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Post by greybeard on Sept 19, 2014 18:47:53 GMT -5
Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi to everyone. Got a 22.5 Weber Gold using my points through Nissan and recently purchased a Smokenator (my friends and wife call it the "Binford 1500"). I've done severals cooks using the Smoke and have found that temp control is a little difficult. Reading through the Smoke manual, it states that I should be using the top damper to control temp not the bottom damper. Suggestions are welcome. My friends love my BBQ drumsticks and really like my ribs. Need to control the temp better to enjoy a longer and better cook.
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Post by bigpernz on Sept 19, 2014 18:58:16 GMT -5
Hey greybeard. I use both dampers to control the temp. The bottom vent makes a more dramatic impact than the upper vent. I usually leave them both open until it gets around 200 degrees then shut the bottom one half way. I usually then end up closing the top one down little by little until it locks in where I want it. Having a digital thermometer at the grate is the only way you can be sure what's going on. Also keep in mind that you have a window as far as temp goes. 225 all the way up to 275 will work with slightly different results and different cooking times obviously. Just relax and experiment and have fun and welcome to the forum!
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Post by ncsmoker on Sept 19, 2014 19:05:45 GMT -5
Welcome greybeard to the Forum. I also have the Weber Gold and find that is easier to control the temp using the bottom vents. My current settings are 3-4 holes open on the bottom and the top open a 1/16-1/8. As you learn you will be able to control the temp for the whole hour or more before stirring the coals and adding more water. There is a range to smoke in from 225 to 250 and if it varies no big deal. Some go as high as 275. Get a good supplier of wood chunks I use Maine Grilling Woods.
Please feel free to ask questions in the various categories. Most of all have fun!!!
Tom
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Post by rangerone on Sept 20, 2014 6:57:18 GMT -5
Hello Greybeard, welcome to the forum, and congrats on your wonderful purchase of the Smokenator.
My experience is basically the same as Bigpernz's. When I first started using the Smokenator, I left the bottom vent wide open and controlled the temperature using the top vent only. With the bottom wide open and the top about 50% open, I could maintain 220F - 240F with no effort at all. Just like Bigpernz, I would leave both vents open 100% until the temperature would reach 200F - 210F, then close down the top vent by about 50%. Always worked great for me. However, I have now been doing it in reverse. I leave the top vent wide open, and close the bottom by about 50%. I eye-balled the bottom vent positions and marked them with a permanent marker by the handle to make the adjustments more accurate. This also works really well at keeping the temperature around 220F - 240F. Sometimes I have to close the top vent a bit. It depends on the weather that day. So you can control it either way.
Having said all that, I use my Maverick ET-732 to measure all my temperatures at the grill. The dome thermometer is not as consistent. When I have the grill level temperature locked in at about 225F using the Maverick, I have seen the built in dome thermometer read anywhere from 240F up to 280F on different days. It usually sits around the 250F mark, but not always. If you are trying to be accurate and have a high level of confidence in your temperatures (like I do) then do not rely on the dome thermometer.
What I found worked very well for me is to keep a log of what you do for each cook. Record things like what you are cooking and the weight, the outside weather temperatures and winds, your vent settings, charcoal and wood used, how often you open the kettle or add charcoal, and anything else you might consider important. I found this to really help me to learn my equipment and get to the point where I can set it up and make adjustments quickly and easily with total confidence. I am amazed at how much control I have over the cooking temperatures now.
The more you use it, the better you will get at it. Just remember the proper cooking temperatures are whatever gives you good results. I have seen BBQ recommendations for grill temperatures that go from the 180F - 200F range all the way up to 325F - 350F. I do all my cooking in the 220F - 280F range now, usually sticking around 225F - 250F, just like NCSmoker recommended.
Like NCSmoker said, remember to have fun with it!!
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Post by pilfjd on Sept 21, 2014 23:37:55 GMT -5
Welcome! I have a Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold as well. Like everyone here, I use both bottom and top vents and pretty much follow the same procedure. Open all the way until 200 then close top and bottom by 50%. I can smoke at 230-250 for a while. Hope you figure it out!
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