Imperial Kamado smoking low and slow what am I doing wrong

L

low&slow

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All,
my first post on this site (love it) I have recently purchased at used Imperial Kamado (made in Japan) I believe is a #5 but could be wrong, I got it off CL at a good price, my issue I have had with this unit is that I can't get it below 300 degrees no matter what I have tried eventually I have gotten it up to 400, here what I typically do:
1) Load it with half chimney of lump
2) lit handful of lump once lit dump in the coal section
3) added a lower grate and put a water pan (with boiling water in it)
4) open up the intake vent wide, same with the top vent
5) Wait til the white initial smoke is gone
6) Choke the intake vent to the lowest setting, leave the top vent wide open
7) Add meats
Problem #1 by the time the white smoke is gone internal temps are already in the 400 so it's hard if not impossible to bring them down
Problem #2 my initial load of lump is lasting only about 2 to 3 hours (I'm using lump from Ace Hardware store the $16 per 20 pound bag)
So far I have tried to smoke 2 butts and they were done in 3 hours time.... flavorful but no moist at all
Any input will be greatly appreciated
 
put a water pan (with boiling water in it)???
try to run the smoker without a water pan.
The eggs do not require it and i guess it is not necessary for the older type.
By adding a water pan you are requiring the fuel to heat it also.
If you need a barrier for indirect smoke, try a pizza stone or clay saucer lined with foil
jon
 
open up the intake vent wide, same with the top vent???
The two vents control fire size.
Try leaving the top vent open and the bottom vent should be open about 1/4 inch after temp has been achieved.
There are some good threads on starting a fire in the egg.
jon
 
couple of things as all ceramic cookers work the same (I have a primo)
1) Lighting - put your lump in there and then light it in a couple spots with a mapp torch or the like - close the lid and leave top and bottom vents wide open - when you get to about 50 degrees below your desired temp, start closing BOTH vents down...you will get a feel for how much you need them open (for 250 on my primo I only need about 1/8 inch open on the bottom and about the same on top)
2) Temps - if you let it get up to temp the ceramic will get heat soaked and once that happens it will take a LONG time to come down in temps
3) Lump - you do not need to wait until the white smoke is gone to close up the cooker - you can wait til the white smoke is gone before putting the food on though
4) water pan - no need for one, unless you have no other heat deflector in there - eggs and primo's use deflector plates when cooking indirect

That should get you going:)
 
All great advice above. You did not say if you were using wood chunks or not. CREEP up on your target temp. Where do you have your temp probe?

Paul
 
Be very careful not to overfire your clay Kamado as they can easily crack above 400F if they are older. For slow and low I close BOTH top and bottom dampers most the way to achieve low temps.
If your cooker continues to run hot with the dampers mostly closed you need to hunt for leaks. The first place to look would be the lid/base gasket. A dollar bill inserted in the closed lid should have some resistance from the gasket all the way round when pulled.
 
gtsum said:
couple of things as all ceramic cookers work the same (I have a primo)
1) Lighting - put your lump in there and then light it in a couple spots with a mapp torch or the like - close the lid and leave top and bottom vents wide open - when you get to about 50 degrees below your desired temp, start closing BOTH vents down...you will get a feel for how much you need them open (for 250 on my primo I only need about 1/8 inch open on the bottom and about the same on top)
2) Temps - if you let it get up to temp the ceramic will get heat soaked and once that happens it will take a LONG time to come down in temps
3) Lump - you do not need to wait until the white smoke is gone to close up the cooker - you can wait til the white smoke is gone before putting the food on though
4) water pan - no need for one, unless you have no other heat deflector in there - eggs and primo's use deflector plates when cooking indirect

That should get you going:)
Click to expand...

What he said. I have a different kamado, and it's amazing how little the intake and exhaust vents need to be cracked open. Once the ceramic gets heat soaked, it doesn't need a lot of charcoal combustion to keep it at that temp.
 
One of my cookin' buddies has one and he only burns briquettes in his. He claims that lump is not good for this particular cooker. He has no temperature issues for low 250° cooks. His only gripe is that the door plug has fallen out at the most unusual times..... like 3AM on an all night cook.
 
All good replies next weekend I will try some of your recommendations, has anyone made a charcoal basket for their Kamado to replace the fire grate? Same concept as the charcoal basket for UDS.... I'm wondering if that would help with the amount of white smoke I've been getting.....
And yes I do use wood chunks, mostly cherry
 
Here is one that tjv (ceramicgrillstore.com) built a few years ago.


lumpbasket.jpg



This one was made from expanded metal, and belongs to Woodoggies.


02bdb20a.jpg
 
awesome I will try to build the one with expanded metal.....
Thank you:clap2:
 
I have the same Imperial Kamado. I leave the dome open until the smoke lightens up, using lump. I had trouble with briquettes in it , lump seems to work best. Then close lid, and shut down the vents to 1/8 inch top and bottom, incrfease pening until desired temp is reached. Trial and error
 
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