Can’t get my temps back up.

[Abiskay]

Whats up, everyone.

New to smoking and having a hard time getting my temps back to the 225-250 range. Before I put the meat on, the temps were perfect. Unfortunately, since then, I can’t get them back. Currently, they won’t get over 200. I’ve added an additional basket of charcoal, but they’re not coming up. Any suggestions?
BTW, I’m using an OKJ Highland with the following mods:
Baffle plates, 3” elbow at stack, nomex gasket around cook chamber, RTV sealant at all gaps (firebox/cook chamber junction, smokestack), thermometers at grate level on both sides and one at top (all calibrated in boiling water).
I’ve opened my firebox vent to allow more air with no result. At a loss. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Aaron

 

[noboundaries]

Aaron, forgive me for stating the obvious, but just checking. Is the exhaust stack fully open? Probably is, but it happens.

How much meat (poundage) is in the smoker? A lot of meat acts as a heat sink as it absorbs available heat.

When you add the "additional basket of charcoal," is it cold or hot and ashed over? Cold charcoal will suck up heat from the hot charcoal and take a while to heat up the smoker. Hot charcoal puts more heat energy into the system.

 

[zwiller]

+1 Been a long time since using charcoal but remember well how long it took to respond. I tended to freak out add more then it was too hot. Hopefully everything went OK.

 

[Abiskay]

-Stack was fully open.
-2 racks ribs (approx 8 lbs)
- Sorry, I meant “chimney” of charcoal. Yes it was ashed over. I actually ended up adding another one.

All in all, the cook turned out okay. I had a plan to do the 3-2-1 method on the ribs, but had to go to Plan B. In total it took about 7.5 hours to get them finished. The family was happy and I didn’t get the “bitter” taste I was trying to avoid. I also learned a little bit from using the OKJ for the first time. Had a good time and enjoyed the food. Thanks for responses. Glad to be a part of the group.

- Aaron

 

[mat5182]

Were you able to get your temp back up? I typically see a drop when i add my meat to the WSM as well. But thats because i've lifted the lid and disrupted the stability along with adding cold meat. Usually for me it will start coming back up in a little bit. Occasionally i'll have to go out there and futz with the vents but patience seems to be the key.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Bet the ribs were good though.. smoked with wood chunks?

 

[Abiskay]

Eventually, I got them back. But never really felt I had control of the temps. The ribs did turn out pretty good, though. It’s a work in progress.

 

[SmokinAl]

Offsets are a little tricky to use & there is definitely a learning curve. If the outside temp is cold and/or windy this will affect your temps. I'm not familiar with your smoker, but I'm assuming your charcoal grate is off the bottom of the firebox, so that air can get under the fire. It sounds to me like you didn't build a big enough fire to begin with. You probably would want to get your smoker up to around 300, if you want the final temp to be around 250. Because between opening the CC door to add the meat & putting cold meat in the smoker the temp will definitely drop. So if it drops from 300 to 250, your right where you want to be. My offset runs on wood, so I have to add a split every 45 minutes to an hour to keep a good coal bed going. If your using charcoal I would add a split of wood every so often, cause the wood will burn hotter. The main thing with an offset is to keep a good coal bed going in the firebox, so that when you add a split it will ignite right away & not give you a bunch of thick white smoke. It will take you a few smokes to get comfortable with your smoker, but each time you use it, it will get a little easier. You will know what to expect when you add wood, or adjust the dampers.
Good luck!
Al

 

[Abiskay]

Thanks, Al

I will definitely be building a bigger, better fire next time. I think you’re right. The problem was the size of the initial fire being too small and after opening the door and adding meat, it wasn’t strong enough to get it back up to temp.

Thanks for the feedback

-Aaron

 

[Ruckus]

Thanks, Al
I will definitely be building a bigger, better fire next time.
-Aaron

I have a stock OKJ highlander, no mods at all. I use a minion basket. My first time with it my temps were to high but I learned to begin with less lit coals, after that I can keep temp at 225*-235* with little to no effort. Might be worth looking into.

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