Summit/E6 lighting techniques?

[Rod]

So I was finally able to do a burn in on my new E6 and now it's ready for prime time. What are the best lighting techniques for low n' slow and roasting for kamado mode? I will be using a thermostatically controlled fan to maintain temps.

[glitchy]

Search for WSCG posts from fzxdoc she’s written up some great instructions that might get you started. Though they mostly assume you have an ignitor, but you should be able to adapt them a bit.

[Old Glory]

Calling Kathryn fzxdoc

She has detailed instructions.

I just throw some charcoal and chunks in the lower grate and use two Weber cubes in the back. Let it get going then adjust the vents for temp. I am way less precise than her method.

[CaptainMike]

At the risk of stealing Dear Kathryn's thunder, I offer you this. It's how I learned my WSCG:

Fzxdoc’s WSCG lighting method

In the FWIW category, (I've published this elsewhere on the Pit) here's the method I like to use:

My Current Kamado Setup Method for Smoking

1. Foil the Ash Bucket and the Diffuser Plate. Wipe the grate down with a Lysol wipe and then wipe down again with water. Set out two disposable aluminum pans for drip pans to be set on the diffuser plate.

2. Use 2.5 scoops for short cooks like ribs or chicken and 4 scoops for long cooks like pork butt, chuck or brisket. Four scoops will give you about 10-12 hours of decent temps (250° or more). Spread them pretty evenly on the charcoal grate. Top with 5-6 chunks of wood (4 to 6 oz each). Don't put a wood chunk directly over the igniter. 5 to 6 chunks will give you about 5 hours of beautiful blue smoke. For short cooks, use 1-2 chunks of wood.

3. Start the ignition going. Let it run for exactly 5 minutes with the lid open and bottom vent fully open.

4. After the 5 minute ignition, turn off the gas igniter. Add the diffuser plate, two aluminum drip pans and the food grate. Attach the ambient probes to the grate. Close the lid, flip down the top vent but leave the holes fully open (bottom vent still fully open) and watch the temperature climb.

5. When you're about 70 degrees from your goal temperature, close the bottom vent to the smoke setting (or just below if your WSCGC runs hot) and close the top vent to 1/2 or less, again, depending on your Weber. I like to have the lower vent just to the right of the smoke setting mark and the top vent at 1/3 to ride out the cook.

6. Before adding meat, oil the grate with a soaked paper towel to clean it off and give it some lubrication.

There's a ton of white smoke until the Weber gets around 225-250, then it settles out to white wispy/blue smoke for several hours. If the smoke is pure white (no grey), I'll put the cold meat on at 180°F grate level temp so it can get a jump on the smoke flavor. I feel (but don't know for sure) that adding that cold mass helps to keep the temperatures from running away. I've done it both ways--adding the meat early at 180°F and adding it at 225°F, and honestly, if I keep an eye on the temp, I've yet to have a runaway smoker.

Being a PBC type of person, I'm comfortable with smoking in the 270ish range (270 to 300 works well for my tastes, but that's a bit hot for some folks). A 4 scoop load of coals lasts about 8-9 hours at that setting. To get this, I set the lower vent to just above (to the right of) the smoker setting and the upper vent to 1/3 open.

For cooking below 250, I close the lower vent to just below the smoker setting (to the left of it) and set the upper vent to 1/4 open. At 250 or less, I can get about 10-12 hours of smoke out of a single 4-scoop load of coals.

[Rod]

CaptainMike When you say "scoop", are you referring to the plastic one supplied with the grill? Foiling the ash bucket, is that just what you like to do for clean up, or is there a Summit specific reason for this? I foil my DnGs on my kettles, but never the ash buckets.

[CaptainMike]

Yes, the scoop that came with the grill. Foiling is for easier clean up but I don't foil the ash bucket or do the Lysol wipe. I do foil the diffuser. Also, mine runs very nicely with little effort at 250 degrees and I simply quit shooting for 225.

[GoDuke]

What CaptainMike said. I quit worrying and learned to love 250 degrees. Mine will hold 250 like a champ, but if I shoot for 225, it tends to frustrate me a bit more. Next time I want to do a 225 cook (like for overnight), I'll probably use my fireboard drive now that I've learned the cooker

[Rod]

I've been using 250 for low n' slow for quite some time now. No difference in the end results, but shaves a little time off the length of cooks.