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Tfrank778

Fire Starter
Original poster
Oct 21, 2018
38
0
Hello y'all I've recently completed my offset build which is pictured below.



Today I've loaded it up with a few brisket and I"ve noticed that the temp difference from side to side has increased greatly. It used to be within 5-10 degrees side to side now it's closer to 50 degrees difference
2.jpg
1.1.jpg

Screenshot 2022-07-02 153900.png
Screenshot 2022-07-02 153839.png


Any ideas as to what can be causing this and/or how to remedy this issue?
 
Correct air flow will be a good place to start. You need an air inlet low on the door to feed the fire, then another inlet up at the cook chamber height, this vent will control the CC temp by moving more or less hot air high in the firebox into the CC, it won’t really feed the fire but it will move the heat out of the firebox into the CC.

Look at post #31 in this thread.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-give-me-some-tips.288476/page-2#post-2024563
 
Correct air flow will be a good place to start. You need an air inlet low on the door to feed the fire, then another inlet up at the cook chamber height, this vent will control the CC temp by moving more or less hot air high in the firebox into the CC, it won’t really feed the fire but it will move the heat out of the firebox into the CC.

Look at post #31 in this thread.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-give-me-some-tips.288476/page-2#post-2024563

I've seen that post a few times in my perusing of this site... The one question that I have is how does this differ from propping the door open when cooking? All of the pits I've built/owned haven't had vents and I've never seemed to have an issue before.

It seems like just adding the meat this time, is what caused huge fluctuations in temps side to side. Other times it has been very minimal
 
Last edited:
No idea on your issues but watching this thread. I dont cook a lot at a time but I am still working on trying to keep my temps more even.

Other then that 1 spike that cook looked awesome. Im doing my second brisket this weekend since last weekends cook was not great and im trying shorter splits. no idea on the side to side tho. Sorry but please contintue to document your cooks. I love seeing them.
 
Control. That is the difference. You can choke the air feeding the fire and open the top vent feeding the CC.
Exactly.
This gives the ability to move the heat from the FB to the CC without feeding or choking the fire itself. It’s control of both fire and chamber temperature.
 
Does it have any baffles in the cc?
Do you have a water bath anywhere in the cc?
Where are you placing the thermocouples reading right and left temp?
Are thermocouples at the same height in the cc?
Have thermocouples been calibrated (boiling water/ice water) to prove they're close to each other with respect to readings?
 
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I have found when I load my cooking chamber up I need to use a bit more heat in the firebox . I did 5 9lb pork butts and a 12lb brisket in mine last weekend and I knew it was going to take more heat at the start. Once up and running it was fine. I put the meat in sometimes before I fire up the smoker or at the same time I like the smoker and meat to heat up together I think this allows the smoker to settle in sooner.

I've never been a fan of a open door on the fire box as a substitute for proper venting. My fire box has a sliding vent on all three sides that run about 3/4 the length of the fire box. The only time I ever open the front door is to clean out ash. Frankly I don't worry too much about side to side temps or spikes or dips a whole lot I think it's much ado about nothing. I set up my tuning plates to run a little hotter on the exhaust end and I don't think I've changed them at all in awhile. My honest advice would be is to ditch the electronics and just run your smoker. You will get a much better personal feel for how it runs. A little bonding time with your offset without outside influence if you will.:emoji_sunglasses: It's easy to over think this stuff.
 
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