# How long for the fire to burn before cooking?



## johnnie2130 (Aug 23, 2008)

How long does it take for you all to get your fire where you want it before you start cooking and how will I know? Just watch the thermo temps?

On the flavored wood, do you add that as soon as you put the meat on?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but I'm still learning. Got wood started in the firebox now.


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## seboke (Aug 23, 2008)

Burn the logs down to a nice bed of coals, regulate the temp after that by adjusting the airflow and add meat!  Add smaller splits or chunks of yer flavor wood as needed.


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## johnnie2130 (Aug 23, 2008)

Thanks. How will I know when more flavor wood is needed?


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## seboke (Aug 23, 2008)

"if ya smell smoke, you're smoking."  That's been said in here many times.  If your temp is maintaining, and ya have TBS, leave it alone!  No smoke at all, temp dropping, add a split or a couple of chunks.  If ya preburn your wood, just add a scoop of coals to your firebox to maintain temp.  You'll have the workins of that new smoker figgered out fast!


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## johnnie2130 (Aug 23, 2008)

My wood has been lit for about 45 minutes and I'm not close to 250*. I didn't think it would take this long. I'm still learning though. I have four oak splits with propane flames burning under them.


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## seboke (Aug 23, 2008)

you got your dampers open?  Open everything up wide and you should see the temp jump up quickly.  How big a fire you got going / how good is the bed of coals (but with only 45 minutes into the fire, you prolly don't have a good coal bed yet.)


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## seboke (Aug 23, 2008)

DISCLAIMER!  I know nothing about your rig - just saying what I would do with my rig _(without propane assist!)._


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## johnnie2130 (Aug 23, 2008)

I have the dampers open now. For about 30 minutes they were only partially open because nobody could keep an eye on it and I wanted to be careful since this is my first time. I have four splits now, but not really much of a bed of coals. I had three splits at first, then added a fourth. It looks like that helped some.


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## capt dan (Aug 23, 2008)

yes, what Seboke said, and  yes open everything up, you may even have to crack open the door the firebox for a short time. Get that dawg up to 350-400 degrees and then brush them grates good with a stiff wire brush, then on my smoker, I use a hose with a  wide spray nozzle to  wash off the hot grates and let it drain out the grease drain and steam the grates clean. This will  bring your temps down a bit, for just a lil while. When the grates are back to temp, I spray heavily with spray non stick coating, and let it sit while I get the temps backed off to where I want them to be. It will not hurt for the meat to go on a grate that is 250-300 degrees. The cold meat will  also bring down chamber temps for awhile. You'll notice that this rig will hold heat alot better and have less to rebound when opened.I  take about 35-45 minutes to get my  bed of coals to where I like them, but I start my wood with a full chimney of lump, and then stack my wood on top after  I put it in the firebox. I starts  going very well within 5 minutes and it easily at 400 degrees within 20 minutes( unless its a blizzard or super windy and cold). Just start turning stuff down, or closing inlets a lil at a time to get it to where ya want it. Its gonna be at least 2-3  smokes to get it figured out, but  It will be fun.

Lotsa great help here to get ya through it.


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