toddcc1
Knows what WELOCME spells.
I watched the videos provided by Pitmaker and I believe a few others, but developed my way, with a few variations/tweaks. The temp outside was 38 degrees, overcast and gusty, about 15-20mph winds.
As many have probably already discovered, using the weed torch is the right way to go.
I remove and grates I'm not using for the cook and then clean out the ash pan after stoking the leftover coals from the last cook around.
I place a layer of lump charcoal, mix it with the previous cooks charcoal, lay a single split on top and start blasting it with the weed torch. I usually spend about 5-10 minutes lighting the wood charcoal base and wood split.
I leave the cooker doors and firebox doors wide open during this and will do so until the wood split is burning and no longer smoldering.
Once the wood split is burning, I push the entire bask into the firebox.
As the wood split continues to burn, I then begin the process of heating up the internal chamber and searing off any remnants left over from the previous cook. I hit the grates, sides and top of the smoker. I'll spend about 5 minutes doing so.
Depending on how long you spend hitting the internal, after about 5 minutes, the internal temp reads 160 degrees.
It is at this point I will close the firebox door, damper fully open, but do not latch the firebox door shut.
I then wait for the internal temp to hit approximately 230 degrees. I rely upon the ThermaQ vs. the analog reading.
Total time thus far is 38 minutes. In addition, the wood split is in full burn and no longer smoking, producing clean heat, per se.
It is at this point that I throw my meat on.
Keep in mind, I still have the firebox damper fully opened and have not latched close the firebox door.
Once the meat is on, there will be a dip in temp. I wait for the temp to creep back up until it stalls, for me usually in the low 220's. I will throw on another split at this point, not too big, not too small. I prefer to cook in the 230-240 range.
I then wait for the pit to get back up to 230, at this point I fully latch the firebox door close and adjust the damper. It has been consistent for me, that just beyond halfway keeps the pit temp between 230 - 240, sometimes it will go beyond 240 to 245ish, but I don't adjust the damper to compensate.
I understand this will vary/shift depending on temp and whether the sun is hitting the pit. By and large, this is my process for getting the Pitmaker Magnum to temp and maintaining it. On average, a new split has to be added every 45 minutes.
As many have probably already discovered, using the weed torch is the right way to go.
I remove and grates I'm not using for the cook and then clean out the ash pan after stoking the leftover coals from the last cook around.
I place a layer of lump charcoal, mix it with the previous cooks charcoal, lay a single split on top and start blasting it with the weed torch. I usually spend about 5-10 minutes lighting the wood charcoal base and wood split.
I leave the cooker doors and firebox doors wide open during this and will do so until the wood split is burning and no longer smoldering.
Once the wood split is burning, I push the entire bask into the firebox.
As the wood split continues to burn, I then begin the process of heating up the internal chamber and searing off any remnants left over from the previous cook. I hit the grates, sides and top of the smoker. I'll spend about 5 minutes doing so.
Depending on how long you spend hitting the internal, after about 5 minutes, the internal temp reads 160 degrees.
It is at this point I will close the firebox door, damper fully open, but do not latch the firebox door shut.
I then wait for the internal temp to hit approximately 230 degrees. I rely upon the ThermaQ vs. the analog reading.
Total time thus far is 38 minutes. In addition, the wood split is in full burn and no longer smoking, producing clean heat, per se.
It is at this point that I throw my meat on.
Keep in mind, I still have the firebox damper fully opened and have not latched close the firebox door.
Once the meat is on, there will be a dip in temp. I wait for the temp to creep back up until it stalls, for me usually in the low 220's. I will throw on another split at this point, not too big, not too small. I prefer to cook in the 230-240 range.
I then wait for the pit to get back up to 230, at this point I fully latch the firebox door close and adjust the damper. It has been consistent for me, that just beyond halfway keeps the pit temp between 230 - 240, sometimes it will go beyond 240 to 245ish, but I don't adjust the damper to compensate.
I understand this will vary/shift depending on temp and whether the sun is hitting the pit. By and large, this is my process for getting the Pitmaker Magnum to temp and maintaining it. On average, a new split has to be added every 45 minutes.
