New Stickburner

[Newglide]

New member here from NC.
I just got an Old Country Pecos. I have been using a Weber Kettle for several years and decided to take it to the next level.
This weekend I did my first smoke. Did a chicken and some pork tenderloins. Wanted to keep it simple till I figure the new smoker out.
Main issue I had is keeping my temps around 250-275. I put a log in and it would go up to almost 300 then down to 250 then up to 290 all within about 30 minutes.
I did put a gasket around the cook chamber as well as the firebox. It was a cheep gasket from the big box store which is already starting to peel.
I may have installed wrong so may get some lavalock and give that a try. I also know I have leaks around the firebox cause I can see flames in some areas around the lid so may get some fire caulk and try to seal it up better.

 

[Colin1230]

Congrats on your new cooker and welcome to SMF, glad you joined us.

 

[kilo charlie]

Welcome to SMF!

Lavalock works pretty well and has held up nicely for me.

Good luck with the new smoker and making it yours!

 

[MJB05615]

Welcome from Ga. New toys take a while to get dialed in properly. That's half the fun.

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to SMF!
It take a few cooks to get the hang of a new smoker, especially an offset. But don’t sweat the temp swings. I just let my Lang run where it wants to. If I want to smoke at 225 I start a smaller fire & add smaller splits. If I want to run at 270-280, I start a bigger fire & add larger splits. But if you can keep the temp between 225-300 the final product will not be much different. The only difference is that at higher temps you get it done sooner.
Al

 

[smokerjim]

Welcome to smf, as Al mentioned dont sweat the temp swings it's going to happen with stick burners but you will get better at controlling them with some patients.

 

[912smoker]

Welcome from SE Ga and a few more cooks and you'll have her figured out !

 

[JLeonard]

Welcome from Mississippi! Ive looked at the OC cookers at Academy every time I go in there. I like them. Cant wait to see yours in action. There are a couple of great threads on here about the OC cookers. Look them up.
Jim

 

[Smokin Okie]

Use splits about as large around as a beer can and 7 to 10 inches long. Just have to add them more often but it will help even out your temp swings. It won't eliminate temp swings, but they won't be as severe. If you can operate within 25* , that would be doin good.

 

[Newglide]

Thanks All.

Use splits about as large around as a beer can and 7 to 10 inches long. Just have to add them more often but it will help even out your temp swings. It won't eliminate temp swings, but they won't be as severe. If you can operate within 25* , that would be doin good.

I noticed you are running an extension on the stack. I saw a you tube on a guy who did the same. Does it help?

 

[SmokyMose]

Welcome from Indiana, Newglide!
My off-set likes to run 250 - 280 so that's where I cook and everything comes out good.
Like others have said, don't fret too much about those temp swings as long as you have that thin blue smoke.
Off-sets need supervision but that's part of the game for excellent Q.

 

[MadMax281]

Welcome to SMF from Houston.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Thanks All.

I noticed you are running an extension on the stack. I saw a you tube on a guy who did the same. Does it help?

Yes and No. Haha

A taller stack will improve the draw and the air flow through the smoker.

However, on the Brazos, because of the baffle in the cook chamber, increased air flow will send heat to the stack end. It will run hotter than the firebox end. It does the same thing as opening the firebox door, wide open. Just put a temp gauge on each end of the cook grate, then open/close the door and watch the gauges.

So I found to get better heat distribution, I had to cut down the air flow into the cooker by using the damper on the firebox door.

So why increase the draw if I have to close off the air intake ? It seems counter intuitive , but I continued to use the extension on the stack. Which , btw, I have sold the Brazos.

 

[Newglide]

Thanks all for the input, I was hung up on keeping it between 250 and 275 but I'll breathe a little easier on the swings. Looking forward on getting it figured out and dialed in.
Smokin Okie hope you don't mind, I may borrow the idea of raising the stack and closing the door and playing with the damper. I did keep the door open about 1/3 of the way.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Thanks all for the input, I was hung up on keeping it between 250 and 275 but I'll breathe a little easier on the swings. Looking forward on getting it figured out and dialed in.
Smokin Okie hope you don't mind, I may borrow the idea of raising the stack and closing the door and playing with the damper. I did keep the door open about 1/3 of the way.

Hey, have fun with it. Try diff stuff. That's the way to learn. I bought the Brazos just for that purpose, I wanted to learn a stick burner. In the process, it taught me a lot about barbecue and offset stick burners.

I ran multiple biscuit tests adjusting different variables i.e. with and without tuning plates, tuning plates in different positions . I put multiple digital probes in various locations on the cooking grate and then played around with the air intake and firebox door opening. I was constantly trying new things.

The one thing I did that worked out really well, was buying an LSG Fire basket. Its really made for fireboxes with a flat bottom, instead of a round firebox. It corrects a flaw in the LSG firebox. It keeps the coal bed bunched together. But I put it right next to the firebox door, and it kept the fire a good 6" to 8" further away from the cook chamber, effectively making the firebox longer. And adding a new split was a breeze, they would ignite on that coal bed quickly.

 

[TBJOE]

Back when I made the transition form a kettle to an offset, it was recommended that I read the stick burning 101 article. While the pics may not be viewable, the know how in the article is spot on.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/ams/stickburning101.9505/