round two and a second possible failure

[longhair75]

So, when we last talked, I was not sure I was getting my smoker hot enough to cook so I moved my ribs to the oven and braised them.  They were tasty enough.

I ordered a maverick dual probe thermometer from amazon and set it up this morning.  I started about a gallon of lump charcoal with newspapers in a chimney and put it in my firebox.  Forty five minutes later, my grill temp was 171, so I put my two racks of baby backs on to start.  The temp dropped to 145.  I left everything closed and waited for the temp to start back up.  It hasn't so far.  my coals looked as if they had burned down so I started a second chimney of lump, and when it was glowing red I opened the fir box and dumped it in.

I am trying to leave my fire box door closed, but looking in there shows me that my coals are smoldering rather than glowing.

The intake vent on my fire box is fully opened.  My chimney is fully opened. The under grill vent on the opposite side of my firebox is fully opened. (this was closed earlier, but open or closed it does not seem to have much effect on the temperature

My grill temp is 156 degrees.  Plain physics tells me that getting my ribs to 160 degrees in this smoker will not happen.

What am I doing wrong?

I am using a Char Broil 27.5 barrel grill with an attached fire box on the side.

 

[longhair75]

I think there is a design flaw in my smoker.  The grate in the fire box is set into a curved piece of steel that matches the curve of the fire box.  the vent is slightly above the level of the grate.  The charcoal pieces fell through the grate and it is not letting air in under my bed of coals.  my coals are essentially sitting in the bottom of the fire box smoldering away at low temperature.

 

[JckDanls 07]

pictures would help.. but yes.. it sounds like you need a charcoal basket to get the coals up higher.. for both the ashes to fall clear and air to get into the coals...

 

[longhair75]

pictures would help.. but yes.. it sounds like you need a charcoal basket to get the coals up higher.. for both the ashes to fall clear and air to get into the coals...

I don't think I have a high enough post count to be able to post pictures.  I am doing the best I can to keep the area under my coals clear and my temp has just hit 165, so I may make it after all for today.., I will be on the lookout for a smaller mesh grating to keep this from happening next time.

 

[JckDanls 07]

pictures will be released from jail when a mod ok's them ...

 

[longhair75]

pictures will be released from jail when a mod ok's them ...

I understand the need for this.  I have seen some crazy stuff posted on boards that do not control new members for a little bit

 

[ristau5741]

you may want to consider burning real wood in the firebox, along with briquettes and lump charcoal,

Here is want I've been doing lately and it's working pretty well. Lay down 2 layers of briquettes in the charcoal basket.

get some oak or hickory and split a log int small pieces,  put some newspaper with charcoal lighter on top, lay down a few sticks and set on fire,  as the fire is burning, add bigger and bigger pieces, when the fire is going real good, close the lid on the smoker box, it will heat up very quick. about 20-30 mins.  when it hits 225 throw on a handful or two of lump on top of the fire, (this will smoulder the fire and get the lump burning) the temp will keep going up, close the firebox lid (air intake wide open) the fire smoke box will get really hot, patience (this is what I need to learn) let the temp settle down, should settle in between 225 & 250. after about an hour,  wait longer if you want cooler temps.  add smoking wood and burning wood as needed to keep a good temp going, some water on the side if things get out of hand.   GL.

 

[gary s]

I assume you have a straight Flow offset     Fire box on one end smoke stack on the other.  First check your temp gauge and make sure it is reading correctly. Next you need air flow under your charcoal, You probably need to modify your door or raise your charcoal rack/basket up enough to let the air, flow underneath. You mentioned another vent ? I would keep it closed, The smoke stack vent needs to be open and if working properly the fire box door vent to control temp.

Gary S