Having trouble getting smoker above 300 degrees

[daveomak]

I "think" I see what the problem could be....

The gasket on the lid is not the problem...  having a smoker sealed up airtight is a good thing....  allows for temp control through using air inlets...

From looking at the pictures, I think your charcoal basket, when full of briquettes, is preventing air from flowing through the FB to the CC...   basically plugging up the grate....

Fire control....  When you have a fire going, the temp of the briquettes is probably 1500 degree F..   The upper air inlet will move that heat into the CC...    You will need more fuel than I can see in the FB in those pictures...  There is a lot of thermal mass in your smoker that requires a good amount of BTU's to get up to temp.... 

Think of the FB as if it was your home furnace....  The FB gets hot...  the heat can be transferred using pipes full of water, or ducts using forced air to heat the house...   The same theory is used in a smoker....   The lower air inlet, below the fire grate, heats the fuel to an acceptable temp...   Then the upper air inlet moves that heat to the Cook Chamber...

Only having a lower air inlet, "can" cause the fire to get too hot while not moving enough heated air to the CC....  thus wasting fuel and having a FB that is super heated....   Now, that is an extreme example BUT the theory is good...    Many members have noted positive results having upper and lower air inlets...   better temp control and reduction in fuel usage... 

 

[kaveman42]

So a bit of good news. When I built the unit, it was missing a hinge for the firebox vent door. Landmann ended up sending me the entire door assembly, which I received last night. So now I can use the extra vent and add it above the current vent as Dave suggested.

 

[cliffcarter]

 
I have a Landmann vertical offset smoker and I cannot get the temp above 300. I'm using the Maverick 733, so I know its not the thermometer. I used a full weber chimney in the firebox and another full chimney after 20-30mins, the CC has not passed 300. I'm doing my first burn in for the new smoker so I was hoping to get to around 350. Do I need more charcoal? Forgot to add that I'm using Royal Oak Lump Hardwood.

 
From the photos the vent between your firebox and cooking chamber seems to be a good size and the size of the air intake vents look fine too. Not wishing to disagree with previous posters, but I think that drilling more holes in the firebox is a fairly drastic measure and should only be a last resort.

I think it is more likely that your firebox is just not producing enough heat - rather than it being an air flow problem through the unit. As Brian commented, is your firebox raised above the bottom to allow good air flow under and around your coals and to allow the ash to fall? Lumpwood will produce a fair amount of ash and it may just be this that is choking the burn preventing sufficient air getting to the charcoal to produce the heat that you need. It has been suggested that you try splits - which will probably help, but you would also benefit from laying these on top of a bed of good quality briquettes as these will burn hotter for longer than the lumpwood. I would suggest that you try making tweaks to your fuel before you start drilling any holes.

I agree with Wade, adding another vent should be done as a last resort. Since your firebox has a door at the intake, you can crack that door open to get more air to the fire.

Now that you have posted pics of your fire box I am more convinced than before that you are not using enough charcoal in the fire basket. I recommend that you fill the basket 2/3 full of unlit lump charcoal and then start the fire by pouring 2 chimneys of fully lit Royal Oak lump on top of it. Leave the air intake door wide open, watch the temp in the cook chamber, when it gets to the 280°-300° range, close the door but leave the intake wide open. Then as the temp climbs higher close the intake completely to see how the temp reacts, if it starts dropping open the vent to half to see if it climbs again. Conversely, if the temp keeps climbing after you have closed the door and vent, watch it until it settles in to a steady temp, then you will have an Idea as to how the pit performs when you start it using this method which will give you a better idea about how much fuel to use when starting the fire. Your pit has a lot of mass to heat, IMHO you need more fuel to start, pure and simple.

 

[wade]

From looking at the pictures, I think your charcoal basket, when full of briquettes, is preventing air from flowing through the FB to the CC...   basically plugging up the grate....

Fire control....  When you have a fire going, the temp of the briquettes is probably 1500 degree F..   The upper air inlet will move that heat into the CC...    You will need more fuel than I can see in the FB in those pictures...  There is a lot of thermal mass in your smoker that requires a good amount of BTU's to get up to temp.... 

Dave - Kaveman said he was using a full chimney of Royal Oak Lump Hardwood (which would burn significantly cooler than briquettes) and from the photo it looks as if what we are seeing is what was left after the burn. A single chimney of lumpwood is not a lot in a smoker of that size and would certainly not over fill the coal basket to a point where it was likely to restrict the air flow.

I am not sure how drilling a hole above the air intake would improve the heat distribution in this case - but you probably have a better understanding of the physics here than me. I would still strongly urge him to try maximising the heat output in his fire basket before he starts to surgically alter the smoker itself.

 

[daveomak]

Let us know what your results are.....  Dave

 

[kaveman42]

I'll give the briquettes a shot since it's the easiest option. Probably won't smoke until next weekend, so my response may take a while.

 

[kaveman42]

I finally got around to smoking again around Xmas and this time I tried the Kingsford professional briquettes. With a full basket of charcoal I was able to exceed 300 degrees. Looks like charcoal briquettes do burn hotter like you guys mentioned, however I think lump is easier to manage. The briquettes kept getting too hot for the temp I needed. I also made a DIY stoker that makes it easier to manage the temp.

 

[SmokyMose]

You don't need 300 degrees to break in a smoker. All you need to do is burn off the oils or whatever from manufacturing & shipping. The smoke from a hot fire should "season" it.