Good morning from snowy Michigan. As a newcomer to this forum I have been spending a lot of time reading posts and, boy oh boy, are there some intelligent folks out there.
Firstly, please be patient with me. Most of my posts here will be looooooong!!!
I became particularly fascinated on posts regarding settings and adjustments of air inlet and smoke outlet devices. There are many great arguments with experiences noted.
So, I would like to put in my thoughts. Being a steam locomotive enthusiast for 60 years there is one defining rule that is followed all over the world regarding coal....a little often. This can be simulated by the snake method, and to a lesser degree, the minion method. But lets be honest most people dump half a bag of briquettes in there and let her rip. I'll get back to this. Please review this link...its ancient but so is the correct technology...
The next thing...consider this, how many steam locomotives are you aware of that have an adjustable outlet at the chimney???? what did I just hear???? oh a big fat NONE. All fire adjustment regarding furnace temp is adjusted by two means:
Air dampers under the grate and air dampers over the grate...the fire needs that primary air coming in from underneath to get the fires going strong and burn the carbon, yes most of the heat comes from the carbon burning but 20% of the heat is generated by burning the volatile gasses that hot coals give off under combustion. These volatiles need balanced, or secondary air, to mix and aid proper combustion in the fire box over the coals. What the secondary air does is regulate where the volatiles burns most efficiently...in the crown of the fire box. Too little air the gas passes out through the fire tubes (ooh, stale smoke) too much and the gasses burn in the fire tube, ah, temperature spikes.
So my conclusion, which I practice, is set exhaust at 100% open (at first) balance temperature on the air inlet and drill radial holes around the very top of the charcoal pan for secondary air. Start with 8 x 3/38" holes and open a few up at a time until feedback tells you that you are getting better more stable temps with less inlet air and longer charcoal burns. once you have this in hand very very gradually close the exhaust vent, if required, to adjust temp by fine degree. This is mainly for the smoke retention...but not too much...smoke must be a delicate suggestion...not an overwhelming explosion.
As for the "little often" I built a custom smoker where everything lifts off the bottom legged portion with the charcoal bowl. I have a half chimney of hot grey coals ready then I lift the top off jiggle the coals around to dump ash then add the new coals. Top back on and temperature fluctuation is not an issue, the whole process takes less than 15 seconds. By the way, I never use a water bath, I use stacked pizza stones, much better and you can cook directly on them if you wish.
Adding hoy charcoal through the door will definitely work too.
Well, did I just hear "INCOMING"? I hope so...looking forward to your questions and comments.
Best wishes all,
Ian
Firstly, please be patient with me. Most of my posts here will be looooooong!!!
I became particularly fascinated on posts regarding settings and adjustments of air inlet and smoke outlet devices. There are many great arguments with experiences noted.
So, I would like to put in my thoughts. Being a steam locomotive enthusiast for 60 years there is one defining rule that is followed all over the world regarding coal....a little often. This can be simulated by the snake method, and to a lesser degree, the minion method. But lets be honest most people dump half a bag of briquettes in there and let her rip. I'll get back to this. Please review this link...its ancient but so is the correct technology...
The next thing...consider this, how many steam locomotives are you aware of that have an adjustable outlet at the chimney???? what did I just hear???? oh a big fat NONE. All fire adjustment regarding furnace temp is adjusted by two means:
Air dampers under the grate and air dampers over the grate...the fire needs that primary air coming in from underneath to get the fires going strong and burn the carbon, yes most of the heat comes from the carbon burning but 20% of the heat is generated by burning the volatile gasses that hot coals give off under combustion. These volatiles need balanced, or secondary air, to mix and aid proper combustion in the fire box over the coals. What the secondary air does is regulate where the volatiles burns most efficiently...in the crown of the fire box. Too little air the gas passes out through the fire tubes (ooh, stale smoke) too much and the gasses burn in the fire tube, ah, temperature spikes.
So my conclusion, which I practice, is set exhaust at 100% open (at first) balance temperature on the air inlet and drill radial holes around the very top of the charcoal pan for secondary air. Start with 8 x 3/38" holes and open a few up at a time until feedback tells you that you are getting better more stable temps with less inlet air and longer charcoal burns. once you have this in hand very very gradually close the exhaust vent, if required, to adjust temp by fine degree. This is mainly for the smoke retention...but not too much...smoke must be a delicate suggestion...not an overwhelming explosion.
As for the "little often" I built a custom smoker where everything lifts off the bottom legged portion with the charcoal bowl. I have a half chimney of hot grey coals ready then I lift the top off jiggle the coals around to dump ash then add the new coals. Top back on and temperature fluctuation is not an issue, the whole process takes less than 15 seconds. By the way, I never use a water bath, I use stacked pizza stones, much better and you can cook directly on them if you wish.
Adding hoy charcoal through the door will definitely work too.
Well, did I just hear "INCOMING"? I hope so...looking forward to your questions and comments.
Best wishes all,
Ian
