does this indicate a problem?

[dooktibs]

Hi all! I've had a decent amount of experience with grilling and Raichlen-style "smoke roasting" at higher temps, but I'm new to the smoking world. Did my first cook with the smokenator yesterday afternoon and all in all things turned out well. Made a chicken with a basic bbq rub. I didn't think I had a leaky kettle but reading through the docs and the threads I am getting paranoid.

When the lid is on it certainly feels like a tight fit, there's almost no play between top/bottom if I try to rock the top back and forth. (I did remember to take off the tool holder first!) But, when the grill was actually in use, I could see some of the mesquite smoke coming out in between the top and bottom bowls. It wasn't a whole lot, so if it's normal to see SOME coming out then great, but I am wondering if this is something I need to address.

In general I kept the lower vents fully open and the top at the 5/16 setting Don recommends in the manual, although I decreased that a little bit as time went by. I had trouble keeping temps low but there are several other possible culprits:

* I'm using a Weber replacement thermometer that I sort of propped against the lid so that the tip went into the chamber about 1.5". Is it ok for it to be resting against the metal like this? Should I just drop it in all the way so that just the dial sticks out? Particularly the way it was propped, the tip was probably very close to the inside of the kettle and that may have thrown readings off. The thermometer also might just be off, I will be testing it in boiling/icy water to rule that out next.

* I was expecting the chicken to take about 4 hours but figured I'd check it sooner just in case, and temps in the thigh were at 175 at the 3 hour mark so I pulled it off then. The chicken was butterflied/spatchthingyed before I set it on the food support grill so I'm guessing that sped things up somewhat, does that jive with ppl's experience?

* I had loaded the smokenator with 48 coals and some wood chunks, and then added the 12 lit coals to it. Is it better to leave these 12 in a pile together, or spread them out? I had to spread them out to get the water pan to fit in there so hopefully spreading is ok, but if not then that might explain some of the higher temp. The water pan wasn't exactly flush either; is that ok?

Anyway hope you all can give me some good advice. Even with some minor difficulties the food turned out well, and it was a heck of a lot easier to just pour some water in every hour or so than dealing with lighting extra chimneys!

-Tom

[dooktibs]

Incidentally I don't normally use the word "spatchthingy" but apparently I ran into a vulgarity find-and-replace on the message board software

-Tom

[smokeotter]

Good questions dook. My new gold model seemed tight but actually needed clamps to be accurate to Don's research in the book. Things quickly came into spec with temps after that. Try some clamps, they're cheap.

The thermometer placement is 1/2 in from the dome itself if my memory is right, the book has very particular measurements for placement in the vent hole to achieve it.

I find the support grill quite a bit hotter than the original lower grill and rotate the two

I wonder what people are doing with the lit coals too. I just drop them in where the water tray goes and balance them out so the tray sits as low as it can.

I just cant wait for the next good weekend day!

[ecripps]

When I got my weber the lid was warped. I looked at 5 others the store the had. They all had warped lids. I got one that I thought was ok, but it still leaks air. I have to use the binder clamps.

Smokeotter is correct with the placement of the thermometer 1/2" inside of the lid.

As for the coals, Don and I would dump the 48 or so coals in and push them to both sides. When the starter coals were ready we would dump them in the middle under the water pan You want to try your best to get the pan to sit flush with the baffle, but if it is sticking up a little it is ok.

All the best,

Ed Cripps

[flbuckeye]

You shouldn't go by the temp in the dome. Get a digital thermometer that measures where you are actually cooking. I use the PartyQ from BBQ Guru and it has a probe that I clip onto the cooking grate. It monitors the temp right next to the food. Great product as well