Temperature range?

K

kenny

Guest
When cooking BBQ 12-16 hours, I have a problem of not being able to hold a steady state temp. It can vary from 220 up to and sometimes past 300*F. I know the cooker and whether conditions play a part. I would like to know how sucessful others are at maintaining a steady temp and maybe what type of cooker your using? Thanks to all replies.:-D
 
In the drum or any of my offsets, I can control any of the smokers here. Just gotta know your cooker.
 
With proper mods and a little attention I can maintain temps with a + or - of 15 to 20 degrees of the temp I'm looking for.
 
I think the more important questions are

What type of pit are you cooking on ?
What type of wood / charcoal?
What size of wood ? What type of charcoal ?
Are you adjusting any vents too frequently ?
 
I just try to keep mine around 250-. I dont like to cook below 250 no reason just dont like too.
 
Azinine said:
We need to know this first. Some are definitely easier to maintain than others.
Click to expand...
Got that right!!! my BGE is a breeze, the Brinkmann not so much, and I have no idea about the Lang (cause it hasn't gotten here yet, but it's suposed to be shipping today or tomorrow).
 
I haven't a clue what type of smoker you have but it is a simple matter of the amount and type of fuel and airflow. With practice you should be able to obtain any temp and hold. If your cooker is relatively air tight, a Guru or Stoker may be used.
 
It's hard to advise you not knowing what kind of smoker you have, but in my Backwoods I have no problem maintaining a pretty constant temp once she gets going no matter what the weather is doing. On my Bandera I have to work at it a lot more and add fuel every hour or so but I can keep it pretty constant also with out big temp swings but weather affects her a lot.
 
In the Bandera with a charcoal basket I can lock in to 220 - 240, depending on what I want and hold if pretty solid for 5 - 7 hours depending on the weather and the meat load. Only thing I ever do is open up to toss in another rounder for smoke and maybe tap do clear some ash or open up the side to scoop the fallen ash off to the sides.

The Bandera is a vertical offset, so it's like a vertical shoebox and then has a smaller horizontal shoebox on the side where you put the fire in, and there's a hole between the two to let the air and smoker flow through.

But like everyone else said, without knowing the style of smoker, fuel your using, wood/chips if any, etc, it's really hard to give you any guidance.
 
I have a Stumps vertical offset, and like to keep at 250-265. Like everyone else says, lots of factors are involved. you may have to tweek your smoker here or there, it seems almost everyone has added there own mod someway or another. I can burn sticks or use the charcoal basket. Stumps makes a quality smoker so it is pretty easy to maintain temps w/in 10 degrees throughout your cook.
 
Grasshopper..................Practice - Practice - Practice! I have found that after 20 times using any cooker, you finally figure out what works. After that it is second hand and you can duplicate it every time (thunderstorms and howling winds excepted). The key is to make very small changes of the amount of fire OR air intake. Don't go and change both the amount of fuel AND air at the same time because you won't know what really worked.
 
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