So what I did was to add less than a handful of mesquite chips and 3 chunks of apple. Got some white smoke for awhile which I think made my bird a little smokier than I like.
Next time I am going with a few apple chunks only no mesquite.
Once the initial white smoke is gone and I have TBS that's when my bird is going in. I am operating with the exhaust vent fully open.
I was having some difficulty maintaining temperature.
Any ideas on that one?
Yeah, I don't think you'll need to worry about the smoke using apple for birds. Mesquite is a bit harsh.
Depending on ambient conditions, propane smokers can at times have some wide temp swings. Wind and precipitation are your worst enemies, in that order. Protect your smoker from the wind above all else, then rain/snow. I'd suggest just setting your temp with the smoker empty, get the smoke rolling, drop in your food, close the door and walk away. If you want to check chamber temps, that's fine, but don't adjust after putting food into the smoker because cold food pulls a lot of heat from the smoke chamber until it starts heating up, too. You chamber temps will drop during this time period, then recover. Wind gusts will zap some heat from it, and then it come back. Rain or snow will constantly draw heat from the cabinet and require a bump in flame to keep things going reasonably steady.
To aid in temperature stabilization regarding peaks and valleys, thermal mass added to the water pan helps. The use of water will reduce temp spikes by limiting the high temp potential of the smoker. Water vapor cools it's surroundings and then higher the heat input the higher the evaporation rate. Once the water starts boiling you won't get the smoke chamber temp much hotter until the water pan boils dry. That's when a huge temp spike will occur unless you're there to make adjustments. Using water does make low & slow smoking temp control easier, but it does have it's trade-offs, and higher temp smoking requires enormous amounts of heat output and water consumption. If you lose the water your temps will run much higher with lower BTU output.
I'm an advocate of of dropping the water, or at least using very little, so that your smoke chamber runs at lower humidity during the last 1/2 of hot smoking...I like the resulting textures and interior moisture retention in the meat...that's just me.
Eric