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JJJBBQ
03-17-2020, 10:10 AM
With all of the firewood that’s in the midst of curing, started wondering if I should give stick burning a try. Always worried about having the time to keep fueling the beast. Thought I would give it a go on the 270. Figured it would have the best chance of handling the task.

A little bit worried about the air flow as my intake is usually closed down quite a bit with lump charcoal. Decided to saw the splits even smaller. They’re 6-8” long and maybe a touch smaller than a soda can. Started it up with a chimney full of leftover lump from my last cook to get her hot. Once the temp starts to drop, I’ll put my first stick on and see what happens.

I’m hoping the worst that happens is that I have to pull the beef back ribs off and put it in the oven.

This is what happens when the family vacation gets cancelled and I have all this free time on my hands. My wife made the comment that she wished I would just go back to work early...

Sooner21
03-17-2020, 10:15 AM
Not sure if 270's are reinforced to the point of being able to handle that heat without warping.


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JJJBBQ
03-17-2020, 10:24 AM
Not going to lie. I’m a little worried about that too. Was hoping using smaller splits would mitigate the risk a little. The charcoal basket is pretty sturdy and sits on a heavy duty steel ash pan, not directly on the floor.

JJJBBQ
03-17-2020, 11:10 AM
That was a very short lived experiment! Put the first split on after the temp dropped to 250. Left the door open until the split was burning well. Closed the door and opened the intake all of the way to maximize air flow. Was hoping smaller fire and more air flow would allow for a manageable and clean burning fire. Short answer is nope. The wood was well cured oak. Im definitely not ruling out user error though.

Pulled the beef ribs and they’re in the oven at 270. They had about an hour before I pulled them out. Going to keep playing with the smoker to see what I can do to fix the issue.

JJJBBQ
03-17-2020, 11:28 AM
Got it burn more cleanly by opening the firebox door completely and removing the chimney cap to allow for both direct and indirect outflow. Temps are hotter rising at 325. Going to try the smaller wood chunks that I get from Lowe’s next. The 6” splits are apparently too much fuel still.

ebijack
03-17-2020, 12:02 PM
Nice experiment!
You might try 2 other things.
A pan with water, add as required.
Maybe large single size chunks would work.
Also, you can leave the coal box door wide open to draft off some of the extra heat when required.

Evil-g
03-17-2020, 12:23 PM
Here are the results of a 270 that got too hot, it killed the thermometer, bent shelves, melted the gaskets around the door and fire box to name a few. Luckily I had the Brethren and Stephanie on my side who helped me get it back to working order.

JJJBBQ
03-17-2020, 12:31 PM
Yikes! That looks terrible. It’s amazing how efficient the 270 is. Had most of the split burnt down and it was still chugging away at 325. Only a tiny amount of coals burning. I’ve been checking to see how long it would go on that first split. Still chugging away at 300.

Pife
03-17-2020, 12:38 PM
I don't own a 270, but used one a few times. They are great smokers.

JJJBBQ
03-17-2020, 01:45 PM
At least the ribs still turned out well!

JWFokker
03-17-2020, 07:53 PM
Yeah, that thing is a giant WSM. Can't run that hot. All of the heat is going up through the cooker. Need an M Grill or something like it to go all wood.