reverse flow question
 

I just purchased a new pit but im having trouble getting the temp up.i noticed the reverse flow plate is not welded all the way around.it is spot welded.will this affect the way it cooks.i have used it two times and have cooked some great ribs and pork.it is hard to get it up to 300 degrees.i don't cook that high but was wondering if it is normal for the plate to be this way.thanks
CustomPits.com

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/z...psa6264be5.jpg

Can you post some pictures of the pit? Who makes it?

Drop the nose of your pit just a bit.

Besides being crappy workmanship the baffle plate being tacked should not effect the way it cooks as I cooked on mine for quite some time before I finished welding it out. Post up some pictures of your rig so we can get a better feel for what you are working with. I can easily get 600+ degrees out of mine but I purposely built a large firebox on it.

Are you using wood or charcoal?
I have a heck of a time getting temps above 250' with charcoal or lump, but once I throw in wood I have no problems achieving 500+'. Wood burns MUCH hotter than lump or charcoal.

+1 on this too

Your baffle plate should be sealed welded 100% with a dam and drain at the opposite end of the firebox Being tack welded in is poor craftsmanship but should not keep you from achieving temps. All the answers given above could contribute to you not reaching the desired temps. Also your firebox, intake, and exhaust needs to be sized correctly for you cook chamber. I am not saying it not sized right but with the plate being tacked in makes me say HMMM!!!!

smoker temp
 

I start it with charcoal and then throw wood to it.i may not be using enough wood.three or four pieces should do the trick I would have thought.

Drop the nose about 1" to raise your temps sounds silly but RF pits can benefit from a Nose down attitude.

That is a Custom Pit made in Georgia. Read through the following thread; it starts out like yours (frustrating for a new pit I know) but I think folks with these pits have identified solutions, if memory serves it means increasing the size of the exhaust to get proper low, but yors looks like it might already have a larger exhaust - how big is it?
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=157905
EDIT: Sorry about that, fixed the link to boiler93's thread.

Any Pit where the FB is at the front of the trailer and its an offset cooker.. is a bad design IMHO.. i would heavily modify.. or sale the pit.. the FB is the hottest part of the Smoker.. why in the world would you want it closest to the vehicle?

should take no more than 2 sticks of those size to get it up to temp if it was drafting properly... try firing it up with the door open to help that thing draft.. FB door and Cooking chamber door.. i think this may help..

Wow that's a funky looking cooker... I would say the firebox looks alittle small for the size of the pit so you will have to be good at making a quality coal bed and have good dry wood to maintain higher temperatures. Also with a undersized firebox you are fighting weather horribly a light breeze across the cooking chamber can suck the heat right out of it.

firebox looks too small for the cooker

I re-read the post I referenced above, there seemed to be 2 issues: (1) the small exhausts (2@3" on the originals) and poor ventilation in the firebox. The exhaust issue was handled with a mod to add a single 5" (good) or 6" (better) in the RF position; the poor ventilation issue was handled with a grate in the firebox to raise the fire and get 2"-3" of ventilation under it. From your pics, you might already have a larger exhaust.

Don't get discouraged, you still have a quality cooker. I think they reversed the normal layout and put the firebox in the bow so they could add that trick grill in the stern. Personally, I like the versatility they offer, just need to work on getting the air flow right.

Finally, don't underestimate the importance of Bludawg's comments: at least at start up having a head-up or head-down attitude can really hurt/help getting a RF stickburner drawing properly-EXPERIMENT!

Best of luck, looking forward to seeing some good cooks in the future!