brinkmann gourmet charcoal smoker, too hot?!

[tishthedish]

I just tried out my "new to me" brinkmann gourmet charcoal smoker and it has been going strong since 6pm (now 10pm) above 250F. It has all the standard mods, three openings on the bottom. One ball valve and two straight with caps.. Also has a grate for the coals to sit on so they don't smolder them selves after long burns.

When I first started it was holding at 318F with all the valves and ports closed, now at 10pm it sits at 271F with everything closed. What am I doing wrong?

 

[tishthedish]

Also would this coal be a good idea? I see people say it runs hot.. 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Royal-Oa...17-6-lbs-195228017/203810750#customer_reviews

 

[mdboatbum]

Keep at it. It'll take a few runs for you to get to know the smoker's "personality". Those Brinkmanns can be pretty cantankerous and unpredictable, and once somebody chops them all up with "mods" all bets are off. Out off the box they're pretty much a one trick pony (low and slow) and they do that one trick fairly well.
Like I said, give it a few tries and you'll get into a rhythm with it. Then after a few more runs with it you'll realize you want something a little more adjustable and predictable and you'll pass it on to somebody else who wants to try smoking. And you'll get a WSM, make a UDS or a mini or buy one of those big toaster ovens made by Masterbuilt. Is the circle of life.

 

[tishthedish]

So I found there were some open holes from the previous owner and siliconed them shut, I also added a seal and another temp probe on top. Hopefully this should help a little.

 

[cliffcarter]

IMHO those temps are perfect. You are not doing something wrong, you are doing it correctly.

Lump does burn hotter than charcoal briquettes, Royal Oak is my preferred lump charcoal.

 

[tishthedish]

So 300-319 is okay for brisket and other long them meats?

 

[cliffcarter]

In a word, yes. 300°+ is fine for cooking any BBQ. Aaron Franklin cooks all his briskets at 300°, think of it as following in the master's footsteps.

 

[tishthedish]

So I am going for round two and I am sitting nicely at 250-255 for the past three hours. But I need all the dampers open including the TOP hood damper, will this affect any future smoking if i need to leave it open?

 

[tishthedish]

So I'm at the six hour mark and still holding between 250-257F, I did need to rearrange the coals into the middle to keep the temp up. 

 

[cliffcarter]

 
So I am going for round two and I am sitting nicely at 250-255 for the past three hours. But I need all the dampers open including the TOP hood damper, will this affect any future smoking if i need to leave it open?

No it will not negatively effect any future cooks. You should always leave the top vent open.

 
So I'm at the six hour mark and still holding between 250-257F, I did need to rearrange the coals into the middle to keep the temp up.

You may need to add more charcoal, if you haven't already.

 

[tishthedish]

Thanks for the info! I did end up needing to add more charcoal, I'm going to raise my charcoal grate up two more inches to prevent my long cooks from suffocating.