No thin blue smoke for me this morning :(

[appwsmsmkr1]

So my intentions were to smoke two pork butts on my 22" wsm and it was a disaster.

I used the minion method and I forgot to open up the top vent so I noticed about 45 minutes later. When I opened it up I got the thick white smoke. I thought it was going to taper off bit it didn't so I closed all of the vents to shut down the smoker.

I reopened the top one and it seems a little better. My temp is not climbing it's holding at 175 and had been since I lit the smoker up. This is frustrating.

 

[cliffcarter]

Take the lid off or open the door to let more air in.

 

[piaconis]

+1 what Cliff said.  Get a little more air in it.  Best of luck!

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

Thank you! It seems to be climbing now

 

[dward51]

You probably already figured this out, but for future reference (and for the aid of others who read this thread in a later search with a similar problem)....

When you take the lid off a WSM and open the door to get a charcoal pit temp crash back up to where it should be, don't walk away from the smoker for more than a moment. Once the coals start firing back up, they will light very quickly that way due to the extra up draft created by the round chimney effect of the WSM body.  With the bottom vents open the convective heat flow upwards will be sucking in a lot more fresh air through the bottom vents, stoking the coals up quickly.

Also you want to put the dome back on and close the door (and possibly throttle the lower vents closed a little) at least 10-15 degrees before your desired target pit temp is reached.  Reason is the charcoal will still be very hot and continue to climb in temps for a bit after you button the smoker back up like normal.  You may overshoot your target temp a little, but expect this and give it a few minutes to settle back down before you re-evaluate if any further vent adjustments are needed.  Keep in mind that any airflow adjustment to a fire pit takes a few minutes before the changes can be seen in the effect of your adjustment.  If you don't wait, you can end up chasing that target temp up and down (this is true of any fire heated smoker or grill).  But the WSM is pretty forgiving by it's design anyway.

And just a FYI, I have not closed my top vent on my WSM since 2005.  Mine is under a covered porch with a 12' ceiling so no worries about rain and I don't try to save the last bits of charcoal (I let my WSM just burn it's self out when done).

 

[fpnmf]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135116/how-i-start-and-use-my-wsm

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/94076/wsm-mods

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

Yes I did do that saying a prayer that I didn't get burned I am saving this and "this is how I sart up my wsm thread" for future reference. Thanks guys!

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

image.jpg

• appwsmsmkr1
• Apr 6, 2013

image.jpg

• appwsmsmkr1
• Apr 6, 2013

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

Here is the finished product it came out delicious! Thanks for your help guys!

 

[piaconis]

Man, that looks good!  I think we all encounter some sort of challenge with temperature or missing steps along the way in our process.  It's part of the learning experience, and you seem to have overcome it and made a fine product.  Congratulations on sticking with it and your success at the end!

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

This is definatly a learning expirence for me. Ive always had a gas grill, for grilling,(i've learned the difference between grilling and bbq'ing from this site) so charcoal is a whole new animal altogether. Thank you for assuring me to keep on! happy sunday!

 

[piaconis]

I'm the same way.  I started by mastering the gas grill.  Then, a friend of mine taught me to use charcoal.  Eventually, I started adding wood chips to the mix in a smoker box on the gas grill to get the flavor I was getting from the charcoal grill, and then wood chunks to the charcoal to get the unique flavor from the woods.  Indirect grilling was the next step, where the flames merely provided heat and smoke, but not directly to the meat.  By then, I was hooked, and my kids bought me a smoker for Father's Day last year.

It's a whole new world, and I'm thankful for all the wonderful folks on here for their advice.  I think the best part of it is that you can ask a question and not feel stupid.  Great people, and great info!

Hope your new journey is as enjoyable as mine has been.

 

[jirodriguez]

Nice save!  

Once you get the feal for where to set your vents you will be able to dial in your WSM really easy, and it will just run and run with very little input from you.

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

I can't wait for that day to come!!! Lol thank you jlrodriguez