Maiden Voyage

[Its_Raw]

Brought home some oak splits yesterday in preparation for the maiden voyage of the Brazos. Hopefully will get the first fire in it on Friday and will ruin some meat this weekend lol! I will keep you posted.

 

[Its_Raw]

I rushed home from work, washed out the inside of the smoker and the grates. Lit a fire and watched it go for a couple of hours. Here are my initial observations:

1. It took way longer to get a decent coal bed than I expected. I used oak splits and it was probably an hour or more before I started to get a decent coal bed.

2. It was windy and ash blew everywhere - in the cooking chamber, all over the closed lid of the cooking chamber - sticking to the canola oil... I am hoping this does not happen often as it would have affected everything cooking on the grate.

3. I had to keep the firebox door wide open to get enough air into the firebox to keep the fire going. I have a BBQHQ stack extension on the Brazos and I was surprised that it did not draw a bit better - but to be honest, I do not know how it should be drawing as I have no experience.

4. I was surprised how dirty the smoke got when I added more wood. It was a bit of a juggle, but I definitely needed smaller splits to manage the temperature without spiking it too quickly.

5. I was surprised at the amount of smoke that escaped out of the open firebox door. Again, I was thinking the draw through the smoker would have kept more of that inside. I also had a lot of smoke leaking from the closed cooking chamber door.

What are your thoughts? Thank you.

 

[Chasdev]

I suggest mini-splits, sized 4x12 for the cook but half that to start the fire.
Half a dozen 2x12's stacked in a teepee shape will start quickly and burn down to coals quicker too.
Air flow I can't help with as I drive (or am driven by) a Grand Champ XL.
Smoke leakage is meaningless and as you develop a "cleaner" fire it will show less leakage.
On my smoker I aim for 275 and tolerate up to 300 (325 for short durations, at which point I open the cook chamber door one inch for a miniute or so) and I find that as soon as I see cook chamber temps drop below 250/240 I still have a good coal bed but need another fresh stick added.
The key when adding fresh fuel is to stir up the coals and place the new stick slightly above the coals to allow airflow all around it.
I find that tossing a few small pieces of wood on each side of the new stick shortens the flare time AND I a use a small battery operated blower to speed up the flare time, plus chips in a bag that are meant for adding to charcoal work wonders here.
I think everyone who drives a stickburner or a Weber kettle needs a handheld blower, mine has been a boon.

 

[mike243]

I always start with some charcoal for the base and add splits, burp the cooking chamber lid instead of the firebox imo, also shut down the intake air if too hot or letting the xtra air out wont help. every smoker is different but make sure exhaust is all the way open, a lot of smoke leaking out the lid and firebox door points to airflow issues or too big of a fire

 

[JLeonard]

I am looking forward to learning the cooker Joel is building me. I'll probably do a few burns in it just to figure how it likes to run. And of course, I'll be taking note of all the advice of those that drive a stick burner give on posts like this!
Keep learning and make notes.

Jim

 

[Its_Raw]

I do have the BBQHQ stack extension, so I am only guessing the stack might not be the issue, but I‘m guessing the larger fire was more a culprit. I have a new baffle coming to try out from BBQHQ that is designed to throw the air from the firebox straight up and not straight out as it does now with the factory baffle plate removed. Needed - I have no Idea, but I like to tinker.

 

[seenred]

I rushed home from work, washed out the inside of the smoker and the grates. Lit a fire and watched it go for a couple of hours. Here are my initial observations:

1. It took way longer to get a decent coal bed than I expected. I used oak splits and it was probably an hour or more before I started to get a decent coal bed.

2. It was windy and ash blew everywhere - in the cooking chamber, all over the closed lid of the cooking chamber - sticking to the canola oil... I am hoping this does not happen often as it would have affected everything cooking on the grate.

3. I had to keep the firebox door wide open to get enough air into the firebox to keep the fire going. I have a BBQHQ stack extension on the Brazos and I was surprised that it did not draw a bit better - but to be honest, I do not know how it should be drawing as I have no experience.

4. I was surprised how dirty the smoke got when I added more wood. It was a bit of a juggle, but I definitely needed smaller splits to manage the temperature without spiking it too quickly.

5. I was surprised at the amount of smoke that escaped out of the open firebox door. Again, I was thinking the draw through the smoker would have kept more of that inside. I also had a lot of smoke leaking from the closed cooking chamber door.

What are your thoughts? Thank you.

Hello Its_Raw! First off, love your username and avatar pic - they crack me up!

You've already gotten good advice, but I'll add my 2 cents by trying to address each of your concerns individually:

1. As mike243 said, a good way to jump start your coal bed is to start with hot charcoal. I prefer to use lump charcoal...just dump a full chimney of red hot coal in your firebox, then place some wood splits on top. If you feed wood at the correct intervals (which varies for every smoker) you can maintain a nice hot coal bed throughout your cook. Also, opinions will vary on this, but I think it helps if you have a wood/coal rack in your firebox to elevate the coal bed/fire off the bottom of the FB a little. (I also think the raised rack would help address the problem in #3) Don't know if your pit has a coal rack or not...

2. Wind does make a stick burner more challenging for sure. One solution is to find a way to block the wind. Can you move your pit to the leeward side of the house? Or devise some kind of simple wind break? I've occasionally used a crude windbreak made out of plywood to block the wind. Also, it helps to pay attention to wind direction. Experiment with changing the position of your pit relative to wind direction. You may find the the wind affects your pit less if the FB door is pointing away from the wind.

3. First solution - refer back to answer #1. Get some air flowing under you fire. And remember that a hotter fire will also promote better air flow. I'm not familiar with either your specific smoker or the stack extension you're using...but air flow is the key. Make sure to keep the exhaust damper fully open, and adjust airflow with the intake. Ideally, you shouldn't have to keep the door open to maintain your fire, if the stack is the correct length and the intake damper is the correct size. You might try plugging the dimensions of your pit into one of the online pit calculators to see if your intake is the correct size and your stack is the correct length, and if not, adjust accordingly. There are several pit calculators out there that all work about the same - here's the one I use:

SmokerBuilder® BBQ Pit Calculator

The SmokerBuilder® Official BBQ Pit Calculator will help you design and build your smoker according SmokerBuilder's proven design calculations. Ensure that your smoker is sized appropriately and save time and money on your build.

bbqpitcalculator.com

4. Part of the issue with the dirty smoke could be due to your coal bed not staying hot enough. IMO, the most important variable in stick burning is maintaining a hot coal bed. If you get #3 solved, it'll go a long way to solving #4 as well. Another tip to avoiding the dirty smoke when you put new splits on the fire: preheat the splits. You can do this 2 or 3 ways: If there's room in your FB, place a split in there - away from the fire - to preheat before actually going on the fire. Second way is to lay 2 or 3 splits on top of the FB. The exterior of the FB should stay hot enough to preheat those splits before going on the fire. Lastly, I've heard of guys who keep a split in the cook chamber, right on the cooking grate at the opening to the FB. Not only would this preheat the split, but might also act as a baffle between your meat and your fire.

5. If you solve the issues in #1 and #3, this might take care of itself. If airflow in a stick burner is right, and you have a hot, clean fire, there shouldn't be any smoke backing out of the FB. The leaking in the cook chamber is also usually an easy fix. You can get some Nomex adhesive gasket that you can put around the CC door, which should help with a leaky CC. If you not familiar with it, just Google Lavalock High Temp BBQ gasket. I usually buy if off Amazon, but it's pretty common and can probably be found many places.

Lastly, I'll just say again that every pit is different, and learning the quirks of any new pit takes a little time and experimenting. Try focusing on one variable at a time to see how it affects your results. For example, my first step would probably be to concentrate on getting a hotter, cleaner fire before making other adjustments. Adjust the size of your fire, how much charcoal you start with, how big your splits are and how often you add them, etc. Most of your issues could be solved it you fine-tune the size and quality of your fire. If those changes don't fix all your issues, then you can move on to addressing stack length, adjusting air intake, etc.

I hope you can use any of this...good luck with it and, most importantly - have fun!

Happy Smoking!
Red