Newbie with ECB

[bigsteve]

If your lid were tight, closing the damper you installed on the intake would shut you down. Alternatively...... Close your damper, then set the lid on the coal pan. It seats much tighter on the coal pan then it does on the smoker body, and will snuff your coals. This would be for after your cook if you're trying to save coals.

If your smoker is too hot because you're using too many coals, sometimes throttling back on the damper will snuff too many coals and you'll get that awful acrid smell from cold smoke permeating your meat.

Earache had a special case. His lid is too tight, and you have to have flow for your combustion and smoke. Normally, my opinion (for whatever it's worth) is that a lid vent is not required. The Brinkman lid fills with heat and smoke, surrounds the meat, and exits at grate level. This is exactly what so many users of offset smokers try to attain. It makes for evenly cooked meats. I think sealing the lid, and adding a vent would be an even trade off at best. Especially because everyone (myself included) believes lid vents should be 100% open when cooking.

But, we all have our own opinions. Glad the ribs were so good!

 

[tasunkawitko]

>>>so I can shut down the burn when it gets going too hot?<<<

even if your ecb is running too hot, my opinion is that you should never, ever close or even partially close the top vent. doing so is the quickest route to creosote, which will ruin your BBQ.

my advice would be to simply experiment with the number of briquettes you use until you've got something that works for you. small increments are the key - if you make draastic additions or deletions, you will probbably end up overshooting your mark every time.

keep in mind that right when you get it figured out, the seasons will change or the weather will be different and you will have to learn all over again, but that is the joy and the hurt of BBQ - there is nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment when you manage a fire to within a few degrees variance and use it to turn out food that is better than what people are paying for!

welcome to the SMF and a great job on those ribs! they look delicious!

 

[rld]

Thanks for all the help guys.
The ribs turned out awesome.
I didn't have any apple juice for the foil, so I mixed some orange juice, honey and a splash of apple cider vinegar.
I added some vents to the top of my ECB, but I think that's the last mod I'll do.
Unfortunately I found out about the http://gassmoker.com/v-burner.htm
The thought of having that is going to torture me till I get one.
Sure seems like it would take all the guess work out of smokin'...maybe some of the fun too?

 

[lucc]

Try the minion method for lighting charcoal. More unlit and less lit so the unlit catch slowly when throwing the couple of lit in. I just put together my ECB Gourmet and that charcoal pan is huge, too big for that unit I believe but we shall see. I have yet to season her.

 

[rld]

testing 1,2,3...
Sorry, I tried to post a reply earlier but it said it needed to be cleared by a mod?
Don't know whats up about that...
Anyway,
Thanks for all the help guys.
The ribs turned out awesome.
I didn't have any apple juice for the foil, so I mixed some orange juice, honey and a splash of apple cider vinegar.
I added some vents to the top of my ECB, but I think that's the last mod I'll do.
Unfortunately I found out about the Afterburner.
The thought of having that is going to torture me till I get one.
Sure seems like it would take all the guess work out of smokin'...maybe some of the fun too?

 

[earache_my_eye]

If you added a top vent on the lid, you probably should seal it up around the edge of the lid, otherwise, it will be able to pull air from around the lid so that closing down your bottom damper will do little or no good.

With mine, I fill my pan with charcoal and wood chunks...and leave a bit of a well in the middle....then add about 12 lit coals with the bottom damper about half way open and the top vent fully open. Then just monitor the temp as it climbs and stabilizes. I usually wind up smoking with only about 1/4 of the bottom damper open...even then, it still sometimes spikes...but, shutting down the bottom damper and leaving the top open WILL slowly choke the coals enough for the temp to drop. Just be careful when you give it air again....

When all done smoking, I shut down the bottom damper, and put my piece of metal flashing over the top vent and set a piece of brick on it to snuff the coals to use again later.


L8r,
Eric

 

[rld]

Hey Eric,
My folks are from Marshalltown/State Center area.
I don't think I'll do the stove gasket thingy.
Closing my damper had basically no effect on shutting down my burn and I kind of like the way the smoke exits at grill height, so I'm gonna leave her as she is for now...
I also had a nice conversation with Ed at Gassmoker and I ordered the Afterburner for my ECB.

(and some nice smoker wood)
I think that will eliminate most of my problems and I can still use charcoal if I feel the need for a challenge!