Weber kettle won't go below 300 even with bottom vent completely closed

[Lost in China]

I'm doing some pork butts and legs of lamb, and I need that temp down to 225 for the lamb. My Weber 22" kettle with SnS will not go below 300 even with the bottom vent completely closed. Anyone have any idea what's the problem? Try closing the upper vent too? But that's just for exhaust?

[Huskee]

Yes close upper vent too, to a crack or let's say 1/8 open. If the upper is too far open, the combustion will suck air in through a seemingly closed bottom vent, since it's not actually air tight.

If that doesn't work we can try investigating further, such as how many coals did you light, etc.

[Lost in China]

The bin is full of charcoal. Yeah I closed both vents and finally got the temp down. Too far, in fact. I get the idea it is just exceptionally sensitive to even the smallest touch of the vent when it's this low.

[RonB]

It would be helpful if you went through the process you used to to get the kettle up and running with the SnS. Also, did you have smoke coming out from around the lid, and if so, how much?

[Lost in China]

Yeah, the smoke just pours out of the lid.. I need to buy a gasket when I get back to the States. I wish they came sealed from the factory. I don't know why they have to leak like that.

[OneEyedJack]

Can you find some big-ass binder clips? I use four to hold the lid down tight to the kettle - makes a big difference.

[Huskee]

Do you have the newer (2015 model year or newer) Weber Original Kettle Premium, with the ash catcher? If so, check out this post which shows the vent handle positions relative to the vents themselves. You'll notice much of the useful action in low & slow smoking occurs between the 2nd hole and 3rd. I recommend for 225ish, leaving the bottom vent handle at about the 2.5 hole mark, and the top vent at about 1/4 open. Then make very minor tweaks from there with one or the other, and wait a good 5 mins for those adjustments to show, or longer. I hope this helps.

[Lost in China]

Thanks. Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured, there is just a tiny difference that the handle tolerates. Plus a big 20-30 minute lag time between adjustment and temperature change. Thanks for the help!

[Histrix]

You can't check it now since your fire is going buy next time before you start check the vanes that sweep the ash into the collector and cover the vent holes - sometimes those can get bent and not seat tightly to the bottom of the bowl which allows air leaks.

[Meathead]

I would test fewer coals and check the lid for leaks.

[Powersmoke_80]

How many coals did you light initially?

[ecowper]

In my experience, the number of coals that are lit when starting the pit is a huge impact. Plus vent positions. Remember, the top vent is your chimney. It creates a draw through the pit. The more draw, the more air moving, the more air to the fire, the more heat.

[JeffJ]

For low/slow in the 225+ range I typically start with 12 lit coals.

[Lost in China]

It was a full basket of SnS coals. It's the charcoal here, it's a pain. It burns fast and turns to dust. When it turns to dust it clogs the bottom of the SnS and air can't circulate. Temp goes down and food stops cooking. I can whap it to clear into the bottom and then rotate the Weber handle to put it in the ash catcher, but it fills the area with dust and coats the food.

So I just started filling the whole basket, light it from one side, and hope it lasts long enough for the whole cook. It did last night, it got the pork butts up to 199 before it finally gave out. I just didn't realize how sensitive the handle is to slight adjustments, and how long it takes to see a temperature change. I'll write up the cook in a bit, it was an interesting night and I have a couple more questions.

[Huskee]

Can't speak for the charcoal you have of course, but with Kingsford we recommend tunking (tapping & gently stirring) the coals at or near the 5hr mark to help drop the ash down. Your charcoal may need it quicker, maybe every couple hrs try it. When you do, try holding the lid up and to the side, but sort of set it back down over the food with the SnS in the open when you swish the handle to clear the ash from the fins below. This will cause most of the airborne ash to go up over the lid with the hot air current, and will shield the food from it for the most part, plus it will help hold a little hot air over the food.

[phoccer]

ecowper "... the top vent is your chimney. It creates a draw through the pit."

Good point. For some reason I've been focused on setting the top vent at 1/2 to 3/4 and working only with the bottom vent. That worked great with my Weber 18.5 gold and Smokenator setup but my first run on my new Weber 22 with SnS had me running at temps of 350+ with the bottom vent barely cracked. I had the top vent 3/4 open so I'll have to do another run tonight and start with the top vent around 1/4, or less, and go from there. Not sure why I never thought about that creating a draw but thanks for pointing that out. More tinkering in my future.

[David Parrish]

@ecowpr "... the top vent is your chimney. It creates a draw through the pit."

Good point. For some reason I've been focused on setting the top vent at 1/2 to 3/4 and working only with the bottom vent. That worked great with my Weber 18.5 gold and Smokenator setup but my first run on my new Weber 22 with SnS had me running at temps of 350+ with the bottom vent barely cracked. I had the top vent 3/4 open so I'll have to do another run tonight and start with the top vent around 1/4, or less, and go from there. Not sure why I never thought about that creating a draw but thanks for pointing that out. More tinkering in my future.

The SnS makes your kettle MUCH more efficient than what you're used to with the Smokenator. You may find you only need the top vent barely open for 225 F.

[phoccer]

Thanks. Good to know. I also have the DnG with this setup so nearly all of my airflow goes right across the coals making it even more efficient. Glad I decided to do a few test runs instead of incinerating a nice piece of beef.

[phoccer]

Still had trouble last night keeping temps below 300 with top and bottom vents barely opened. Started with 8 lit coals and added a 1/2 chimney of unlit. I have a gasket kit on order that will arrive Monday. I'm going to try clips this weekend to see if that helps. The lid on my new Weber 22 doesn't fit great so I'm guessing that's my issue.

[phoccer]

What do you mean by "hugging it gently"? Literally hugging it to help get it back in shape?

[fuzzydaddy]

phoccer yes, to get the higher sides a bit lower so when on the bottom bowl it's a better fit. It didn't completely fix it but it did help. Too strong of a hug, which I initially did, made it worse.

[phoccer]

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. I have noticed that the hook to hang the lid doesn't work well in a few areas so it definitely looks like it may be a little out of shape in a couple spots, nothing bad but off a little.

[Huskee]

Still had trouble last night keeping temps below 300 with top and bottom vents barely opened. Started with 8 lit coals and added a 1/2 chimney of unlit. I have a gasket kit on order that will arrive Monday. I'm going to try clips this weekend to see if that helps. The lid on my new Weber 22 doesn't fit great so I'm guessing that's my issue.

WOW! That's a high temp for so little lit coals and tight vents! I have to ask- are you by chance reading this from the lid's temp gauge or do you have a digital probe on the indirect side of the grate? Lid gauges are usually reading 70-75deg high at the 225 grate level. If 300 is with a grate-level probe, then yeah it's your lid for sure.

[phoccer]

Maverick 732 on the indirect side. Hopefully the gasket kit helps.