problems holding temp in home made smoker

Pics don't show...this instructional will help you work through posting photos:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/how-to-upload-a-photo-q-view-to-your-post

Not sure yet, but if you have a hot fire and the vent stack is cold, I think your vent must be closed too much or something else is preventing proper flow of heat through the smoke chamber...possibly a baffle plate problem, or convection plate problem if it's a reverse flow, but be sure the vent is fully open at least until you have good draft and heat flow...then it can be throttled closed part-way just enough to maintain heat and proper smoke based on the heat from the fire and chamber temps. Improper ventilation or heat flow would also cause issues with fire control, and may be the cause for temp swings if you open the fire box or smoke chamber. A smoker that large should hold temps much better than a small back-yard rig.

The bitter taste does say lack of ventilation to me...low flow through the smoke chamber causes stale smoke, causing creosote to accumulate on the food. If burning wood for fuel, smaller pieces should be added at more frequent intervals so that you maintain a smaller, hotter fire which burns more cleanly with less smoke, otherwise, you get tons of heavy smoke from the fire.

Come on back with pics if you can, and we'll hopefully get some more input from others as well.

Eric

I don't use FB...lots of others here do, though...just wondering, are you on a slower connection that might delay the photo uploads?

It goes pretty fast compared to how it used to be a couple years ago, but even with my DSL modem, it takes about 15 seconds to pull it all together, sometimes, but usually less than 10 seconds. You should see a progress bar while you watch for the upload, but don't forget to click on the SUBMIT button after selecting the photo size you wish to post...I always use large, myself.

Eric

Here, read this and it may help with fire control:http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/stickburning101

This is how your fire bed should look :


Small and hot . Control by the "intake" at the FB.

 NOT the exhaust , leave it wide open.

Have fun and...

275 gal. tank will be hard to maintain temp do the the large area. that's a BIG AREA... big smoker... nice