New to smoking, having to adjust smoker a lot

[bathoryaria]

Hello, new here and new to smoking. I could use some tips or i dont even know if this a normal thing you have to do. I have a charcoal grill with the side smoker attachment. Im having to adjust the side vent open and close a decent bit to keep the temp around the 250F range. So as i previously said im not sure if this is just a normal thing you have to do.

Any tips thanks :)

 

[gmc2003]

Chances are if its a lesser expensive offset then you will indeed be playing around with the vents and adding charcoal allot. Mods will help some, but not solve all your issues. If you can tell us what type of smoker you have then you will probably get more people to chime in with suggestions. Also there is a search function in the upper right hand corner that will bring you to a wealth of information. Good luck and keep us informed. BTW I used to have a char-griller duo and had to fiddle with it every 15 to 30 minutes. It put out some good food, but made for a very long day.

Chris 

 

[joe black]

An offset smoker does not operate at a close temp. They like to run in a range of 30-50*. If you want to cook at 250*, add wood when the CC gets to around 235*. Adding the wood will carry the temp up to a range of 260-270* and will then settle in around your target temp. Don't worry about the temp swing too much, it will work.

Always pre-heat your wood splits before putting into the FB. This will keep the temp from dropping excessively and it will ignite quickly. The quick ignition will keep down the white smoke that you can get while the wood is in the heat up phase.

 

[dward51]

Another thing is patience when adjusting vents.  Choking back or stoking up the fire in the pit is sort of like turning an ocean liner.  You start early (as Joe Black was talking about), and it takes a while to see results.  Make small changes, and wait at least 15 minutes to evaluate the results of your adjustment of the air flow.  Then make further adjustments as needed.    If you don't give the pit time to fully react to your change in air flow, and then throw another change (or 2 or 3) on top of that, you end up chasing overshoot and undershoots like a yo-yo.

This is true of pretty much any smoker with burning wood or charcoal as the heat source.  And don't feel bad, it is a normal tendency to fiddle with vents too often and not be patient when new to smoking. Heck, I was guilty back in the day as well.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Surly there is a learning curve here and trying and trying will be you best teacher great advice from Joe. Want to learn wood fire control try doing an open pit wood fire as I did in my post Fathers Day pit beef take a look.

Warren

 

[SmokinAl]

It will get easier I promise!

Practice & be patient.

Al

 

[jokensmoken]

As dward said, patience is key.
You MUST give your smoker time to settle in after each adjustment or you'll chase temps all over the place.
Also understanding that. "low and slow" is a temp range, not a specific single perfect temp and the 250°F commonly recommended is a ballpark temp.
My experience is that anywhere from 220°F to 270°F (even as hot as 300°F) will give you great results...The difference will primarily be cook time not quality of your finished product.
Don't fret smoking's a learning process that after 10+ years I still don't feel I've mastered.
And what Al said...
Good luck and keep the smoke thin.

Walt