Akorn help

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hooked on smoke

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Aug 24, 2013
626
250
Southern California.
I shared my first tries on my new Akorn and could still use some advice.
My last share was my first brisket attempt. I thought I had it figured out but, ah, no.
I layed out a snake trail and used a Weber cube to get it going but within 3 hours the train was following too fast.
I hoped it would slowly follow the fuel and keep a steady burn. Oh no! Did I not lay the fuel out correctly? Too much spacing? Ah. It travelled up the trail and temp went off the charts. I havnt done any modifications to it, yet. I did notice smoke leaking from the chamber and the seal seems pretty sloppy.
Any ideas?
 
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What did you have the bottom and top vents set at? I have an Akron, and I've tried all sorts of ways to start and arrange the charcoal. Ultimately I've found that it shouldn't matter as long as you leave a little space on the grate for airflow, which you clearly did, and you control airflow correctly using the vents. That thing should be able to run a minimum of 16 hours no problem without adding more charcoal.

As for the seal, I've heard that from others as well. I must have gotten lucky in that as long as I have the front latch shut down I don't have seal issues, but it may be worth considering removing the sealant and redoing it yourself if it's too bad.
 
I usually just fill the bottom with lump with chunks of hickory scattered all through it.  I leave a hole in the center for airflow.  I use 1/4 to 1/2 a weber cube to start my fire.  Once the cube burns out I close it up and let it come up to temperature.  Here's where I keep my vents set for a steady 230.

Top:


Bottom:


I also used the BGE Gold Standard Gasket to seal it up with.  You can see some in that bottom picture.
 
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