OK, stickburners... let's see those small and hot fires.

[HB-BBQ]

Thanks for this thread Bandit and to all that have posted. I have a new Lang shipping this week and this will help me dial her in once I get it.

[42BBQ]

HB, here is where I started for fire control issues when I got my offset.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7818

That should take you to an old but great thread on this topic....should ;)

[btcg]

Originally Posted by Boshizzle

275F in my Jambo with this one.

Did u ever post pics of your Jambo bro? I'd love to see it. Can you send em to me via e-mail?

[DirtyDirty00]

Originally Posted by stephan

The first pic is how I start then I keep it at the burned down size. This size fire will keep my smoker temp between 225-275 degrees depending on how you handle the air flow.

my firebox looks the same. however mine came with the bottom grate turned over the other way, so those 2 metal strips are facing up. that way you can lay the splits over them so they keep the splits off the bottom and from smothering (at least thats what i thought)...

[orangeblood]

dont know if there is much more new to add to the great coaching already provided...but i might suggest that you try to use sticks that are all seasoned the same. i have trouble with my small fires when some sticks burn faster (or slower) than the others. seems like i get in a cycle where i constantly have to add small amounts to keep the temp steady but because i am constantly opening the box and adding sticks the fire never gets to a steady long burn.

hang with it, practice more than anything else is the key, sometimes it just takes a while to figure out a new rig.

[BasicPatrick]

Very very informative thread....thanks to all for sharing!!!!

[speers90]

Does any run with their air intake wide open? Just wondering because I have actually found that I get a cleaner burn and it is easier for me to control my target temp. if I just leave the intake and exhaust wide open. I end up putting two small splits on every 30 minutes or so. I like to cook in the 250 - 300 range.

[Phrasty]

Originally Posted by speers90

Does any run with their air intake wide open? Just wondering because I have actually found that I get a cleaner burn and it is easier for me to control my target temp. if I just leave the intake and exhaust wide open. I end up putting two small splits on every 30 minutes or so. I like to cook in the 250 - 300 range.

Personally, my rig would run too hot wide open all the time. If I add splits to the fire and the smoke gets thick I usually open the vents all the way to get a clean burn going again the very gradually close them to 1/4 open to maintain 250 - 275. I found that if I shut them down too fast that tends to give white smoke sometimes.

Cheers

[speers90]

Originally Posted by Phrasty

Personally, my rig would run too hot wide open all the time. If I add splits to the fire and the smoke gets thick I usually open the vents all the way to get a clean burn going again the very gradually close them to 1/4 open to maintain 250 - 275. I found that if I shut them down too fast that tends to give white smoke sometimes.

Cheers

That's what I wondered, when I did my test burn the other day, it was 20 degrees and with a 20 mph wind. I was running with intakes wide open and was maintaining bottom shelf temps of 230 -240 and top shelf temps in the 280 - 300 range, this was with 2 small splits added every 30 minutes. For fun I decided to add 4 small splits to see what would happen, and I hit 450+ in my hot spot.

[gtr]

^^^I normally try to run with exhaust all the open all the time, and intake is almost always all the way open as well. I'll leave the firebox door open right after adding a split and it gets nice & ignited.

BTW how awesome is stickburning? When I have the time, it is absolutely my favorite method of smoking.

[nucornhusker]

Originally Posted by Phrasty

Personally, my rig would run too hot wide open all the time. If I add splits to the fire and the smoke gets thick I usually open the vents all the way to get a clean burn going again the very gradually close them to 1/4 open to maintain 250 - 275. I found that if I shut them down too fast that tends to give white smoke sometimes.

Cheers

I will have to try this. I have to run my intake wide open and the door slightly cracked just so my smoke doesn't go bad. The bad side is I'm cooking hotter than I would like to. I will have to try closing the door and damper gradually to get my desired temp and good smoke.

Thanks!

[Boshizzle]

Originally Posted by btcg

Did u ever post pics of your Jambo bro? I'd love to see it. Can you send em to me via e-mail?

Bill, here you go. Check out these pics.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/album.php?albumid=450

[Phrasty]

Originally Posted by Boshizzle

Bill, here you go. Check out these pics.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/album.php?albumid=450

Pretty PRETTY pit!!!

[Jay 41]

Maybe a dumb question, but what is considered a "stick burner"?

[speers90]

Originally Posted by Jay 41

Maybe a dumb question, but what is considered a "stick burner"?

Almost any cooker could potentially be a "stick burner", it just means that the primary fuel source is wood splits. Although, most stick burners end up being offset cookers made out of pretty heavy steel.