- Jul 3, 2024
- 17
- 33
I'm not so proud that I can't admit when I am wrong. Hell, I'm wrong more often than I'm right. I have recently bought my first offset smoker, upgrading from an electric. Every time I would post for advice, one question kept coming up. "Are you using splits?" I was using chunks since my smoker is rather small and I figured splits would make it run too hot. I also thought I knew better and chunks were still wood and they would work just as good. I was running through almost an entire bag of box of chunks and adding new charcoal about every hour or so. I then thought I just needed to do some mods like I've seen on other smokers. So, I sealed the sides with RTV, I added firebricks, I put gasket on the seems to my lids, I made a baffle out of an unused grate, plus added an aluminum duct to lengthen my smoke stack. Yesterday, I did a test burn since I was doing a brisket today and wanted to see how all the mods helped or hurt. It ran colder than normal, plus still adding charcoal. Not as often but still adding it. I finally said, I'll see what splits do. I have to say it has really changed my experiences with this smoker from before. I have only used charcoal once and that was just to get the coalbed going. I'm a believer now. I will only use chunks now if I need to adjust the temp slightly. I have to say, my temperature is more steady, I'm using less wood, and I'm sure this is just a rookie issue, but I'm just now building a new charcoal bed after 4 hours of smoking. So thank you to all for continuing to ask if I used splits. I finally got it through my thick skull. Also, a big thank you to this community for always being there to help or at least give ideas.
