Controlling the Heat
 

What is the easiest way to control the heat. I have a smoker with a firebox on the side but to smoke ribs or brisket they recommend 225 to 250 degrees.What is the easiest way to maintain that and if it gets to hot what do you usually do?

It depends on which cooker you have. On my Chargriller, I keep the exhaust wide open and control the heat with the vent on the fire box. With my Jambo, I control the heat with the exhaust.

THe key is making sure there are no leaks in the smoker that will allow excess air into the fire box. The only air getting in should be what you let in through the vent.

What kind of smoker do you have?

I think that you have to experiment with your smoker to find out how best to control the heat it can be as simple as the air intake adjustment or the size of your fire,or air leaks on your particular smoker. You have to get to know your smoker

BBQ Guru or Stoker. Otherwise I agree with Boshizzle on the Chargriller

As to the size of your fire, if you are using charcoal you should be using the "minion" method to slow the burn down.

So what kind of gasket material can be used on a smoker to seal it? I have a "Charbroil Silver", and I can see smoke coming out around the fire box, and also the lid of the smoke box, so if smoke is coming out, I assume air is going in....

SteveT

Smaller fire. Or cook hotter.

I have the oklahoma joe`s pit made by char-broil. Only used it one time it seems to seal o.k it held the heat well the first time we used it. It does have a large vent on the fire box. so hopefully i can control it with that but if the fire gets to hot what do you normally do to cool it off? Also what is the ( minion)method? Thanks for all the replys.

Please explain. Seems like this would produce poorer quality smoke?

I thought so too. But, I have talked to a lot of Jambo cooks about it including Jamie Geer, Johnny Trigg, Tuffy Stone, and Rod Gray and they all use the exhaust to control the temp. I have also watched Tuffy and Johnny start fires and stablize the temp and they use the exhaust to control the temp in their Jambos.

The fire burns very cleanly though using this method and once you get it dialed in to the target temp all you need to do is add a warm log about every hour.

Close down the vents if it gets too hot. You have to learn which vents are going to work for your cooker. If I had to guess (because I have never used one of the cookers like yours) you should slightly close the vent on the fire box and wait about 10 minutes to see if the temp begins to drop. Wait until it drops as much as it will and if it's still not where you want it close it some more and wait another 10-20 minutes.

It's a trial and error thing and it's as much a learning experience as it is a Science. Your cooker is unique and you will have to learn to deal with it's tendencies.

Here are some links on the minion method.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=109044

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=75385

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=24922

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=11668

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=67228

http://www.bugeater.net/hobbies/minion.asp

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html

http://www.homebbq.com/index.php/archives/82

Thanks for all the info. and help:grin:

Ok my recommendation is to check out this book. Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons by Gary Wiviott

I got this when i got my offset. I have learned alot from it so far. The big thing i like is that it is written for 3 types of smokers only and the offset is one of the. I also like the fact that the way it is written really explains things well. I am currently on the first 2 lessons with it, which is chicken. His thought (and mine) is use chicken cause if you screw it up it is only $5 vs. $50. one of the brethren here had recommended this book. It is great. I picked my book up on amazon for $8. good luck

Definitely pick up Wiviott's book...you'll pay less than half price for it online versus a book store. You may even want to use a bag or two of charcoal, just to practice controlling heat, i.e., get a basket set up for minion method and throw in 10 red hot coals. See what it peaks at, then start closing your intakes a quarter turn. See what it does to your temp, and just keep practicing.

Good luck