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Post by slider6 on Jul 26, 2009 18:02:45 GMT -5
Plus...lets no forget here people...the idea is to flavor the meat with smoke not over power it. If smoke is bellowing out of your kettle then believe me....your getting enough smoke. Most novices over do it. Leakage from your kettle top....no prob. Please someone here back me up on this, otherwise I'll assume this iforum is a waste of my time.
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Post by bbqbubs on Jul 26, 2009 20:34:37 GMT -5
Ok bbqbubs...leaking smoke from a smoker...yeah that's a bad thing. That just doesn't make sense to me...but whatever. I guess I don't know anything about smoking, grills and BBQ...NOT! I've used the Smokenator at least 10 times and have never had a problem controlling temps. The vent on the grill are adequate enough to do so. Crap even those Kmamdo $3500.00 monstrocities leak some smoke from the lid. I never said u didnt know anything about grills and smoking, so that was pointless to say. I was just giving an opinion and what some of the consequences may happen. Also u dont know how much is leaking. He never gave a exact amount. Its a whole lot of smoke, yes the temp will fluctuate. If its just a little then more then likely not, but to ignore the problem, that's where your wrong. I have my Weber for years and used the s n'ator about 10 times as well. I havent had any leakage. But i would try to fix it if i did |
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Post by bigsteve on Jul 26, 2009 20:59:02 GMT -5
As long as I can get my target temps, and everything is working, I don't worry about leaking smoke. Now if I were leaking to the point where the temperature was running away, that would be different. One odd thing I've noticed when using my Sn'ator is that occasionally, smoke will be coming out under the lid, but not out the vent. If I lift the lid, the whole lid area is filled with smoke and steam. It's very humid here, wondering if the air is too heavy at times.
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Post by bbqbubs on Jul 26, 2009 21:44:14 GMT -5
As long as I can get my target temps, and everything is working, I don't worry about leaking smoke. Now if I were leaking to the point where the temperature was running away, that would be different. One odd thing I've noticed when using my Sn'ator is that occasionally, smoke will be coming out under the lid, but not out the vent. If I lift the lid, the whole lid area is filled with smoke and steam. It's very humid here, wondering if the air is too heavy at times. Yeah that's exactly what i was talking about, b/c the temp will fluctuate depending on how much smoke was coming out, he didnt clarify on how much. So i went worse case scenario |
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Post by delapaco on Jul 27, 2009 15:08:43 GMT -5
Slider - you say that the DTS is so stable it works even though your kettle leaks? Well so does mine. But I still think it works even better when I close the leak. Same goes with turning the upper vent so that it sits opposite the DTS - made quite an improvement to me (this shouldn't be very surprising thoug - all decent saunas are built in this way).
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Post by slider6 on Jul 27, 2009 18:15:09 GMT -5
DTS...you're loosing me amigo. My kettle doesn't leak. It was never intended to be air tight. If that was the intended design Weber would've put a gasket of some type around the lid. Again...all smokers and BBQ's leak smoke from unintended locations. That's my point. Yes I have stable temps through vent controls. I didn't follow the recommended vent settings. If you read enough on this forum it's apparent that many other factors such as fuel type, climate etc. can effect how the Smokenator functions. Anyways, whatever works for you is good. If you need to put binder clips, duct tape and a cinder block on your lid to get good BBQ then that's what it is I guess...
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Post by planeguy on Jul 27, 2009 21:51:37 GMT -5
I have 3 different models of smokers and they all leak smoke. They way I look at it...if I am holding temps then I am happy.
You should never really have smoke billowing out of any smoker. You are only looking for thin wispy blue-like smoke exiting the smoker - anything more than that is too much (in my opinion)
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Post by slider6 on Jul 28, 2009 9:48:23 GMT -5
Amen planeguy. I'm not talking about huge amounts of smoke leakage. If that was the case then obviously maintaining temps would be impossible.
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Post by delapaco on Jul 28, 2009 12:48:41 GMT -5
Look at it the other way around - what would be bad with smoke and heat exiting just in one direction - where the food lies ...? And I do not use binder clips, I have simply let it "leak". But it seems even more stable without the "leak" (or whatever you want to call the fabrication randomness).
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Post by delapaco on Jul 28, 2009 12:51:03 GMT -5
DTS - don thompson smokenator , muchacho
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Post by slider6 on Jul 28, 2009 18:55:41 GMT -5
DTS...got it. On a side note, I just cooked some rib eyes on my PK grill. I used Kingsford briquettes and a couple of hickory chunks for fuel. I never really payed much attention to the "leakage" issue until recently, but there was almost zero smoke leakage. The PK is basically two aluminum shells that butt together, unlike a Weber that has a lid with a flange. Maybe Don can make a Smokenator for the PK! That would be the nuts because I really love that grill and prefer it over the Weber, the only downside being there's no rotisserie for the PK.
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Post by busdriver on Sept 8, 2009 8:56:30 GMT -5
I have a leaky kettle. I tried the clips and they helped-- sort of. Problem was sometimes the temperatures would soar and then it was a lot of work to bring them back down. My results with Brisket and Ribs were great, but I hated the extra work.
For my setup I use three temperature readings: A dome mounted temperature probe; A wireless temp probe on the lower food support grill; and a remote temp probe in the brisket.
I started thinking about creating the "perfect" seal between the base and the dome. I went to Home Depot and found a silicone window weather strip. Even though it was not designed for these kind of temperatures, I figured it would work for a low and slow cook. I bought a small two pound Brisket and fired up the Smokenator with Kingsford Competition.
Here's what I discovered with the "perfect" seal: stable temperature control was extremely easy. I left the bottom vent open between 1/2 and 3/4 open. Using the top vent, I would see very quick temperature responses. Temps were stable throughout. I could even see the temps rise as the cloudy sky gave way to a bright sunny day.
Now I need to find a more permanent seal that will stay in place.
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Post by bigsteve on Sept 8, 2009 17:17:43 GMT -5
I use my kettle for grilling, I think the temp would melt the weather strip. There is some type of oven door/stove sealing rope to be had at Lowes and home depot. Been told that would work, but haven't looked at it either.
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Post by busdriver on Sept 8, 2009 21:43:17 GMT -5
The brown silicone weather strip seems to handle the higher temps. It's the self adhesive tape that melts...
I'll try and look for the rope. It would have to be thin enough to fit in the gap.
IMHO, it's worth the trouble of finding a solution because it makes temperature control stable and easy.
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Post by jerkylips on Sept 8, 2009 22:52:44 GMT -5
The brown silicone weather strip seems to handle the higher temps. It's the self adhesive tape that melts... I'll try and look for the rope. It would have to be thin enough to fit in the gap. IMHO, it's worth the trouble of finding a solution because it makes temperature control stable and easy. I just happened to remember this--isn't there some sort of automotive high-temp silicone sealant available? I don't know if there's anything else in it, and if I would want it close to my food, but might be worth a look... |
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