cxg231
Newbie
First smoke and solid at 225, nice! Can I ask how you started the coals, how many coals lit at the beginning, coal / wood ratio? I had trouble keeping my mini WSM (gold) below 275 yesterday. I lit ten coals to start and added them around the bowl, kept the side vents vents wide open until it hit 200 F, then started shutting the vents. I had them fully closed by the time it hit 225 and they remained closed for the rest of the 8.5 hour smoke with temps around 275 the first four hours and between 250 and 260 the last four. I think I either lit too many coals to start, need a bigger heat sink, kept the side vents fully open for too long, or a combination of the three. Thanks!
For the test burn the IQ is set to 225. Temperature is at 225 and stable. The blower is currently at a 15% duty cycle to maintain the temperature, which is a nice wide safety margin. I am going to let it roll all night long and check the duty cycle and regulation in the morning. About 2.5 hours so far, very stable, looking great. There are 8 holes which are 1 inch wide in the bottom. Keep in mind all of the incoming air is delivered via a 1 inch hose from the blower. All of the outgoing exhaust is via 4 holes of 5/8 diameter.
Update: A rainstorm rolled in, some cold rain struck the smoker. It had an initial temperature drop of ten degrees. It is currently bumping the duty cycle to 60% to compensate for the heat loss.