Airflow problem? (Blue Egg Ceramic Pot Smoker issue)

[cjp87]

Okay, quick question here. I'm having an issue keeping my coals (lump) hot in the smoker. I use a Weber chimney to get them going, dump them into a granite colander, and put the top lid on to get the temps up. They spike to about 250-300*, then slowly go down after that. I think the coals are losing their fire (though they don't go out entirely), and over the course of a few hours, the temps drop to 150* and stay there nearly indefinitely (I let them smolder for probably five hours last time until I went to bed, when I put them out)

My airflow consists of two 1/2" ballvalves (going through 1/2" piping) and three 1/2" diameter steel nipples (for a total of 2.5" of intake diameter) and five 1/2" nipples for exhaust. 

The colander that holds the coals inside is this one:


My question, I guess, is which of these two components is most likely the culprit in my inability to regulate temperature? I feel like those pipes should provide more than enough intake, which makes me lean towards the colander not having enough airflow/being too restrictive to keep the heat up. Do you guys have any suggestions on how I can fix this issue?

 

[tom37]

I know nothing about the ceramic cookers but based on what you have said, I would probably lean toward drilling some of the holes in the colander to 1/2" .

Its kinda hard to tell but maybe your holes are so small that the little bit of ash you build on start up is clogging the little holes.

Before I changed any of the pipe, I think I would first try the colander then I would try setting a small fan on the other side of the patio pointing at the intakes.

Good Luck and I hope its an easy fix.