Big C Needs Help

[coxc]

I am new to smoking and have a cheap brinkman , i could not get the thing hot enough after my first try so i took some advice and drilled holes in the charcoal pan and then used chicken wire to lift the coals up for more air . i tried to smoke a tri tip this weekend and yes it got a little hotter but was still not holding the heat high enough . i was thinking about drilling more holes all around the coal pan for even more air . the smoker ran its hottest when all four vents were open . any sugestions are welcome , i know this takes time to figure out and i am in for the long haul . thanks

 

[richtee]

First off, be sure to leave your top vent mostly open. And second... you cannot beat an expanded metal basket for the coals. It's pretty much a must have. Your firepan would need to be mostly air Vs. metal to get near the expanded metal basket. Sooo... drill ALOT more holes. And look into getting a basket made.

Bottom vents control the airflow... leave full-bore until temps are reached... then adjust to maintain.

 

[the_selling_blues_man]

Are you using lump charcoal? You will get more heat and less ash with lump. I found that when I used charcoal briquets I could not get it near as hot as when I switched to lump. The ash from the briquets wanted to choke down the heat as it filled up the holes in the pan.