# Breaking in the new Lang 36



## Ryder996 (Oct 11, 2018)

just sent my days off playing around with the Lang 36. Sprayed with olive oil, warmed it up, sprayed with hose, and then let her smolder. Really is a treat to use and I definitely have a lot to learn. Might do more small cooks until I get it figured out. Heat zones, temp control, fire management, etc...


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## Scott Eisenbraun (Oct 11, 2018)

Congrats on the new Lang 36. Supposed to be one of the premier smokers on the market. How much is the temp difference from firebox end to the other.


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## dcecil (Oct 11, 2018)

Congrats on an awesome pit, you are going to love it.  I have the exact same one.  Let me know if you have any questions.  I’ll tell you up front that the Lang cooks everything slightly quicker than recommended times. Just FYI. 
LOVE MY LANG


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## bmudd14474 (Oct 11, 2018)

Congrats on the Lang. Its a great unit and you will love it.


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## Ryder996 (Oct 11, 2018)

Thank you. I first time I used it I only used wood splits and it took a while to get the fire settled out and the coal bed to be big enough to maintain temps as I would toss one split in here and there. After the smoker it’s self warms up and maintaining a small fire... toss one split on the coals let it burn... add another... the temp seemed like I could move the temps almost instantly with the intake valves.... she was in the zone and the ribs were perfect... second time because of the amount of wood I had on hand I figured I would supplement the wood with charcoal... I figured the coals would warm up the cooker and when she was ready I’d add splits and have a small fire... unfortunately I used the whole bag and my temps were very high all day really had to solder it and the results were not the best. I have a thermoworks smoke that I have to learn how to really use it. I put it in the lower section about a foot from the firebox wall... the gauge on the Lang and the thermoworks was 80f apart. Still learning where the hot spots are I did move the thermoworks smoke around quite a bit to see where I was at. Really looking forward to learning more.


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## flatbroke (Oct 11, 2018)

Congratulations. Nice ribs and smoker


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## flatbroke (Oct 11, 2018)

I’ve read it isn’t a good idea to have chicken cooking above other meats.


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## dcecil (Oct 12, 2018)

Figuring out your temps is half the fun of learning your pit.  I like to always start my fire with lump or regular charcoal surrounded by the wood I’m cooking with.  I always make sure Im stocked up with my favorite wood splits plus I keep bags of wood chunks of multiple flavors for situations where I want to combine smoke flavors or I simply don’t want to add a full size split.  In my Lang I have found it to be helpful to keep a3-4 inch deep bread pan full of water in the cooking chamber on the firebox wall to even out temps from left to right.  The temp gauge on the pit itself is more of a reference but definitely not for accuracy throughout your entire pit.  I recommend using the small stand alone therms in various positions in the chamber to help you learn the colder and hotter spots.  From top to bottom in the chamber your gonna a difference for sure.  Mine runs anywhere from 30-50 degrees diff but I like that because I can cook different cuts at different temps.  With your thermoworks smoke chamber temp probe  just keep that in the direct area of where your meat is but giving it about 3 inches of space so that probe does not pick up temps from the meat.  I have the same one and it works very well. the I’m always excited to talk about the Lang and smokin so if you have any questions just ask away.  Here’s a pic of how I start my split stack with charcoal in the center.  I will let that burn while adding splits for about an hr to get a nice coal bed


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## SmokinAl (Oct 12, 2018)

I have a 36 too & do just what Doug does with the bread pan with water right up against the fire box wall.
I also extended the stack down about 6 inches in the cooking chamber.





And I added gauges to the top rack.





You can see by doing those 2 things the whole cooker is about at the same temp.
Al


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## gmc2003 (Oct 12, 2018)

Congratulations on the new toy. It looks like your off to a good start.

Chris


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## Ryder996 (Oct 12, 2018)

Thank you for all the help I definitely will be using the wood surrounding the coal setup. Looking forward to learning from you all. Does it run similar when it’s fully loaded, half full, or a few small things like sausage and bacon? Just curious.


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## Ryder996 (Oct 12, 2018)

If you were going to cook chicken breast would you put on top rack or bottom, if the temps were the same. Am I correct in thinking the smoke will be more at the top for a good bark?


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## hardcookin (Oct 14, 2018)

Enjoy your new smoker!!


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