Help with temperature on my smoker.

[rmcguir98]

Hey guys and gals,

     The last time I came on here for some advice, you all hit one out of the park with your advice.  I thank you in advance for your thoughts and help on my new question.

Here is the smoker I am using: 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/products/master-forge-charcoal-smoker

I have been using the minion method for getting my smoker up to proper temp.  Using that method, I keep a steady temp anywhere from 235 to 250 for up to 8 hours or so.  What I want to do is keep a temp of around 185-195 for around 12-15 hours.  Any thoughts or advice to help me maintain this temp for this long of a time period would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all.

 

[JckDanls 07]

I'm thinking it's gonna be pretty tough to do with charcoal... but you might want to try not lighting as many briquettes to start with... we'll see what others have to say

 

[bama bbq]

This is how I do Jerky at low temps like that in my WSM:  I position the charcoal in a circle where the two ends don't touch and there's space in the middle... like a "C" shape.  I have a coffee can that I arrange the coals around and just leave a gap on one end.   I remove a few coals from one end of the "C" (maybe 10 to 15) and start them in a chimney then put them back in place in the "C" ensuring I leave the gap.  That will start the fire on one end to burn around the curve resulting in very few charcoal pieces lit at any one time for lower temps.  I also use water in the pan (optional) and choke down the vents to control heat.   I've seen some charcoal baskets made in an "S" shape that do the same thing.

 

[daveomak]

  What Jck said....  maybe 4-5 lit briquettes.... let us know what the results were....   You may have to tighten up the leaks first....  I know my small weber will choke off the air and the fire will go out......  Air Tight.....   

 

[norsican]

Temp is a direct result of the amount of fuel and airflow. The more you have of either/both of these elements, the hotter the fire. By contrast, the less you have, the lower the temp. 

Because you can control it, I would look at the fuel aspect of it first then look at ventilation if this is possible.

 

[hambone1950]

This is how I do Jerky at low temps like that in my WSM: I position the charcoal in a circle where the two ends don't touch and there's space in the middle... like a "C" shape. I have a coffee can that I arrange the coals around and just leave a gap on one end. I remove a few coals from one end of the "C" (maybe 10 to 15) and start them in a chimney then put them back in place in the "C" ensuring I leave the gap. That will start the fire on one end to burn around the curve resulting in very few charcoal pieces lit at any one time for lower temps. I also use water in the pan (optional) and choke down the vents to control heat. I've seen some charcoal baskets made in an "S" shape that do the same thing.


That is brilliant. I can see that method being useful in a lot of ways. Great stuff!

 

[rollin smoke]

This is how I do Jerky at low temps like that in my WSM:  I position the charcoal in a circle where the two ends don't touch and there's space in the middle... like a "C" shape.  I have a coffee can that I arrange the coals around and just leave a gap on one end.   I remove a few coals from one end of the "C" (maybe 10 to 15) and start them in a chimney then put them back in place in the "C" ensuring I leave the gap.  That will start the fire on one end to burn around the curve resulting in very few charcoal pieces lit at any one time for lower temps.  I also use water in the pan (optional) and choke down the vents to control heat.   I've seen some charcoal baskets made in an "S" shape that do the same thing.

I'll be trying this method in the morning! Great idea!