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First Time Using the Offset

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    First Time Using the Offset

    So with the great weather today (~60 degrees and cloudy) I decided to burn off all the grease and nasties from the previous owner in my new to me offset.

    Things I learned:

    -it takes longer to heat up - much longer.
    -the sliding side air vents are not very useful
    -both thermometers are shot
    -temp from one side to the other is about 40 degrees off
    -pretty much all the handles get hot
    -I need more wood


    but OMG all I want to do is keep figuring it out.

    Using wood was not as hard as I thought, I was riding 300 in the chamber for about an hour after shoveling a bit of embers around in the fire box and throwing a new split on them.

    Attached Files

    #2
    Congrats, Brother! Looks like ya had a good burnout/shakedown cruise today....
    Were ya usin a digital therrmo to compare against th bi-metallics? Jus curious, nuthin else...

    Also, 40° differential from side to side isn't uncommon in what I have experienced, on many smokers, but I've never had a reverse flow.
    That bein said, I can normally coax side to side temps to within at least 25° in my offsets, both of which do have baffle plates.

    In my own experience, I'd haveta say proper fire management is yer biggest friend, here, an will come with more use, an learnin yer new cooker. I'm delighted to see ya took advantage of such a lovely day, an got herself a good start with yer new stickburner.

    Many thanks fer sharin with us, ask questions, if / when / as they arise...

    Comment


    • Loren
      Loren commented
      Editing a comment
      I used a maverick 732, but I didn't get close to 25 degrees difference;,maybe with practice! The baffle is fixed, which definitely plays into temp management.
      I'm open to suggestions to mod it

    #3
    Use the temperature differences from one side to the other to your advantage. Different proteins cook at different rates, knowing your smoker’s tendencies can help you plan & cook different meats simultaneously. Have fun learning that pit!
    Last edited by kenrobin; April 22, 2020, 02:00 AM.

    Comment


      #4
      So it is getting hot on the firebox end? There is a few mods you can do. Get some new thermometers off Amazon, Build some king of grate to lift the fire off the floor and get air under it. I would also shorten that stack some.

      Comment


      • Ahumadora
        Ahumadora commented
        Editing a comment
        I would make the stack length about 80cm above the top of the cook chamber. (When the stack is really long the air can go cold and stall) Also in the pic you have the pit angling uphill. Swap it around and will help even out temps.
        Last edited by Ahumadora; April 22, 2020, 08:23 AM.

      • Ahumadora
        Ahumadora commented
        Editing a comment
        Where the heat is on a RF pit depends on a lot of things. (thickness of RF plate, height of plate in pit, openings into cook chamber etc).
        Last edited by Ahumadora; April 22, 2020, 08:22 AM.

      • Loren
        Loren commented
        Editing a comment
        Thank you for the info!

        I'll be checking the stack length today!

      #5
      Congrats. I'm sure you will figure it out in no time.

      Comment


        #6
        Oh that looks like fun! Choo Chooooo!

        Comment


          #7
          Originally posted by Ahumadora View Post
          So it is getting hot on the firebox end? There is a few mods you can do. Get some new thermometers off Amazon, Build some king of grate to lift the fire off the floor and get air under it. I would also shorten that stack some.
          Completely unrelated application, but I've learned how stacks can effect a products operation.

          Back when I was a manufacturing engineer at an electronics plant we had a stencil cleaner that was suppose to vent steam out through a window. Whoever installed it put a 90 degree bend in the stack at about 8 feet above the unit. It wasn't a problem when it was first installed in the summer, but when winter came it kept bubbling over and creating a mess.

          The steam which was suppose to escape the machine would condense back in to water, and fall back in to the cleaner. What a mess it created because it would then boil over. A heating & air guy helped me by making two 45 degree bends, and adding a blower motor. I learned a lot from that little issue.

          Comment


            #8
            That is a cool looking off-set smoker! I notice temp differences in mine too, but after a few hours the temp differences disappear and everywhere inside is the same temp. I have a reverse flow 48" cooker.

            Comment


            • Loren
              Loren commented
              Editing a comment
              Oh...that might be the case then! I only let it go for about three and a half hours of watch time, then I just let it burn out.

            • Ahumadora
              Ahumadora commented
              Editing a comment
              The location of temp or hotter zones vary by amount of air intake/ coals/fire burning/ outside air temp and the temp you are operating the smoker at. Lots of variables.

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