so its below zero degrees...

[smokedreb]

Since this is my first year smoking I have no experience with smoking during the winter. I was wondering if anyone could give me incite on the ratio to fuel consumption for the ambient temperature outside. I want to have an idea of how much charcoal and wood I will be wasting just to get the smoker up to temp. (I suppose it doesn’t help that I have a COS)

Brian

 

[jarjarchef]

Wow, this will be a fun one to watch.....if it ever gets that cold here we will have some issues......

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Vertical smokers will be more energy efficient than horizontal, but other than that, there are a lot of variables which can effect the overall fuel consumption including (but not limited to) target chamber temp vs ambient, humidity, wind, and precipitation. Your smoker can oftentimes be made more efficient with mods to seal up gaps, use of insulation, etc.

Just how much extra fuel it takes to heat up in sub-zero temps vs a balmy spring day? No idea, but it's probably less than many of us think. Using propane smokers in the winter helps, and I don't see a huge reduction in run time on a 20lb bottle...maybe 15-20%, unless the wind is ripping it up, then I may loose about 1/3 of the run time.

Eric