Big Green Egg vs Webber Smokey Mountain

[drewed]

Just picked up a propane torch to side light my smoker. They had MAPPS torches too. Between the two is propane better for lighting charcoal? I'm assuming MAPPS burns too hot.

Same torch, different gas.  Mapp burns hotter.  Does that matter when lighting charcoal?  Not really.  It does make a difference when plumbing however.  The faster you can make a joint hot, the less heat transfers to another section of pipe or fitting.  Heck, I've gone to soldering with MAPP/OYX for a really hot flame.  

For lighting the WSM I go with one or two of the weber cubes on the side.

 

[porkandbeansmo]

Same torch, different gas.  Mapp burns hotter.  Does that matter when lighting charcoal?  Not really.  It does make a difference when plumbing however.  The faster you can make a joint hot, the less heat transfers to another section of pipe or fitting.  Heck, I've gone to soldering with MAPP/OYX for a really hot flame.  

For lighting the WSM I go with one or two of the weber cubes on the side.

Tried side-lighting for the first time today. Using the propane torch it didn't come up to tempurature after 5 minutes but after trying that and checking back on the smoker in about 40 minutes it was at 300 degrees. I'm definitely taking my torch back and getting a MAPPS gas torch and tank but i also think next time I may wait to put the wood chunks on until it's up to temp because while warming up it was just wasting smoke.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

It may take more than 5 minutes. On my WSM is normally have to fire the torch twice. No need to take the torch back, you can use propane or MAPP with the same torch. You will get the same results using MAPP or propane. Be patient. I can have any pit to temp in less than 15 minutes, and streaming pure blue smoke using this method.

The reason I use 5 minutes as an example is that you do not want to over fire your pit. It is easier to bring temps up than to lower them. Initially I will fire with the torch until the pit is 30-40 degrees above my target temp. Turn off the torch. The temp will drop below your target pit temp. If it's only 15-20 below target temp I let it climb by itself. If it is more than that I will fire with the torch again. Every pit is different and your target temp will be different with every cook. So it may take more or less time to achieve your target temp.

 

[porkandbeansmo]

It may take more than 5 minutes. On my WSM is normally have to fire the torch twice. No need to take the torch back, you can use propane or MAPP with the same torch. You will get the same results using MAPP or propane. Be patient. I can have any pit to temp in less than 15 minutes, and streaming pure blue smoke using this method.

The reason I use 5 minutes as an example is that you do not want to over fire your pit. It is easier to bring temps up than to lower them. Initially I will fire with the torch until the pit is 30-40 degrees above my target temp. Turn off the torch. The temp will drop below your target pit temp. If it's only 15-20 below target temp I let it climb by itself. If it is more than that I will fire with the torch again. Every pit is different and your target temp will be different with every cook. So it may take more or less time to achieve your target temp.

Right on. And that was the issue I was having with my pit. I ran the the torch in each of the 3 vents in the bottoms for about 5-6 minutes each and my temp maybe reached 100 degrees. That's when I walked away And left the smoker the go pickup my daughter. When I got back about 40 minutes later my smoker was raging at 300 deg. It was perfect. I gotta say though the temperature is mega stable with this side light procedure. I've been running for over 3 hours now and it's staying right at 235.