Looking for some advice from the stick burners out there...

i use a reverse flow cooker.after i get a bed of coals with charcoal then start adding wood.all i use is pecan.to keep it at my temp i add 2 pcs every 40 mins.does not have a strong smoke taste on the meat.be careful of the kind of wood you use.oak will give a strong flavor.never used hickory

doitbest.com great source for wood chunks; no shipping cost.

Have Lang and I still mix charcoal and wood. About 1 "stick" every hour. We foil,
but that's not because there's any more or any less smoke. About 1 chimney scoop
of charcoal per hour as well...

Lake Dogs said:

doitbest.com great source for wood chunks; no shipping cost.

Have Lang and I still mix charcoal and wood. About 1 "stick" every hour. We foil,
but that's not because there's any more or any less smoke. About 1 chimney scoop
of charcoal per hour as well...

Click to expand...

Do you light the chimney before adding each hour?

chambersuac said:

Do you light the chimney before adding each hour?

Click to expand...

No I just throw it on...

Cheers

I'll lay down a bed of charcoal, usually about 1/2 a bag. I'll light a chimney and put
that in on top. As the temperatures come up I'll add the first stick on top. We're
at sweet blue and 250 consistent right at 50 minutes. I used to light the coals
after the initial and only recently changed over to just adding a non-lit chimney full
about once an hour, give or take. I haven't noticed any difference in either taste
or smoke (by not lighting), and we seem to use a little less charcoal now.

You shouldn't have to worry about too strong of a smoke flavor on a stickburner as long as you run a clean fire. Preheat the logs on top of the firebox and leave the door open till the log ignites and you will have clean smoke flavor on the meat.

I start out filling my box up and lite it with a gas burner after it reach it peak temperture and start on the downside I will put the meat on and start closeing vents, then about every hour add a stick or two. Also preheat my wood on top of firebox, sometimes it catches fire. Very simple , just have to keep a check on it.

dannypat21 said:

You shouldn't have to worry about too strong of a smoke flavor on a stickburner as long as you run a clean fire. Preheat the logs on top of the firebox and leave the door open till the log ignites and you will have clean smoke flavor on the meat.

Click to expand...

Funny side story about preheating wood. I have a Lang with the warming
box. A few weeks back I was cooking and had the warming box loaded
with wood (except not right on top of the firebox). About 8 hour in to
the cook I went outside to check the charcoal and noticed a very strange
volume of smoke coming from what appeared to be the warmer. I opened
it up to flames, top to bottom. Luckily I had water very close at hand and
had it all put out in a few minutes. However, it was VERY scary. So, from
my personal experience, only have 2 or 3 pieces TOTAL being warmed at
any one time, and keep them as high in the warmer as possible.

Which lang did you end up getting?

Been following this post after my struggle with my first stick burner fire a couple days ago. What do you experienced guys do with vents. I was told by the pitmaker that I could shut down the two vents on the fire box pretty low and maintain good temps. However, I believe I only started the fire with a chimney of charcoal (charcoal on its SECOND burn at that) then went to wood for the remainder. Every time I closed up the vents a little bit my temps and fire plummeted. I think I need to start with a better bed of coals and go from there...just thinking out loud.

I burn only wood once the fire is going. I start with a small pile of charcoal just to get the wood burning. Keep the fire burning clean and the smoke flavor won't be overly strong. I used to live in FL- get yourself some orange wood from the orange groves when they prune, that works real well. Or when you get a freeze down there and it kills the citrus trees, get wood from those.

I have an upright OK Joe's offset that I have ONLY cooked with all wood since I got it (other than using a full chimney to start it up). I can't at all say that I'm a pro at it yet, but I asked the same questions here and I've had great luck using the advice that I got.

Particularly as has already been said, preheat logs on top of the firebox before adding will allow them to ignite almost instantly and keep the fire hot, which will produce a cleaner, hotter fire and less acrid smoke.

The other thing that I was told and have practiced has to do with vent control. I've been told and have found that creating more air flow will allow for a clean fire and create convection in the cooker which typically speeds up cooking. To achieve this, I keep my exhaust vent 100% open all the time and control the temps ONLY by adjusting the intake vent in the FB door and by trying to time the addition of fuel just right. For mine, keeping things at around 225-250 I need to add a log about every 20 min. If I'm after 300+, I add 2 or 3 logs every 30 min.

Basically, as soon as the blue smoke starts to disappear from the exhaust, it's time to add fuel. If you wait for the temp to start to drop, it's too late and then when you add fuel it will cool more before climbing again. I'm also of the opinion that keeping the exhaust open all the time creates more of a suction into the intake, which will keep the oxygen pumping into the fire, which will also help with a hotter fire.

As I've been told, the secret to not "oversmoking" with a stick burner is to have as hot and clean burning fire as possible. The tips above have helped me to achieve this.


Although my offset definitely takes more babysitting, and consequently I don't use it as OFTEN as my UDS (especially in the cold a$$ weather) it is BY FAR my favorite to cook on. I think it's the whole "challenge" thing and the shear pride that I have when pulling it off.:thumb:


Good luck and congratulations on the Lang!!!

Wampus said:

I have an upright OK Joe's offset that I have ONLY cooked with all wood since I got it (other than using a full chimney to start it up). I can't at all say that I'm a pro at it yet, but I asked the same questions here and I've had great luck using the advice that I got.

Particularly as has already been said, preheat logs on top of the firebox before adding will allow them to ignite almost instantly and keep the fire hot, which will produce a cleaner, hotter fire and less acrid smoke.

The other thing that I was told and have practiced has to do with vent control. I've been told and have found that creating more air flow will allow for a clean fire and create convection in the cooker which typically speeds up cooking. To achieve this, I keep my exhaust vent 100% open all the time and control the temps ONLY by adjusting the intake vent in the FB door and by trying to time the addition of fuel just right. For mine, keeping things at around 225-250 I need to add a log about every 20 min. If I'm after 300+, I add 2 or 3 logs every 30 min.

Basically, as soon as the blue smoke starts to disappear from the exhaust, it's time to add fuel. If you wait for the temp to start to drop, it's too late and then when you add fuel it will cool more before climbing again. I'm also of the opinion that keeping the exhaust open all the time creates more of a suction into the intake, which will keep the oxygen pumping into the fire, which will also help with a hotter fire.

As I've been told, the secret to not "oversmoking" with a stick burner is to have as hot and clean burning fire as possible. The tips above have helped me to achieve this.


Although my offset definitely takes more babysitting, and consequently I don't use it as OFTEN as my UDS (especially in the cold a$$ weather) it is BY FAR my favorite to cook on. I think it's the whole "challenge" thing and the shear pride that I have when pulling it off.:thumb:


Good luck and congratulations on the Lang!!!

Click to expand...

^^^^^^^ tattoo that stuff there to your forearm, follow it closely, and your on your way to BBQ Nirvana! :clap2:

Is there another fuel source other than wood??? It will take you some time to learn all the little things about keeping a good fire. practice , practice

BBQchef33 said:

^^^^^^^ tattoo that stuff there to your forearm, follow it closely, and your on your way to BBQ Nirvana! :clap2:

Click to expand...

SEEEE?!?!?! I listen to the experts Phil!!
Coincidentally, I believe it was YOU who told me all that stuff! True.....all true!