Airflow

[Ahumadora]

Size of the splits (wood) also counts. Chop em smaller You can also place the wood inside the firebox just far enough away where it won't burn then push it into the flame when needed. A lot of the time the wood may produce white smoke for 2-3 mins then clean up. Unless you are doing competitions I wood wouldn't worry and use the time to get another beer while you are up.

[Steve R.]

I was that guy, once upon a time. I soon realized that it's a lot better to keep bumping the temperature up instead of trying to cool it down. That's one reason I love cooking in really cold weather.

[Steve R.]

I like to stage the next couple of logs on top of the firebox. Not sure preburning is really required, but I want to see flames the instant the new log goes on the fire. Really, just need to get the wood hot for this to happen. Lightly toasted will do.

[ClayJones]

Hey folks! I love how every question I have always has a thread here for it!

I've had my Lang for maybe 9 months now and have gotten pretty good at regulating temp with the intake dampers. Now I have enough experience to understand the hot fire, clear smoke dynamic and am trying to get that down.

My issue is, even with my vents all the way open my smoke is pretty visible for a long time. I can wait that out on the initial heatup, but when I need to add fuel later, isn't there going to be white smoke every time? Do you all preburn your logs? If so, how do you go about doing that exactly? Thanks!

[JeffJ]

With my 14.5 WSM I only light 10 coals (Soo's Donut) and start with the bottom vents about 3/4 open and the top vent fully open. Temps will hold in the 230-270 range with this set up as long as the pan has water in it. Once the water evaporates temps will spike quickly but can be brought back under control by closing the top vent most of the way.

[PaulstheRibList]

Go @Henrik!!

[Henrik]

Yep, that's how I roll too. Airflow is king.

[PaulstheRibList]

Sounds great! Just 1 stack, in the vein of the Austin Smoke Works / Moberg style pits. I want that airflow.

[Henrik]

Word.

[Ahumadora]

Paul. I went with a 10" stack on mine (1250 gallons actually). Runs blue smoke or transparent all day long. Get with me and I will show you how to easily adapt the stack while helping temperatures vertically inside the pit. Are you going to run 2 or 3 racks?

[PaulstheRibList]

I love great airflow over a fire when smoking some meat.

I remember learning that, for my use, the fuse method on my WSM allowed me to open the vents up from, say 10% on the bottom, to 30%, and still have about the same cooking temp. The result? Better tasting barbecue and prettier smoke ring!

That led me to my stickburner style cooking, from which I have not departed.

I'm not sure if intake or exhaust make a lot of difference - just haven't tested specifics. I know that on the huge 1,000 gallon style Texas pits, you want a fast airflow to keep temps even across the pit, and the big and tall stack allow that draft to rocket through there. I say amen to that! (I bought a 1,000 gallon pit and can't wait to build my own.)

On my Jambo, I set the intake vent when I picked it up from them, and have not moved it since (ok, maybe I adjusted some at the beginning, now that I think about it). I will adjust the exhaust damper to restrict airflow if I put on fresh wood and the temp spikes more than I like. My basic setup is wide open, however, and with my standard fire size, the temp gauge is 275-320, with the grate temp 40 degrees below that.

On my pit Myron Mixon, we're wide open at all times. Fuel size and fire are the only variable - just the way I like it!

[Ahumadora]

Most of my new pits have folding stacks for ease of storage and can pass through the toll booths here. You will find very few pits with firebox and stack insulated. Using heavy gauge steel is usually enough on the firebox. Most stack on larger offsets work good around the 36" length above the cook chamber. There are a lot of factors to take into account when designing a pit.

[PaulstheRibList]

Amen. Fuel size is the way to regulate temperature!

[Jon Solberg]

Great question!

[JeffJ]

Very good information. Thank you all for sharing.