I've started using my WSM 18" for more and more cooks, especially ribs as of late using a Flame Boss 300.
In my 22" Weber Kettle + SNS the Flame Boss is 100% rock solid. I set a temperature and unless I run out of fuel, it's fine. When fuel begins to run out there is a rather gradual loss of temperature coupled with an uptick in fan speed—pretty much exactly what you would expect.
With my WSM, there are very different problems. During the course of a cook, usually around 2 hours of everything going swimmingly, temperature drops rather suddenly (10 minutes). In all cases it's been around 30-40ºF (down from around 225ºF). My hunch, after the last cook, is that it has something to do with charcoal collapsing and air flow getting messed up. I don't think anything else would explain such a sudden drop. If I had too little fuel to maintain temperature, the process would be more gradual.
In my kettle, air intake is much closer to the center. I also have a Drip N' Griddle pan which works as a diffuser. So the air blows in and spreads out evenly.
I feel like in the WSM, everything goes will if the air is pumped in gradually—50% or less in terms of fan speed. However, if something lowers the efficiency, the cool air pulled isn't being consumed efficiently and, instead, is just cooling the WSM innards.
(I've been using mostly Kingsford standard briquettes, if it matters that much.)
I guess, as a start, for anyone using any sort of thermostatic controller/blower combo with a WSM, is there an ideal way to arrange your fuel? It's a little different than the standard setup because the air is coming in from one vent rather than all three as you would doing it without the blower.
I'm also wonder if I should construct some sort of diffuser that forces the new air downward first, rather than at an upward angle toward one side of the charcoal as it does by default.
In my 22" Weber Kettle + SNS the Flame Boss is 100% rock solid. I set a temperature and unless I run out of fuel, it's fine. When fuel begins to run out there is a rather gradual loss of temperature coupled with an uptick in fan speed—pretty much exactly what you would expect.
With my WSM, there are very different problems. During the course of a cook, usually around 2 hours of everything going swimmingly, temperature drops rather suddenly (10 minutes). In all cases it's been around 30-40ºF (down from around 225ºF). My hunch, after the last cook, is that it has something to do with charcoal collapsing and air flow getting messed up. I don't think anything else would explain such a sudden drop. If I had too little fuel to maintain temperature, the process would be more gradual.
In my kettle, air intake is much closer to the center. I also have a Drip N' Griddle pan which works as a diffuser. So the air blows in and spreads out evenly.
I feel like in the WSM, everything goes will if the air is pumped in gradually—50% or less in terms of fan speed. However, if something lowers the efficiency, the cool air pulled isn't being consumed efficiently and, instead, is just cooling the WSM innards.
(I've been using mostly Kingsford standard briquettes, if it matters that much.)
I guess, as a start, for anyone using any sort of thermostatic controller/blower combo with a WSM, is there an ideal way to arrange your fuel? It's a little different than the standard setup because the air is coming in from one vent rather than all three as you would doing it without the blower.
I'm also wonder if I should construct some sort of diffuser that forces the new air downward first, rather than at an upward angle toward one side of the charcoal as it does by default.
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