WSM Chamber Temp Suggestion

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noboundaries

Epic Pitmaster
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Sep 7, 2013
10,245
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Roseville, CA, a suburb of Sacramento
I've enjoyed smoked perfection with my 22.5" WSM for several years now, and recently discovered something by accident. I typically place my MAV or Inkbird chamber temp sensor in the center of the grate or under the vent, depending what I'm smoking. I place it under the vent because that is usually the hottest place in the smoker as the heat rising from the charcoal/wood seeks the path of least resistance to freedom.

Recently I was smoking two untrimmed racks of spare ribs on the top grate with the sensor under the vent. I was seeing a 50F difference between the sensor reading and my accurate River Country lid thermometer. Usually they are spot on within a few degrees of each other. The sensor was reading 250F and the lid therm 200F. My first thought was the lid therm went bad, but NOOOOOO. I turned the lid 90 degrees and the sensor reading dropped like a rock to 200F. Interesting.

I adjusted my bottom vents, bringing the chamber temp up to 250F on both the sensor and the lid therm. Whenever I put the vent over the sensor, the sensor temp climbed a lot.

Lessons learned: First, the grate under the offset vent will definitely be the hottest spot in the WSM. Second, keep that in mind as you place the sensor, and if need be, rotate the lid every so often if you find you're getting an uneven cook.

That's all...Mr. Analytical...out.
 
Yep,I do it on the kettle too.
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Woah. So for Webers this is a thing. We are supposed to rotate the lid when smoking? Does cooking temp seem to matter? If I smoked at 275 should I still rotate the lid?
 
Woah. So for Webers this is a thing. We are supposed to rotate the lid when smoking? Does cooking temp seem to matter? If I smoked at 275 should I still rotate the lid?
I don't do it all the time,it's only noticeable when you're cooking multiple things and or long meats -ribs,brisket,loin etc.Also,it is really noticeable doing wings on the perimeter of the kettle when your coals are centered.
This pic shows part of the way it flows.The lid vent offset from center keeps the heated air from heading straight up and out.The WSM flows much the same.
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When smoking on my kettles I rotate the lid every 15 minutes or so - about 90*. That way I get an even smoke throughout the cook. Never thought about doing it on the WSM or about heat transference.

Chris
 
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