# Fire control



## Tyler Anthony (Nov 9, 2019)

Hi, I’m new to the offset smoker. I have been using an electric and a vertical charcoal for about a year, but I just got an Oklahoma Joe Highland. I am really struggling to maintain keep temps where I want them.  Any tricks or tips?  Do you maintain based on amount of fuel? Is it based on vents?  
Thank you


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## SmokinAl (Nov 9, 2019)

There are plenty of guys on here with your smoker and I'm sure one of them will chime in soon. But the basics are starting a good fire & controlling the temp with the vents. The main thing is to not loose the coal bed & I always put the next split on top of the firebox to warm it up so it lights up right away when you put it in the smoker. I start mine with a chimney of charcoal & then put a couple of splits on top. After that I just keep adding splits as needed, about every 45 minutes.
Al
Al


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## Heart of Dixie (Nov 17, 2019)

+ 1 on what Al said. I have an  15 year old Oklahoma Joe Longhorn and run with the firebox door wide open and no baffle on the stack. Are you burning wood or charcoal? I only burn wood. I tried charcoal but it was too much of a pain and the flavor was not what I prefer. What I find helps is keeping the splits around 10” long and 2 or 3 inches wide. A Kindling Cracker produces exactly the right size for me. Aaron Franklins book has great information on fires, wood, and smoke. It won’t take long and  learning your pit is enjoyable .
I fly fish and after many struggles trying to learn, one day I “felt” the line and everything fell into place. The same applies to fire management.


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## Hawging It (Nov 17, 2019)

SmokinAl said:


> There are plenty of guys on here with your smoker and I'm sure one of them will chime in soon. But the basics are starting a good fire & controlling the temp with the vents. The main thing is to not loose the coal bed & I always put the next split on top of the firebox to warm it up so it lights up right away when you put it in the smoker. I start mine with a chimney of charcoal & then put a couple of splits on top. After that I just keep adding splits as needed, about every 45 minutes.
> Al
> Al


Perfect advice Al


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