- Jan 6, 2011
- 26,255
- 4,708
How to Control Temps on
Your Reverse Flow
or
Any Stick Burner
Controlling temperature is not difficult. So many people get nervous when it comes to maintaining or changing smoking temps. The very best advice I can give anyone is “Get to Know Your Smoker” it is imperative. This means you are going to have to smoke more than just on the 4[sup]th[/sup], Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Write it down (especially people new to smoking) keep a log. Weather conditions, what you are smoking, how much fuel, what temps etc. Until you are so comfortable it is second nature.
Weather conditions are a Big Factor, Wind, Rain, Cold, Hot all makes a difference. I burn more wood and charcoal in the winter and run my dampers a little more open than I do in the summer. To compensate for the outside temp.
First let’s get the smoker ready;
I start by opening the door to my cook chamber, stack vent wide open, both dampers on the fire box wide open and the door on the fire box open.
Now here is the part where you decide how much charcoal or wood to start with. I use this as an example since I just smoked my homemade sausage. It needed to cook for one hour at 100 ° heat only no smoke. So - I started with a chimney full of Lump (I just dumped it in the charcoal basket in the smoker un-lit).
I then get out my trusty propane weed burner,

Once my temp was at 100 ° I cut my top damper back to about 1/3 open and the bottom damper down to about 1/5 that’s because I am familiar and know my smoker.

It went for one hour, and then I bumped my temp to 110 °
I added about 2/3 of a chimney of lump that was already burning good, also added a couple of chunks of pecan. Opened my bottom damper a little more (just a bit) till the temp was at 110 ° bumped back the damper a little.

I changed 10° every thirty min to an hour, until I was at 175 °
By adding a little more and a little more lump a couple of pieces
Of Pecan, and adjusting the dampers



Main thing is just paying attention
Now when I do a Brisket, Butts, ribs anything that requires more heat, I start out the same way, just with a bigger fire. Usually a couple of chimneys of lump, then when it gets going I add splits, run my top damper pretty much wide open and the bottom damper about ½ open then adjust to maintain the 225 ° I usually smoke at. It’s Really Not hard, just takes practice

This is when I added the top damper
Makes a huge Difference

Thanks hope this is somewhat helpful
Gary