Ok Joe offset temperature control issues.

[Btadlock]

I purchased an Oklahoma Joe offset smoker. After cooking in it a few times I have found that controlling the temperature on a long smoke is very troublesome. I have done some mods to the smoker. I added gaskets, made a baffle for it, and added a charcoal basket. I can keep a constant temperature at 225 degrees for about three and a half hours. After that it seems that nothing I do can keep the temperature over 200 consistently. I try the minion technique, I've added several coals at a time, I've tried adding a whole chimney after scraping the ash out. Nothing I do seems to get the temperature back up over 200. Does anyone have any advice. Thank you so much.

 

[radio]

If you can hold a steady temp for 3 1/2 hours, it sounds more like a fire management problem than a smoker problem. Perhaps the charcoal in the basket is ashing over?
Are you burning any wood splits at all, or strictly charcoal?

On a side note, I can not keep the temps at 225° on my stick burners in the summer time. Mine want to run at 270-280 °, so instead of fighting temps, I let them run where they are happy and it is a lot less work than making constant adjustments to the intake. Speaking of air intake, I hope you are running the stack wide open and regulating the temp with the air intake?
Try getting a good bed of coals and get the temp up to the 275 range and see if it is easier to hold that temp long term.

 

[Btadlock]

I think you are right. Ive only smoked meat about a dozen times or so. Today I did a little better by wrapping my ribs in foil at the 3 1/2 hour mark and cleaning all the ash out of my basket and rebuilding a pile and putting in a fresh chimney. It threw a bunch of ash into the pit but thats what the foil was for. Ive kept it between 225 and 250 for 5 hours so far with only about a 30 minite lull at 180.

And yes I have the stack wide open and the firebox door open all the way.

Right now I'm using charcoal and adding handfuls of mixed cherry and pecan chips every 45 minutes or so. I have some white oak fireplace logs I can split if they will be useful. Ive been trying to find a local that supplies cherry, pecan or applewood splits but havent had any luck yet.

Thanks for the help.