Might be a stupid question, but....

mwells · Posted: Jul 02 2007 Post subject: Might be a stupid question, but....

What is the exact method for using the baffles on to control heat? As I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong), opening the vent on the firebox will increase the heat by giving more oxygen to the fire.

The one that confuses me is the vent on the stack. If I open it, does more heat escape, therefore lowering the temp in the cooker, or by closing it do I cut down on the amount of air being pulled through the cooker, therefore lowering the temp, and vice versa. I hope I haven'y confused you too much to answer.

Markbb · Posted: Jul 02 2007 Post subject: Half of it

Your getting the idea personally I leave that vent wide open Only time I ever close it is when I'm not useing the smoker and to keep rain out, use the inlet air vent for heat purposes to adjust up or down and remember when you adjust the inlet air damper don't expect immediate response on the temp increase or decrease it'll take alittle time and get a good thermometer to watch your cooking temps, and allways leave you exhaust vent wide open during cooking!!!

marvsbbq · BBQ All Star Joined: 15 May 2005 Posts: 6186

The ONLY and I say ONLY time I close the stack vent is IF my fire gets TOO hot. THEN I close it until the temp is under control..

Otherwise, I totally control my fire/temp by using the dampner on the firebox.

mwells · Posted: Jul 02 2007 Post subject:

I do cook with the stack vent wide open, and try to control the temp with the vent on the firebox. I was reading in the cooker forum about the Diamond plate cookers, and they recommend that you cook with the stacks partially blocked, that is what got me thinking.

Markbb · Posted: Jul 02 2007 Post subject: Hard to tell

It's really hard to sift through all the stuff that you'll read on different sites, alot of people will recommend to soak wood chips before thowing them onto the fire....really its to each his or her own, but my expierences have been to keep the exhaust wide open for a good draw and don't soak the wood..

Hoochie-Que · Posted: Jul 03 2007 Post subject:

backyardpigs · Posted: Jul 03 2007 Post subject:

I leave the stack wide open during a cook and adjust the heat with the firebox vent. I find that partially closing the stack vent will make the food taste a too smokey (bitter).

The only time I will close or partially close if I am having problems keeping the pit temp low. Once I reach the desired temp, I then open it 100%.
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mwells · Posted: Jul 03 2007 Post subject:

You know, some times you just need to be slapped in the face with the answer. I posted a few days ago about my first smoke on my new OK Joe where my ribs came out too smokey. I did that cook with the exhaust about half closed thinking that it would help the fire burn longer. The last cook I did was a shoulder and cooked with the exhaust almost wide open, and it turned out much better. Guess I got my answer. Thanks again. One of these days I will have enough experince that I may be able to help someone out, but until then I will just keep firing up the pit and practicing. I hope everyone's 4th is great, and the food is even better.

edskull69 · Posted: Jul 03 2007 Post subject:

the smoke stack damper is there to create a natural draft to get your smoke & heat moving in the right direction. I always leave the stack damper wide open. I adjust the temp using the firebox damper and the amount of fuel you put in there. The stack needs to be open to pull your heat and smoke thru the cooking chamber. The higher your smoke stack is the stronger the draft will be. Yes heat will escape thru the stack but it is always pulling more behind it. Plus, as the smoke and heat travel thru the cooking chamber and past the food, the food absorbs the heat (we call this "heat transfer") So not all of the heat is escaping out of your stack. The only time I close my stack damper is after I remove my cooked BBQ and want to extinguish the fire. I close all dampers and the fire goes out. There is a thing called the combustion triangle. Air Fuel Heat
are the three points of the triangle without one of those three things you can't have fire. Hope that helps. Just my two cents.
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rashley · Newbie Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 27 Location: McAllen, TX

Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but the reason you might close the DPP down a bit is because:

Most smokers have a 3 or 4 inch single exhaust stack. My DPP fat 50 has 2-4 inch stacks. That provides a lot more capacity than a single 3 inch stack. Therefore to get the inlet to exhaust ratio right Travis suggests closing the dampers on the stacks down about 1 inch from wide open. I have tried mine slightly closed and wide open. I don't see a lot of difference.

Randy
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Alien BBQ · Posted: Jul 03 2007 Post subject:

On a regular smoker with 3-4 inch stacks,: you should run the smoker with the exhaust wide open. This allows enough airflow thru the smoker to keep the temp stable and provide efficient combustion in the fire box. On larger smokers (like the DP) you have a little bit different dynamic. Larger smokers are normally over piped to increase the effective ranges of the smoker. In these cases, you can close a portion of the stack to achieve maximum fire efficiency for the temperature desired. This is the exception, not the norm. On a regular smoker, run with the exhaust open, and control the temperature with the air inlet to the firebox. Think of it this way,
Air inlet = Coarse adjustment
Exhaust Outlet = Fine adjustment

On the subject of over smoking, my view is this�.. there is no such thing. What you are probably describing is incorrectly smoking, not over smoking. By choking the fire (by using the exhaust to control the temp) you increase the amount of toxic gasses found in wood burning that would normally be burned up. When you do this (thru suffocation or burning wet or green wood) it adds a bitter to numbing quality to the meat. This can be averted by maintaining a small brisk fire instead of a big yellow smoke producing one.
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krek · BBQ Fan Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 233 Location: Missouri

While we're on the subject, why is "white smoke" undesirable?

Alien BBQ · Posted: Jul 03 2007 Post subject:

The Yellow smoke god is cyanide and is a product of incomplete combustion. The first time you have someone ask you if �your lips are suppose to be numb� will be the demise of your BBQ career.

This post will better explain it.
http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2127&highlight=cyanide
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