Dried is OK and green is OK for grilling.

[Roger]

JMO, but temperature plays a large part in how far open or closed your intake and exhaust are set. The hotter it is outside the less you want your intake opened up, the less air you want coming in to fuel the fire. Just backwards when its really cold, you'll want more air to gain more heat. Wind can almost be treated the same way.

[bogan]

I think it was the amount of charcoal because the vent and intake were 90% closed and the temp still held at 300. By the time I was through cooking, the coals had burned out and just the wood was smoking. That is when the temp actually settled back down to 225. I only went through 2 pieces of hickory in 3 hours. Next time, I will try less charcoal and more wood.

[manintheboat]

Probably too much charcoal. Use a little less next time.

Be careful closing down the air intakes too much. You want clean combustion for quality barbeque. If you choke down the air supply too much, your fire will smolder leading to dirty smoke, which leads to bad eats.

[Roger]

Here again JMO, you never want your smoker blow'n a cloud a smoke out the stack. All you want is a thin blue line of smoke, for the best smoke. Adjust your vents according to conditions.

[bogan]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I wanted to give an update. This weekend I added a baffle to the smoker and I was able to get the temperature right on the money. I smoked a chicken and some prok chops. The temp ranged from 260-200. The baffle was a 12 x 18 piece of 22 gauge Plain Steel from Home Depot. Just mark three holes and drill it out. I will take pics and post up later.

Have a great day.

Bogan