I just received my SNS deluxe yesterday and this morning I decided to do a trial run to see whether I could maintain the temperatures required for a slow cook. I started it following the directions given and set the vent openings for the top and bottom also following the directions. I did forget to put water in and only did that when the coals were being heated. I used just the one probe on the Thermapen smoke to keep track of the temperature. It shot up very quickly and just kept going. I tried to manipulate the top vent to no avail. I did see smoke coming from under the lid although it did not seem to be excessive. I used binder clips which did help some but the temperature just kept going up. I am a novice at using the kettle as a smoker and I would appreciate any suggestions to help me reach and maintain the low temperatures.
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Founding Member - Moderator Emeritus
- Jul 2014
- 5019
- Stockholm, Sweden
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Author of the book Barbecue, fire and smoke
Manufacturer of:
Hank's Bonafide Beef Rub
Hank's KC Royale Pork 'n Poultry Rub
Hank's Signature Steak Rub
Grills
Big Green Egg (M)
Weber 22" kettle (lime green)
PK TX
8 noname 22" kettles (black)
"Rude Boy" - my own custom built offset smoker
Thermometers
iGrill 2
Thermapen
Fireboard
Accessories
BBQ Dragon
Slow n' Sear
All my recipes, photos and information can be found at
https://hankstruebbq.com
YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/Hankstruebbq
The SnS is a great accessory for the kettle. Questions to make it easier for us to help you:
1. What fuel did you use? Lump charcoal or briquettes? Size of lumps?
2. How many briquettes did you use (if briquettes were used) when lighting, i.e. how many lit coals did you add to the unlit coals?
3. Did you add the unlit coals after the lit coals or did you add unlit charcoal first?
I can't remember the exact instructions from SnS Grills, but here's what I do:
1. Light 7-8 briquettes in my chimney starter.
2. While they are getting heated up, add unlit charcoal to the SnS. Make space for adding the lit briquettes in one end.
3. Add hot water to the reservoir
4. Add the fully lit charcoal.
5. Put the lid on, leave both vents fully open, and wait for the temp to increase. When I get to 100° C / 212° F I set the bottom vent to 50% open. When I get to 120° C / 240° F I start closing down the top vent so it is 2/3 open (roughly).
I guess the main thing to be wary of is to not light too many briquettes initially, and another thing (which I've noticed happen when teaching bbq classes with the SnS) is to make sure the briquettes don't burn across the length of the SnS from underneath. It happens if the briquettes aren't stapled/placed correctly. Basically you want to try and have a relatively straight vertical 'wall' between the lit and unlit charcoal. When I say wall I mean an imagined one. I hope you understand what you mean.
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Charter Member
- Oct 2014
- 2814
- Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
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Cookers:
Broil King XL
Broil King Smoke
Weber Kettle 26
Grilla Pellet smoker
Capital 40 natural gas
Napoleon Pro 22 kettle
Thermometer:
Maverick 733
Thermapen (ok..4 thermapens)
Thermo works DOT (or two)
Fireboard (probably my favourite)
Thermworks Smoke (or two)
Accessories:
SnS (original, plus and XL)
DnG pans, 6 or 7 of these
Vortex
Grillgrates
and, maybe some other toys as well
What temps were you actually getting at grill height? Also, try covering the charcoal grate that is not used by the SNS with tinfoil or a drip pan to further reduce air flow inside the cooker.
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SO, I had a learning curve too and here's what I do now.
1) Don't light a lot of coals. about a dozen is fine.
2) You can either add lit coals to unlit on one end OR unlit to lit that are in the SNS. DO NOT light one corner of a full SNS. This will ignite a lot of other coals and you'll start with a bigger fire than you want. I light a small amount of coals in the SNS then pour in unlit.
3) On my kettle, I have found it's best to start with the bottom vents around 1/4 open. Top about 1/2.
The above lets me maintain temps at the 250F level.
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