Frustrated novice in Tampa FL

[mpeladeau]

Hello all!

I just bought a Masterbuilt John McLemore Signature Series bullet charcoal smoker from my local Lowe"s. Got it put together and am pre-seasoning it. I can't seem to get the dang thing over 250*F. I did not start with a whole lot of charcoal. Is thst my problem? I'm using lump hardwood charcoal. I threw in 3 chunks of lump hickory and it never went over 200*F. I have a chimney charcoal starter and added more charcoal and got it up to 250*F. Instructions said to get it up to 350*F so burn off residual manufacturing oils etc. It's been going for almost 2hours now but never got close to 350*F. Any thoughts/tips? How much charcoal should I start with?

 

[joe black]

Make sure that the exhaust stack is wide open. Start everything with the intake vents wide open. Air = heat. Have a full load of lump charcoal and start it with a full chimney of briqs. If that doesn't work, I hope someone has a better idea of this particular smoker.

 

[SmokinAl]

Like Joe said, you just need a bigger fire.

All vents wide open.

Al

 

[grillmonkey]

Joe Black is right. You dump a full chimney of charcoal in there at full burn and with all your vents open, that baby will get HOT!

 

[noboundaries]

Is there any water in the water pan?  If so, you won't see high temps until the water evaporates.  If not, use more fuel. 

Learning to control temps with any wood or charcoal smoker is part of the process of smoking.  Amount of fuel to use to reach your target temp, both as a cold bed for longer smokes, and lit charcoal (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or full chimney) to start just takes a little experience. 

Water is a heat sink that keeps temps low until it is all gone.  Many of us dry smoke (not using water) or substitute sand for water to help maintain constant temps. 

The learning curve is pretty short so you'll figure it out quickly. 

 

[submariner]

Welcome and agree with all.  You need a bigger fire.  You can control it with your exhaust!!! 

 

[mpeladeau]

Thank you all! I also took the temp gauge and put in my oven and set oven for 200*F...gauge reads 250*F..so that's something else I have to consider