Hello

[challenger srt]

I have been smoking for a few years now but I am always learning and asking questions. I have a Brinkman Trailmaster  and I am using a controller to control temperature. Last weekend I did a brisket and used about two bags of charcoal with apple wood chunks. I was smoking for about 15 hours, does that seem like an excessive amount of charcoal? I removed the vent on the firebox and put the fan in its place, does that seem like a good idea or should I leave the vent and drill a hole for the fan. Thanks in advance.

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• challenger srt
• Mar 1, 2017

 

[SmokinAl]

The fan needs to be below the charcoal grate. If you have it set up so it's blowing right on the fire it will burn more fuel.

I've found that I can control the temp on my offset better using the dampers.

But with a BBQ Guru hooked up I use about 1/2 the amount of wood even though the temps fluctuate a little more.

I don't really think an offset smoker really benefits from a pit controller, other than using less wood. Because you have to be around it to feed it anyway, so it's not that big a deal to occasionally adjust a damper.

Now if I hook it up to my WSM, it will hold a steady temp for over 20 hours without adding a thing.

Al