Workhorse Pit - 8 months in - Fire Question

I am by no means an expert, and I'm going to settle in to observe the feedback here.

However, one thing I've done with my Shirley that I've found helps is managing temps with the firebox door. My splits are usually preheated on top of the firebox and then when I throw a log on, I'll keep the firebox door open for a few minutes to avoid any huge spike in temperature. Like I said, I'm no expert, but that's helped me.

Just my experience on my Old Country Brazos, 290 to 230 would be a large swing. I can generally keep it within a 25 degree range.


I can't keep it within a 10 degree range, like Franklin speaks of. Maybe on those 1K propane smokers that's possible, but not on my Brazos. Temp swings are just gonna be a reality for me.



I have found that the stronger the coal bed, the temp swings aren't as large. I've begun using a couple B&B Char logs that burn for a long time, to help keep the coal bed steady.

That is pretty standard for a small offset smoker. I have a similar sized Horizon and it's the same. You can get the fluctuations down by decreasing the size of the splits and adding them a lot more frequently. But that increases the work to run the pit.

The best advice I read (and what I adhere to) is aim to cook in a range on a pit like this: +/- 25 degrees of your target temperature.

I fretted about the temperature variations when I first got this smoker (also after studying Aaron Franklins stuff). Ultimately, as long as you don't let the fire get out of control either way for extended periods of time, and burn a clean fire, the BBQ is going to be fine.

Personally, I think dialing in an exact temperature becomes more critical for cooking large amounts of meat where you need things to be a bit more predictable. On my backyard pit where the quantity I cook is small, I can adjust the cook based on what is needed. But I'm just speculating on this point.

Here's a pork butt cook from last October

my vertical runs a 50 degree swing. +25 -25
Used to sweat it
stopped and happier for it.

I have no doubt that some guys can hold a +5 -5 range...or say they can- or that they are scratch golfers or bowl 300 games consistently or...

I have a Shirley 23x36 patio model and I keep it in a 25 degree swing,,,250-275
When the temp is just above 250 I throw a split in
I have to do this every 30-45 minutes depending on the split that I toss in

I run my Lang pretty much the same Greygoose does.
Another thing you should do which will help even things out a little is preheat your splits on top of your fire box so the ignite as soon as you add them. Don't worry too much about temperature swings, you're not baking a cake.

For myself i tried a digital thermometer in my stick burner and it drove me crazy. I think they are so sensitive and fast acting that they pickup every degree of change from the live fire.

I just rely on the tel tru gauge, and for me i think its accurate enough and i check it occasionally with a digital to ensure its still calibrated.

I think if you can get your temp stable within 20-25 degrees or so of your target temp for backyard bbq you are doing just fine. I agree with the analogy of a scratch golfer. Anyways it's always fun to practice up and keep working in the fire skills.

blackdogbbq21 said:

For myself i tried a digital thermometer in my stick burner and it drove me crazy. I think they are so sensitive and fast acting that they pickup every degree of change from the live fire.

I just rely on the tel tru gauge, and for me i think its accurate enough and i check it occasionally with a digital to ensure its still calibrated.

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Once I quit cooking with the digital gauges, it got a lot easier. The digital caused me to react to fast, and then I would get spikes.



I still put a digital probe or two in the cook chamber, but I got one TelTru on the stack end that I cook with.

I am in the market for my first real stick burner. I have watched videos and studied fire management and all the experienced cooks Ive seen say the same thing. DO NOT chase a digital thermometer. Get a good analog one like a tel tru and trust it. You will drive yourself nuts trying to keep a tight temp window.

Toss the graphing of temps out the window. No need to stress over temp fluctuations in a stick burner imo. As long as you Keep it within an acceptable range, it will be fine. The smaller the pit the harder it will be to keep a relatively constant temp. You likely need to split your splits down even smaller and use smaller logs and add to the fire more often. A bigger pit is much more forgiving with temps and you can burn a much larger, more complete fire and the temps won’t swing as much.


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I think it comes down to measure with the tool you know, and adjust accordingly.

The analog gauge on a lot of smokers is not grate level and will be cooler than the grate temperature where you are cooking. That's fine if that's what you cook by. Learn what that gauge reports you, cook by it. If it tells you its 250 when you are actually 275 - that's fine.

Digital thermometer will be grate level and a more accurate read than the lid, but will fluctuate as mentioned. I use this - as I like the remote access. I can keep an eye on temps while not at my smoker.

thedude9999 said:

I think it comes down to measure with the tool you know, and adjust accordingly.

The analog gauge on a lot of smokers is not grate level and will be cooler than the grate temperature where you are cooking. That's fine if that's what you cook by. Learn what that gauge reports you, cook by it. If it tells you its 250 when you are actually 275 - that's fine.

Digital thermometer will be grate level and a more accurate read than the lid, but will fluctuate as mentioned. I use this - as I like the remote access. I can keep an eye on temps while not at my smoker.

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That's what I do also.


Also, I put a digital on both ends and then I can chart how even it ran end-to-end. And I like to look back over a chart the next day. Its no different than keeping a record of cooks, and there's nothing wrong with that, can be very helpful especially when learning the smoker.

Don't get caught up in Franklin too much. He's awesome but you're not gonna get +/-5. Keep doing what you're doing. You'll get it to +/-25 (maybe 20). If you want tighter temp ranges you'll need a different type of cooker.

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stick those same temp trackers in your kitchen oven... unless its super fancy it will also swing up and down far more than you think.

50 degree window (= 25 degree swings over and under goal temp) is TOTALLY NORMAL and expected for a backyard pit.

tighter swings can be achieved with constant addition of tiny splits, but that does not equate to better food product... probably hurts it.

small hot fire & thin blue smoke (noting if you leave bark it won't run thin blue when you add splits) are the goals... the swings are what they are. let the fire and smoke guide you and figure out what temp the pit wants to run at (differs depending on outside temp humidity what wood you are using how seasoned it is etc etc)

i personally liked stacks wide open FB door wide open and manage temps with the fire size/splits size etc on the LSG VO before i had to sadly part with it last summer due to a move...

Franklin has also spoken about where he cooks anywhere from 250° to 330°. On a perfect day I have little doubt that he can keep his smokers pegged at 275° with a 5° swing. On a non-perfect day it's easy to see how the swing will be much wider. Mind you that Franklin cooks inside a "cook shack" so his smokers aren't effected much by wind. He is also cooking on monstrous cookers which have hundreds of pounds of meat at a time. Think of all that meat as a "heat sink" and it helps to even things out quite well. He also has access to well cured wood so he knows (and his pitmasters know) exactly how that smoker will react when they add a certain piece of wood.

You've got a relatively small smoker and I would imagine that it's in your back yard or similar. It's also likely to not have wind breaks, so even a small change in the wind will have a small impact on how the fire is burning. Comparatively you'll also not be able to stuff the cook chamber full of meat because of the hot spot near the firebox. So you don't have that "heat sink" which will allow for more variation.

All in all just as others have said an offset is all about enjoying the process. From your graph it looks like you're doing pretty well, but you could definitely cut your splits down even more (chop them into small lengths, and / or split them thinner) and add smaller splits more often. This will help you dial things in better but on such a small offset you'll never get that +/- 5°. The real question is how is your food coming out? Do you feel like your temperature fluctuation is having an impact on the quality and flavor of your food?

I came to offsets from a kamado, so I was very concerned about my temp fluctuations, but I quickly realized that the food was coming out amazing, so I was able to stop worrying about it.

ArtBQ said:

Thank you to all that gave great advice and tips. It does seem that I am not on the right path and I think the more cooks I have under my belt, the more I am learning all the little nuances of live fire cooking. I will try smaller splits and see how that affects the overall fluctuations.

Do any of you guys add a little charcoal while cooking in order to keep a decent coal bed? I find that the smaller splits don't do a great job of keeping a decent coal bed going. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, I have tried the K&B Char-logs and those were great. I've also alternated adding a handful of lump with a smaller split when I see the coal bed looking a little small.

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Different species of wood (ie hickory vs pecan vs oak) will all burn differently. In my experience oak burns low and long, but it burns all the way down to ash and doesn't do much for replenishing the coal bed. Hickory and Pecan both burn hotter and will burn out quicker, but it will "break down" into small coals and give a great coal bed. Also, green wood (wood which isn't cured very well or long enough) will completely incinerate and won't leave any coal bed at all. So you'll want to experiment with different woods and see what works for you in your area.

I never use charcoal, at all, in my offsets. I start my fire with a few splits in a "lincoln log pattern" and use a weed burner to get it started. This will get a good fire going quickly, and once those sticks burn down to ashes you now have a solid coal bed. If you do find that your coal bed isn't replenishing very well, then you'll need to add sticks a bit sooner while the prior sticks are still on fire. This way you'll just keep on chaining small, thin sticks and it works well, but it does require more maintenance.

I cook mostly with oak and don’t have a problem losing my coal bed anymore. I used to, and it came down to assuming you could just throw the same size splits on the whole cook. I started paying attention to my coal bed and learning how to keep it up. Things like throwing on a few small splits if it’s getting smaller. Or even some splits cut down to wood chunks. Or maybe throwing an extra split on knowing it will spike my temps but build the coal bed up.

Adding splits sooner before the previous ones burn down as much can also help, but can spike your temps