I actually have a Primo (for a really long time), but that section of this site seems pretty dead now. I recently moved and put the primo in a new outdoor kitchen. Little did I know that the location would be constantly battered with wind going directly at the lower vent. This has made slow cooks extremely difficult, which is a new thing for me.
I was wondering if anyone else has run into this issue and what’s a good resolution. For now I have an outdoor trash can that I set in front, but that obviously not a great permanent fire. Also, moving the placement isn’t cheaply possible at this point.
When I lived in the Texas panhandle wind was a constant challenge with my kamados. I could usually close the lower vent to the point that I didn’t get runaway temps. In the end I bought a Smobot that pretty well took care of everything. I’ve touted Smobot here before. They are extremely simple and reliable.
I’ve had issues with my Weber Genesis and Smoke Vault 24 blowing out due to a pretty constant westerly wind where I live. It’s so frustrating. I’ve used have duty aluminum foil wrapped around the legs encircling the firebox. It looks horrible, but for quick wind mitigation to get the cook done it works diverting the wind. A more permanent fix in the future may be a low brick wall or putting a thin sheet of color matched painted metal across the back? Good luck! I’m still fighting it.
When I lived in the Texas panhandle wind was a constant challenge with my kamados. I could usually close the lower vent to the point that I didn’t get runaway temps. In the end I bought a Smobot that pretty well took care of everything. I’ve touted Smobot here before. They are extremely simple and reliable.
I have a smobot as well and love it. On my last slow cook it was keeping th top completely closed and it was still blowing past 225 pretty significantly. The bottom slot was as closed as I could make it and still have a slit. It’s super annoying.
Wow you do have a wind problem! I don’t get good results on most things I smoke in my kamados at 225. There’s so much moisture that I don’t get the bark I want. I do smoke ribs at 250 F but that’s about as low as I go. If you not going past 275 F on pork or 300 F on brisket try letting it ride for a while. You might find you like what you get.
I do tend to leave a bit more fat cap on the bottom of brisket to act as a shield. On pork I haven’t had an issue. I do use the ceramic heat deflectors and a Ceramic Grill Store stainless platter to catch drippings. Both of those cut down on problems with the bottom.
Runaround I made it out of two square pans from Dollar Tree which I sprayed with rust resistant paint, I made a snip in the vertical one so it would somewhat conform to the egg. Then I filled the base with some tile set that I had left over. That kept it from blowing around. If I remember correctly I used a pop riveter to hold the shape, but I thing a short nut and bolt would do. For long cooks I am with Oak Smoke and use a Smobot which I like better than blowers like Party Q. Let me know how it works out for you. I still use the shield with the Smobot.
Last edited by LA Pork Butt; May 18, 2024, 02:27 PM.
Thanks for the input guys. I had a few bricks so it used them to create a little wall around the intake and opened the typical pencil width. I’m using the smobot for the test at 250 right now. Today actually ended up being a good test day since there is a northbound 12-18 mph constant wind directly at my primo.
So far it’s been good news. Looking pretty solid at 250.
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