Anyone using a Good One Open Range Smoker? Need help!

I've read all the pertinent threads at Aceofhearts and tried the suggestions, but I'm still having trouble with the fire control. I'm looking for someone who has used (or is using) the Open Range to hopefully give some advice on building and controlling the temperature.

Thanks
David

Thanks Bryan,

Last weekend I did Ribs on Saturday and a butt on Monday. The smoker has the original thermometer (which I forgot to check & calibrate...) and I'm also using a Maverick ET732.

4:30am: Because it was a large butt, I wanted to use only Lump Charcoal. All I had was a bag of Good One, but the pieces were so small I had to build piece by piece the charcoal on the grate because I felt if I just dumped and spread it the fire would choke from lack of oxygen. I didn't have fire starters so I used paper towels moistened with cooking oil (works good to start a chimney) in the fire pan beneath the charcoal to start the fire. About 30 minutes later I had a good bed of coals so I closed the smoke & fire boxes, closed the lower spinners to about 2 turns, left the damper open all the way and closed the top spinner to about 2 turns. In about 30 minutes the smoker thermometer and the ET732 read about 240 with very little smoke coming out, so I put the 7.5lb butt on. I adjusted damper to the 11:00 position (as best I could, it's not holding position very well) and kept an eye on the smoker for the next 30 minutes to see what the temps would do. They seemed stable so I decided to take a nap. About 2 hours later the high temp alarm of the 732 went off at 260, and when I got outside there was smoke billowing out of the smoker and temps were racing skyward as if someone had opened up the fire box and let a rush of oxygen in.

So I spent the next 30-45 minutes lowering the temps by adjusting the spinners, as well as checking the firebox. About 90 minutes later the temps are beginning to drop below 235, so I checked the firebox and see that it needs more fuel. I wasn't sure if I wanted to put unlit charcoal on because I didn't want the smoke, so I started up the lump charcoal in chimney and threw that on (as well as with some unlit charcoal).

From this point forward I felt like I was constantly chasing temperatures, as well as having to feed the fire again later in the afternoon.

This is only my 3rd use of the Open Range. The 1st one was with KB & lump charcoal only, and was to see what could learn about the "behavior" of the smoker, as well as to re-season it after a cleaning and wiping down with vegetable oil. The 2nd one was for a lot shorter duration, with a single rack of ribs, which while there was some temp chasing there as well, it wasn't as bad as with the butt.

My thoughts / observations

1) The fire & temp control is a lot different than with a UDS or Weber kettle
2) There doesn't seem to be that much of a difference in volume (to heat) between the UDS and the Open Range, yet I went through 4 times as much fuel. That doesn't make sense...

3) The user manual and aceofhearts website both say to start the fire from the bottom, yet with the UDS it's just the opposite, and it seems the UDS burned longer with a lot less fuel

4) Waiting until all of the coals are 90-95% hot seems to be wasting fuel

5) The built in thermometer is in the top right of the smoke box, my 732 probe is above the grate on the left side. What is the maximum temp difference I should see between the two? Also need to verify / calibrate or replace the built-in thermometer

6) Need to figure out how to adjust the damper so it stays in position (other than a ball of foil between the arm and the eyebrow)


David…

Pyle's BBQ said:

David, I am at work right now. When I get home tonight I can answer some of the questions. It not easy to do on my phone.

Click to expand...

No rush... Phones only have so many practical and useful use's, after that they're a pain...

Thanks!

Thanks for all of the responses, I appreciate the feedback!

I guess I could of / could of done a little more homework before taking the plunge on the Good One, but I'm sure I can make it work for me. The side to side burn sounds very promising and will definitely give it a try, it also might be the fix for the huge amount of fuel required.

David...

Thanks Ron,

Another issue that's been discussed at the other forums, is that the ash pan doesn't have a good tight seal, so the left spinner is generally closed a bit more than the right one is. I had that in mind as I played with the fire last week, and I'm not sure that I could notice that much of a difference

BTW... I expect I'll get a hotspot with a side to side burn, but would you expect huge temperature differences in the smoke box? In a relatively small cooking area that the Open Range has I'd say no, but my ET732 on the lower left was quite frequently 40 degrees cooler than the dial thermometer at the upper right.

David....

Hi Bryan

I went through 16#, about 10# bag of Good One lump and nearly a full *3 bag of RO in a 12 hour burn, which compared to 6-8#'s in a UDS, seems like a lot! I wasn't concerned about coals falling through the grate, just that all of the small pieces of lump would fill in the gaps and smother the fire, so that's why I arranged the charcoal. So I think on my next burn, I'll do the side to side method, and also possibly build a basket to keep the coals more contained. I also agree with you're analysis of the sudden spike, the fire collapsing is the only thing that really makes any sense.

The Open Range doesn't have any convection tubes, just a damper running the entire length of the smoke box, which as I understand it, is designed to create the circulation of air around the meat. Because of this, that's why I decided to place the 732 probe where I did, I expected to see very little variance +/- 10 degrees, and wanted to verify that. Maybe next time I'll place the air probe under the meat, which should then show a significantly hotter temp than the built in thermometer.

I've been looking at fiberglass rope or gasket material to help seal the opening for the ash pan, and it might be worth it to run a bead along the doors as well. I've also been thinking of drilling a small hole in the side so I can run the probe leads out of the smoker and not worry about crushing them in the lid, but not sure if that would really accomplish anything.

David...