The fire Management

[Martin Bang]

…leave the back door fully open when you test…closing the rear door cuts off the air supply the fire starts to go out and you get smoke…the only reason to check the firebox is to burn wood…if you use charcoal you don’t need a lot of air , charcoal will smolder with very little air , wood is a different story…
Red

I will do a test. the back door you mean the where the vents are? rear door? only have the one where the vents are and the top lit of firebox. beside vent on stack.

 

[red farr]

…yes the door not the vent just open the door all the way , the top door should be closed…if in doing the test with the rear door fully open and the cook chamber closed off…..let the fire burn so you can see what happens…..you’re looking for a glowing bed of embers at the conclusion of the test , if the fire goes out or starts to smoke before you reach the bed of embers you need more air in the firebox…you can then crack the top door open and hold it open with a pencil or twig or something giving the fire more air…it should reignite…you’re giving it more air cause the fire is going out...not enough air is getting in the back door….firebox needs work…
Red

 

[Hank R]

This is very interesting I never knew that there is a science to burn wood. learned lots and need to to learn a lot more ..

 

[red farr]

...it’s simple Hank…if you burn a fire you need lots of oxygen…lacking oxygen/air the fire goes to smoking , then out…to keep the fire burning you need air lots of air…
Red

 

[Hank R]

It all sounds easy but never done that wood fire. Maybe in a few years I will try.

 

[red farr]

....you're in for a real treat Hank...the way BBQ tastes over wood and over charcoal....
Red

 

[Martin Bang]

....you're in for a real treat Hank...the way BBQ tastes over wood and over charcoal....
Red

Oki so i did a test with no grates. Did go greate until i added a log. I got a nice coalbed. Preheated a log and added it kept the firebox door open util it cathed good on fire(2 min). Closed the door kept the vent fully open but the smoke never cleared. It was light smoke but not as i wanted at some points the smoke cleared and then it did go back to a steady not whie but very thin white smoke. I did a test with a chiken leg just to see what that smoke did to meat. Yeah was abit oversmoked. Very heavy smoketaste. I did install a heat reflector so mabe it didn’t get enough draft to the stack or the stack is to small. It just seam to be at the point where it is buring but not enough. Even if i open the door it still came that very thin white smoke. Also i did test feldons calculator that suggested my stack need a high of 25 inches when it has a diameter of 3 inches. Mine is only 20 inches

 

[JckDanls 07]

looks just right to me... Don't fret a lot over the color of the smoke... Is there any other hardwood available besides the birch wood your using ??

 

[red farr]

….better , much better Martin do it again this time leave the rear door fully open while the fire is burning , do not close the rear door…when you close the rear door you cut off the air flow to the fire….first the fire goes to smoke then goes out, just let the fire burn with the rear door fully open…..with the rear door closed you have enough air flow from the vent to keep the fire smoldering , white smoke…but not enough air flow to keep the fire burning…if you leave the rear door fully open you will have enough air flow to keep the fire burning we hope… if you can not burn a fire with the rear door fully open and the cook chamber closed off …the fire box needs work….when the logs catch fire and the fire looks good leave the rear door open…

…we are not trying to cook food…..we are only trying to see if the firebox in your smoker will burn a fire with the rear door fully open and the opening to the cook chamber closed off from the firebox…

Question ? Why do you close the rear door ??
Red

 

[JckDanls 07]

….better , much better Martin do it again this time leave the rear door fully open while the fire is burning , do not close the rear door…when you close the rear door you cut off the air flow to the fire….first the fire goes to smoke then goes out, just let the fire burn with the rear door fully open…..with the rear door closed you have enough air flow from the vent to keep the fire smoldering , white smoke…but not enough air flow to keep the fire burning…if you leave the rear door fully open you will have enough air flow to keep the burning we hope… if you can not burn a fire with the rear door fully open and the cook chamber closed off …the fire box needs work….when the logs catch fire and the fire looks good leave the rear door open…

…we are not trying to cook food…..we are only trying to see if the firebox in your smoker will burn a fire with the rear door fully open and the opening to the cook chamber closed off from the firebox…

Question ? Why do you close the rear door ??
Red

Now I'M confused ...

 

[Martin Bang]

….better , much better Martin do it again this time leave the rear door fully open while the fire is burning , do not close the rear door…when you close the rear door you cut off the air flow to the fire….first the fire goes to smoke then goes out, just let the fire burn with the rear door fully open…..with the rear door closed you have enough air flow from the vent to keep the fire smoldering , white smoke…but not enough air flow to keep the fire burning…if you leave the rear door fully open you will have enough air flow to keep the fire burning we hope… if you can not burn a fire with the rear door fully open and the cook chamber closed off …the fire box needs work….when the logs catch fire and the fire looks good leave the rear door open…

…we are not trying to cook food…..we are only trying to see if the firebox in your smoker will burn a fire with the rear door fully open and the opening to the cook chamber closed off from the firebox…

Question ? Why do you close the rear door ??
Red

Tnx. yeah i manage to burn i fire when i closed of the CC and had the firebox door open. Not a greate fire but ok. was some wind. I have no idea why id did close the rear door. I just wanna see what happend when i open the the CC block. I just tested to see what happend to the fire if i closed the rear door and open the vent fully. Did npt go good. but it kind of went rly good when i had it open. think i need to do another test.

If the firebox cant burn i fire whit the the CC closed of. what dose this mean and what needs to be done? Just want to mention about the firebox door. the vent are triangle and some inches above it is a small hole. Would it be a idea to make that hole bigger so i get better draft in the future?

 

[red farr]

…it means you need to have more air flow to the fire..
…yes you can make the hole larger in the future but don’t cut any metal NOW/YET……when the wind is blowing it’s very hard to maintain temps….you can turn or reposition the smoker so the wind is not blowing into the firebox or build something to shield the firebox from the wind…if you have to keep the rear door open to burn the fire the wind will be a problem

…first..burn the fire rear door open CC closed off…if the fire starts going out or not burning well with the rear door fully open , open the lid on the top a little , more air to fire , see if the fire starts to burn better…if the fire burns better with the top lid opened a little you are not getting enough air flow to the fire when the top lid is closed and the rear door fully open……

Video
https://video.klru.tv/video/bbq-franklin-episode-5-fire-smoke/

http://www.pbs.org/food/features/bbq-with-franklin-season-1-episode-5-fire-smoke/

 

[Martin Bang]

Hi.

There was no problem having a good fire when i closed of the CC and left the firebox door wide open. Didnt make smoke even. So good was the fire. So i am leaning about th fact that the firebox dosent get air when i close the door. And this make the firebox get a backdraft so the wood it smoldering.

 

[Martin Bang]

…it means you need to have more air flow to the fire..
…yes you can make the hole larger in the future but don’t cut any metal NOW/YET……when the wind is blowing it’s very hard to maintain temps….you can turn or reposition the smoker so the wind is not blowing into the firebox or build something to shield the firebox from the wind…if you have to keep the rear door open to burn the fire the wind will be a problem

…first..burn the fire rear door open CC closed off…if the fire starts going out or not burning well with the rear door fully open , open the lid on the top a little , more air to fire , see if the fire starts to burn better…if the fire burns better with the top lid opened a little you are not getting enough air flow to the fire when the top lid is closed and the rear door fully open……

Video
https://video.klru.tv/video/bbq-franklin-episode-5-fire-smoke/

http://www.pbs.org/food/features/bbq-with-franklin-season-1-episode-5-fire-smoke/

There was no problem having a good fire when i closed of the CC and left the firebox door wide open. Didnt make smoke even. So good was the fire. So i am leaning about th fact that the firebox dosent get air when i close the door. And this make the firebox get a backdraft so the wood it smoldering.

 

[red farr]

…it takes lots of air to burn a fire….you see that it’s better to have to much air than not enough , keep the door open….
Red

 

[daveomak]

Generally speaking, a firebox should have 2 air inlets... One to control the air to the fire, for heat control.... A second to move the heat from the firebox to the cook chamber...
The second inlet should be directly across from the FB/CC opening.. That air inlet also adds fresh oxygen to help burn off the creosote from a smoldering pile of wood...
May I suggest you add 2 each 25mm openings at the top of door like pictured below... They should not need any adjustment... leave them open... ALSO, leave the exhaust stack damper wide open....

Something similar to what's pictured below.....
..

 

[Martin Bang]

Generally speaking, a firebox should have 2 air inlets... One to control the air to the fire, for heat control.... A second to move the heat from the firebox to the cook chamber...
The second inlet should be directly across from the FB/CC opening.. That air inlet also adds fresh oxygen to help burn off the creosote from a smoldering pile of wood...
May I suggest you add 2 each 25mm openings at the top of door like pictured below... They should not need any adjustment... leave them open... ALSO, leave the exhaust stack damper wide open....

Something similar to what's pictured below.....
View attachment 368960..View attachment 368961

Hi.

That has been what i was thinking. The hole that is ther know iss only 1 inch in diameter and if i close the vent by 60% the hole is closed. So i mabe need to get a butterfly vent. Because i obly need to cut it out. The damper is a full size. So will be a easy fix.

 

[daveomak]

It appears the door to the FB does not seal up air tight... That can be a problem for heat management also... Make your modifications and see what happens...

 

[Martin Bang]

It appears the door to the FB does not seal up air tight... That can be a problem for heat management also... Make your modifications and see what happens...

Thnx. Tomorrow if i get the time i will make a vent just in line of th cc.

 

[daveomak]

Let us know if it improves stuff....