# Anyone leave their firebox door cracked open?



## fisher6688 (Sep 18, 2014)

Does anyone leave their firebox door opened up a little bit while they are smoking? I have a offset smoker and i am thinking about cracking the Firebox door open if i add some splits on and it just gets too hot.


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## chef jimmyj (Sep 18, 2014)

Opening the Fire box will add More air to the fire and make a hot fire, extra hot. Not to mention your fuel will burn faster. If the fire/smoker temp is too hot you need to close the fresh air damper and cut off the air getting to the fire. If you find you can't get the temp down below 300°F, you got Leaks letting air in. You need seal the fire box better. If you are still too hot, open the smoke chamber, the exhaust should be open all the way. Hope this helps...JJ


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## fisher6688 (Sep 18, 2014)

Hey JJ thanks for the reply. the problem i can close my firebox, close the inlet dampers pretty small and the fire will die as in no more flame and im getting thick smoke. so i been trying to keep a good fire going where it burns clean. BUT my smoke chamber is still getting too hot. i have a thread in Smoker builds titled 300 gallon smoker help. You can see im in a predicament trying to get some good smoking temps instead of higher temps. Im shooting for 225 -235 steady on the far end of my smoker. i am thinking about adjusting the size of the opening to my chamber from the FB as it may be too big. Dave omak suggested tuning plates but i dont think that will bring my temps down. itll bring them more even across. i want that hot spot by the FB and the lower temps by the far end.


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## grillmonkey (Sep 18, 2014)

If you're burning wood, just make your fire smaller.













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__ grillmonkey
__ Aug 31, 2014






This is about all it takes to keep my smoker at 275 degrees.


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## golfpro2301 (Sep 18, 2014)

I agree with Grill Monkey. I have recently been burning a smaller cleaner fire in my fridge. I dump a large amount of charcoal in my basket and heat smoker up to 350+ and let it burn down. Once it gets to 250 I just throw one log on with the air vents almost wide open. Burns clean and maintains temp for a very long time. I did this last weekend and ran the fridge for 22 hours and only used a small bag of wood splits from home depot.


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## jarjarchef (Sep 18, 2014)

When I do cooks in an offset these are things I look at and use to trouble shoot. ......

Top vent wide open at all times to allow for proper air flow and exchange, so the smoke does not get stale.

More air = hotter fire and more fuel consumption

Thick smoke = wet wood, not seasoned wood or dying fire. When I first add the wood I will get a bit of smoke for about 10-15 min.

Temp control I use the air intake. More open to run hotter and and slightly closed to cool the temps. I never completely close the air vent, due to it will kill the fire.

Allow things to settle after an adjustment.  I usually wait about 20 min to see what happens. 

A couple modifications can really help things run better.

Charcoal basket to keep things together and the fire out of the ash. Too much ash can kill the temps and the wood/charcoal being in a controled area will help fuel consumption and temp control.

Tuning plates or heat sync....... this will help with having even temps and less temp spikes and drops. 

For me those two modifications are a must. I use digital remote thermometers for temp monitoring. 
People get stuck on keeping temps exactly at a certain temp. All smokers will have some fluxes during ther cooks, the key is to find a range that you can work with. Mine will vary with what I am cooking and my overall end needs.

The key thing is to relax and enjoy the process and experience.  Learn from what you do. If needed keep a log for future reference of how things react to changes you do.

But have fun!!!!


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## fwismoker (Sep 18, 2014)

Lots of offsets  people crack the door vs using the vent....it's all good.  The  most important thing is a clean burning fire.


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## oldschoolbbq (Sep 19, 2014)

Patience , my Brother in Smoke . . .


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## gary s (Sep 22, 2014)

Here are the Mods I did on my door really helps in controlling the temp













IMG_20140408_150945_246.jpg



__ gary s
__ Sep 22, 2014


















IMG_20140408_150952_917.jpg



__ gary s
__ Sep 22, 2014


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## ristau5741 (Sep 22, 2014)

gary s said:


> Here are the Mods I did on my door really helps in controlling the temp
> 
> 
> 
> ...


some inside pics to go with that???  would like to see how you mounted the sliding door

on topic, i have to keep my firebox cracked as it's not square. my offset is offset, hahahahh,  but it still works well.


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## gary s (Sep 22, 2014)

Just a couple of pieces of Sm. Angle













IMG_20140922_154825_586.jpg



__ gary s
__ Sep 22, 2014


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## fisher6688 (Sep 22, 2014)

how does this help with your temp control? it just give you extra control of the air flow?


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## grillmonkey (Sep 22, 2014)

Fisher6688 said:


> how does this help with your temp control? it just give you extra control of the air flow?


It lets heat out that would otherwise go into the cook chamber.


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## JckDanls 07 (Sep 22, 2014)

Fisher6688 said:


> how does this help with your temp control? it just give you extra control of the air flow?



This actually lets cool air mix with the hot air from the fire and cools your temps a little bit..  it doesn't add air to the fire as it is above the fire and straight into the CC ... so if temps are hi you can bring them down with this "cool" air vent ...  it also helps move the hot air trapped in FB into and out of the CC faster ...


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