expected temperature fluctuation on a WSM?

flyinion · Jul 22, 2012

I just picked up an 18.5 WSM today and did an empty run (i.e. no meat) with just the loaded water pan and some charcoal in order to get a feel for it and to give it some seasoning since I want to use it Sunday. I was wondering what I can expect to be a normal range for it to bounce around. I'm assuming with charcoal I won't get it to literally sit at 225 for hours. Tonight I had it sitting at 228 for a bit then it started to creep a bit to 232 so I closed each intake a hair (mostly closed already due to being about 90 degrees outside) and it would creep down to about 226 before I'd open each back up a hair and the process would repeat. Maybe I should also just be moving one vent at that point?

I also learned I need to figure out a better way to light it. I tried the minion method and put about 1/3-1/2 (less than 1/2) a ring full of Kingsford competition charcoal in and then lit about 10 briquets and spread them out. I probably only had them about 1/2 lit though (been a looong time since I've had a charcoal anything). It took an hour to hit 225 partly because I had the bottom vents at 1/2 for the first 30 minutes and so I opened them all the way till it hit 225. I do plan to go to lump even though it's not recommended by Weber for some reason but I read about a lot of people using it anyway.

Anyway I guess what I'm really trying to figure out though is can I actually expect to hit and maintain 225 or will it kind of bounce around like 220-230 or 225-235? I think overall I was happy with my test run since I wasn't getting crazy temps of 300+ degrees or anything. Oh, I was monitoring all temps with a probe with the wire run through the side door up to the top grate and stuck through a sausage that needed to be tossed out from the fridge. The dome thermometer was reading about 8 degrees less than the probe which read 33 in a properly done ice water test.

rob989_69 · Jul 22, 2012

I just fired up my 22.5 WSM yesterday for the first time. What I noticed is it could fluctuate about 20 degrees at a given time. I also used the minion method. Although unlike yours mine came up to temp incredibly fast. I put about 2/3rds of a ring of charcoal and let it run with about 25 lit briquettes. I started mine at 9:30am and it ran with only a handful of charcoal added afterwards until about 5pm. I wanted to season it and get used to it a bit before I put the ribs on.

I usually try to stay between 225 and 250 during a smoke.. I'll keep it lower for ribs generally but as long as it's in that ballpark I don't worry too much. I did find that using 1 vent at a time helped tremendously though.

flyinion · Jul 22, 2012

rob989_69 said:
I just fired up my 22.5 WSM yesterday for the first time. What I noticed is it could fluctuate about 20 degrees at a given time. I also used the minion method. Although unlike yours mine came up to temp incredibly fast. I put about 2/3rds of a ring of charcoal and let it run with about 25 lit briquettes. I started mine at 9:30am and it ran with only a handful of charcoal added afterwards until about 5pm. I wanted to season it and get used to it a bit before I put the ribs on.

I usually try to stay between 225 and 250 during a smoke.. I'll keep it lower for ribs generally but as long as it's in that ballpark I don't worry too much. I did find that using 1 vent at a time helped tremendously though.

Thanks, that sounds like a reasonable range. Definitely will try to keep it lower for ribs and brisket. I think my temp problem was like I said starting with the vents at 1/2 instead of fully open on the bottom and that I really don't think I had my 10ish briquettes lit fully. I won't make that mistake again, but hey that's what a test run on a new smoker is for right?

s2k9k · Jul 22, 2012

flyinion said:
I just picked up an 18.5 WSM today and did an empty run (i.e. no meat) with just the loaded water pan and some charcoal in order to get a feel for it and to give it some seasoning since I want to use it Sunday. I was wondering what I can expect to be a normal range for it to bounce around. I'm assuming with charcoal I won't get it to literally sit at 225 for hours. Tonight I had it sitting at 228 for a bit then it started to creep a bit to 232 so I closed each intake a hair (mostly closed already due to being about 90 degrees outside) and it would creep down to about 226 before I'd open each back up a hair and the process would repeat. Maybe I should also just be moving one vent at that point?

I also learned I need to figure out a better way to light it. I tried the minion method and put about 1/3-1/2 (less than 1/2) a ring full of Kingsford competition charcoal in and then lit about 10 briquets and spread them out. I probably only had them about 1/2 lit though (been a looong time since I've had a charcoal anything). It took an hour to hit 225 partly because I had the bottom vents at 1/2 for the first 30 minutes and so I opened them all the way till it hit 225. I do plan to go to lump even though it's not recommended by Weber for some reason but I read about a lot of people using it anyway.

Anyway I guess what I'm really trying to figure out though is can I actually expect to hit and maintain 225 or will it kind of bounce around like 220-230 or 225-235? I think overall I was happy with my test run since I wasn't getting crazy temps of 300+ degrees or anything. Oh, I was monitoring all temps with a probe with the wire run through the side door up to the top grate and stuck through a sausage that needed to be tossed out from the fridge. The dome thermometer was reading about 8 degrees less than the probe which read 33 in a properly done ice water test.

So you were having a 6 degree swing? Good thing you didn't go with a propane, I was fighting the wind and sun cloud sun cloud sun cloud all day and was having 30 degree swings. I don't worry about temp swings too much, I just look at the average I am getting and with the results I got with my roast today I don't think it really matters!

flyinion · Jul 22, 2012

S2K9K said:
So you were having a 6 degree swing? Good thing you didn't go with a propane, I was fighting the wind and sun cloud sun cloud sun cloud all day and was having 30 degree swings. I don't worry about temp swings too much, I just look at the average I am getting and with the results I got with my roast today I don't think it really matters!

LOL well I don't know what the actual swing would have been if I had not touched it (probably should have done that), instead I was trying to adjust the vents slightly more or less open and that just happened to be the range that I was doing it at. I do know that it sat at 228 for a while before it started creeping up though. Of course it will probably be a lot more stable once I have actual meat on there and not just a pan full of water. Anyway, yeah I was highly impressed for my first run especially considering it's charcoal. The WSM really is looking like it will live up to the reputation I've read of being easy to use.

Oh and I ended up not doing anything today after all. I'll be trying some chicken thighs tomorrow. The temps ended up being well over 100 out today which was a red flag for me not to even bother.

big twig · Jul 24, 2012

When I run my WSM I fill the ring with charcoal to the desired amount, with wood chunks randomly placed in the bed of charcoal (leaving an empty space on one side for the lit charcoal), lite 12 or so pieces of charcoal while boiling a pot of water (for the water pan) when charcoal is ready dump it in the empty space (trying to only touch one end of the rest of the charcoal) and put the smoker together. All vents fully open and hopefully the water has started to boil so I pour that into the pan (I fill up a 2nd pot using just hot tap water, depends on the size of the pot used). Wait for the smoker to get up to 230 and close 2 bottom vents. Take off the lid and put the food in, temp should drop10-30 degrees depending on how long it took to put the food in. After that I only use one vent to adjust the temp, depending on the time of year and how hot it is outside (I smoke year round no matter how hot or cold) I tend to have one single vent 1/4 open and it will hold 225 for several hours if not all night. I always find that sweet spot before an over-nighter (weather is the factor for how open the one vent is) and just set the maverick alarm for min and max smoker temps (I tend to go 190min 250max). I never have a swing more then 5° by the way.

I hope my explanation helped, would be better with pictures but I have never taken a picture of my set up. Note to self, take a picture for future references.

cayman1 · Jul 24, 2012

A few tips. Until you get it seasoned, it will be hard to hold a constant temp and also a low temp.

Don't trust lid thermometer, not accurate. Get a good grate probe, Maverick 732 is a good choice. Also, lid temp probably 20-25 degrees higher than top grate.

You can use just one vent on a low temp cook and be good, use the one away from the wind.

Give it a good smoke test (lots of wood smoke) to see if it has leaks. Try to seal the leaks as best as you can. Door can be a problem and some people have had units that were out of round causing leaks.

Practice, practice, practice. It is a great little unit once you get to know it.

jirodriguez · Jul 24, 2012

Yeah... you guys are running into the "New" WSM temp issue. When a WSM is new there are a lot of little air flow areas that let air in, so there are times you can hold 225° with all vents close.. lol. Once you have about 10 or so smokes under your belt all those little cracks and crevices get sealed off by the smoke residue that builds up on the inside, then it will be a lot easier to hold your temps where you want them.

With a new WSM it is very important to catch the temps on the way up rather than have it get over hot and try and bring it back down. Once I start my minion I get the rest of the body assemble, minus the water. Then watch the lid therm closely, as soon as it hits 200° fill the water pan with HOT tap water, put the lid back on and let it come up to 225'ish. At 225'ish close 2 dampers fully and set the 3rd on to half closed. Wait 5 to 10 min, if the temps are still climbing to fast reduce the 3rd damper by another 50%, repeat as needed till you can hold steady - and like I said it may be that you end up with all 3 vents closed fully, or 1 just barely open.

Johnny

lght · Jul 25, 2012

Cayman1 said:
A few tips. Until you get it seasoned, it will be hard to hold a constant temp and also a low temp.

I was having the same temp swing problems until I got a can of pam and seasoned the WSM on a dry run. Just spray cook spray cook until it builds up a nice amount of seasoning on the smoker. The next smoke the WSM held at 225 for almost 6 hours without much problems at all.

john in ny · Jul 29, 2012

I'm running my first rack of ribs myself on a new WSM 22.5 it began spiking up to 300. After running fine for an hour. All vents closed. I even removed some fuel. Finally I've taken the lid on and off to try to maintain a temp and not lose the meat, but would love some ideas on how to control the temp a little lower. Full pan of water too.

cayman1 · Jul 30, 2012

Common problem on new WSM. You need to get it seasoned. Cook a bunch of fatty crap you get from butcher and just throw it away. Also check for air leaks. Door is sometimes a problem. Better ss door is available aftermarket as is gasket material for the door. If center barrel section is out of round, it will leak. Can be fixed with a tie down strap wrapped around it and pulled tight. Don't worry about lid. Don't believe thermometer in lid as they are crap, sometimes 50 degrees off. Get a good one for the top grate.

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expected temperature fluctuation on a WSM?

flyinion

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rob989_69

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flyinion

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s2k9k

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flyinion

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lght

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