Weber Kettle Temp Issues

[tony69]

I did some spares a couple weeks ago & I couldn't for the life of me, keep it down below 300. The only thing I had to use to check for temp was an instant read thermo that my wife got me for Christmas. I was doing indirect, coals banked on 1 side with some apple chips, with a drip pan w/water & apple juice. I fully closed 2 of the daisy wheels & the 3rd about 1/2. The exhaust was about 1/2 to 3/4 open. (You have to have a certain amount of fresh air coming in & going out to prevent cresote from building up Right??) The ribs were pretty good, but had a harder bark on them. Which I'm wondering if I make a baffle out of some sheet metal or aluminum going from the bottom of the kettle to almost the top of the dome, if that would help a bit with heat control? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help of ideas.

Tony

[glh17]

Tony,
I'm not sure if I can help much since I've never cooked ribs on my kettle. I normally try to cook somewhere between 325 and 375 on my kettle.

One thing you didn't mention was how you fired up your kettle. If I were trying to keep my kettle in the neighborhood of 250 or so, I'd use something along the lines of the Minion method and only light a few coals in my chimney (8-10) at the most. I normally do this anyway but just keep the bottom vents open longer than I would if I was targeting 250. (unless I'm wanting to sear)

I certainly would not want all the coals burning hot at the same time. The idea would be to start the pit significantly cooler than my target temp and shut the vents down as you did about 30 degrees or so below the target.

I normally keep my top vents pretty much completely open and do all the temp adjustments on the bottom ones. You do want to especially keep the top vent at least partially open for the reason you mentioned.

Maybe someone with more experience will have a different recommendation.

[tony69]

I poured a complete chimney of unlit coals in, then used about a 1/4 chimney of lit coals (probably about 15 or so). I also generally keep my top vent all the way open but fiddled with it to try & get the temp down. My other option was a Brinkmann cabinet smoker & that thing has got more leaks in it than the Vikings pass defense, so I went with the Weber. I got 3 racks of baby backs & a 7# brisket flat from my FIL for Christmas & I'm itching to do them up but want to be dialed in a bit better. Next time I will try a few less coals. Thanks

[Groundhog66]

How are you checking the temp with an instant read?

[smokainmuskoka]

I agree with glh17's comments about using the Minion method with your coals and keeping your exhaust vents open all the way.
I posted the attached thread http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116991 when I started doing ribs(babybacks and sides) in my kettle(an older one with the daisy wheel vents). I keep them open a tiny bit and give the kettle a whack now and again to clear any ash that builds up and blocks airflow (you have to open the vents for that). I like using the firebricks, but I followed the suggestion I received to use a smaller drip pan and no water pan over the coals. I'm able to keep it around 275F most of the time.

[KnucklHed BBQ]

I'm wondering if your lower vents are sealing up good enough, my pre-79 came to me with lower vents that were literally concave in the wrong direction from the build up of ash between them & the body, you might have a look from the inside looking out using a flashlight on the outside to see if there are bigger than normal gaps when they are closed...

Otherwise I would think that the way you lit it would have been fine. I always keep the upper vent wide open & adj the lowers.

That being said, if you get the temp too high sometimes you have to completely shut the lowers for 15 min or so to let the fire cool down, then bring it back up or maintain.

[tony69]

How are you checking the temp with an instant read?

I put it through the exhaust vent & the intake vent to get an idea of what temps I was dealing with. Maybe I'll get a long probe deep fry thermo & toss it in the exhaust vent until I can afford a Maverick.

[JONESY]

Maybe a dumb question, but you are putting your exhaust on the opposite side of your banked coals.

[tony69]

Maybe a dumb question, but you are putting your exhaust on the opposite side of your banked coals.

Yes to both! j/k Yes, I am.

[landarc]

what Knucklhed said is what I would suggest, sometimes even half open on one wheel is too much. Oh, if you close the top vent, your fire will actually start to choke, you can get creostote at that point.

[bbqfred]

Is this the 22.5 or 18.5 kettle?

I find that I have a far easier time controlling temps on the 18.5 for some reason. I have yet to feel like I fully mastered the larger one.

On the 22.5, sometimes I feel like it runs too hot, I close things down, and I get close to choking the fire.

[sfbbqguy]

I did a rib roast for Christmas on a newer 22 Kettle. Did three rows of 12 K coals (36 total) one coal thick oposite vent. I lit only eight coals and put 4 on each side of the unlit rows. She took a while to get to temp but I was able to hold 250-275 for about four hours and didn't check after that as I was eating rib roast. Upper vent wide open and lower vent was about half.
Worked great, roast turned out insane! Good thing 'cause FIL was hovering wondering what in the heck I was doing only lighting eight coals. I think his quote was something like "Your never gonna get that thing cooked with just eight coals."

[Mister Bob]

I solved the runaway temp problem by using less charcoal, opening the top vents wide and adjusting temp with the bottom vents only. I keep the bottom of the kettle is as clean as possible and make sure the fins on the bottom vents seal properly. I use fire bricks and no water pan.
My 26" Kettle holds steady at 275 with no trouble. I use a long stemmed deep fry thermometer through the vent hole to get the temp at the grate.

[boogiesnap]

try keeping all 3 just a sliver open. 1 1/2 way can feed a kettle alot of air.

and reading cooker temps with an instant read is suspect at best.

buy a cheap oven therm and throw it on the grate. give it a look every now and then, till you can get something better. but still use that too.

[Cabin Fever]

In my 22.5 OTG I start my fire doing pretty much what you do, except I leave the top vent open 100% and the bottom vents barely cracked. Depending on how much charcoal I use, I can get 6 hours unattended at 275-300. Since this is considered the "hot and fast" method, I've never once had to add more charcoal during a smoke. Also, remember that kettles are not built to be air tight. This is why I sometimes have to close the bottom vents all the way during an entire cook.

[mbshop]

read all this. especially the part about foiling the coal grate.
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9040039023/m/6750042994

[caseydog]

I read most of the thread, but it's late, and didn't read it all. I did read enough to know how you did your rib cook.

I used my 22.5 kettle for years to slow cook ribs. Mine had the one touch intake on the bottom, but it is not totally different.

Banking your coals on one side is good, with your meat on the other.

Once you get up to temperature, your intake air is your temperature control. You can dial your top vent down to 1/4 inch or less. If your kettle has the three intake vents, close two, and use the one under your coals to manage temperatures. That vent will just barely need to be open. Keep in mind, the hot coals will create the convection current, not the vents. The vents just control how much convection happens, and you do not need a whole lot.

Maintaining a constant temperature on a kettle is nearly impossible, but that's okay. With a long cook, you only need to keep an average temperature that is reasonable. Don't worry about the spikes.

BTW, Don't worry about creosote build up. You can clean that off with a ball of tinfoil. It is not an issue. Live in the moment, cook in the moment. Creosote build up is a long-term issue. Don't over-think it.

A Weber kettle is a very efficient cooking tool. It wants to cook in the 300-plus range. You can easily do low and slow on it, and I have hundreds of times, but you will be choking it down with both the top and bottom vents -- and will have to keep an eye on it and make adjustments on a regular basis.

CD

[Midnight Smoke]

Get yourself a plain old Oven Thermometer and use it to check grate Temps. The glass will get Smoke covered but a rub with some Dawn and a Green Scrubber will clean it right off. Try not and use too much water as they are not Waterproof.

I did this a lot when I 1st started BBQ'n, until I knew how to build the fire and control it with the Vents. Still use it every once in a while.

[posey's_pork_pit]

My first charcoal low and slow cooker was a Weber 22.5 OTS kettle. As stated in the link, I used firebricks to create the charcoal pocket with wood chunks buried within the pile. I used a foil pan on the indirect side and I did not use liquid.

I'd fire about 20 briquettes and sprinkle on top of the charcoal pile. All vents wide open until it reached target, usually 250°. I'd shut down the bottom vent completely and use the top vent to control temp ~ usually leaving it cracked enough to hold the thermometer. It would maintain this temp forever! I cooked everything from chicken to ribs to brisket to chuck roll and I never had a problem maintaining low and slow.

Since I got my stick burner, I don't use the ole girl so much for low and slow but she's still my go to for small, over night cooks.

Don't give up ~ You can maintain low and slow with a kettle! :becky:

[aquablue22]

I do indirect on my kettles by using 20 - 25 coals on each side and adding 4 or 5 coals every 45 minutes to an hour. New Tears day I set it up and it ran at 250 from 10 in the morning until 6 in the evening, when I actually shut it off. All wheels wide open all the time.

Years ago I wrote Weber customer service and asked this same questions and their response was less fuel, and it sure works.

[tony69]

read all this. especially the part about foiling the coal grate.
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9040039023/m/6750042994

Thanks! Looks like ther is a lot of good info there.

BBQFred - It's a 22.5''
Boogiesnap - It may be suspect but ya gotta use whats @ hand.

We will see how well it is sealed up this weekend. New Years day we had some pretty fierce winds which in turn to a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood (my windbreak from the previous day) & slammed it in to my kettle sending it into pieces on the ground. It looks ok but will have to check it out. My chimney starter didnt fare so well. I appreciate everyones opinions & will probably print the whole thread & implement some of the info as needed. Again, a big ''THANK YOU'' to all.

Tony

[BluesDaddy]

I can't add much more except to emphasize less lit coals at the start when you're doing minion method and when you add them, add at one end of the bank of unlit coals, not spread out on top. Also foiling the bottom grate so that it is only open under where the coals are banked works well adding some additional air flow control..

[Cabin Fever]

Also foiling the bottom grate so that it is only open under where the coals are banked works well adding some additional air flow control..

I've never thought about doing this before, but it makes sense. I'll give it a try next time I do a butt on the OTG. I guess that's why I love this place!

[DVBBQ]

yes. less lit coals to start, and adding with a kettle isnt too much of a pain. Definately minion method for low and slow on the kettle. And I second all of those who warned against controlling temp with exhaust vent.

[Dave S]

Tony I think that 15 lit coals on top of your unlit coals are way too much. Before I built my UDS I used my 22-1/2 kettle for all of my smokes. I found that using just around 6 lit coals on top of the unlit coals works best. Your temps come up slowly but it is much easier to control and keep them lower when you come up slowly.
I also have 2 fire bricks that I use to partition off the coals for indirect cooking. They retain heat and help keep an even temperature in the kettle.
Also, I'm not sure how often you were taking the lid off of the kettle. Each time you do that, you let in a lot of oxygen which will spike your temps. If you can afford one, I would recommend a remote thermometer like the Maverick ET-732. You can monitor the grill temp without ever opening the lid. Very helpful when slow cooking on a kettle.
All of that being said, there are some incredible ribs out there that have been cooked at 350 degrees.
Good luck and keep at it. Learning on a weber will give you some really great fire control skills.

[posey's_pork_pit]

@Dave ~ it depends on how many cold briquettes you start with and how long you'll be cooking. I set my fire bricks so they overlap about one inch. Then I mix 2 - 3 chunks of wood in with the unlit briquettes leaving enough top space for the lit charcoal. Yes, I sprinkle the lit coal over the unlit coal ~ this works better for me.

I can maintain 250° for 6 - 8 hours without adding fuel using this method. I found the key is to shut down the bottom vent and use the top vent to control the temp.

Try it sometime, you might be pleasantly surprised.