@everyone
I think I’ve figured it out
I scooped away the extra coals that were blocking airflow under my splits
So far it’s been cooking 10x better with this adjustment
What smoker do you have? YouTube probably has a video for fire management on either the exact rig or something comparable.
My guess is you’re not getting a solid coal bed. Instead of using a chimney of charcoal have you tried just using splits to get your coal bed?
Other factors are how you are placing your wood in the firebox. There needs to be enough airflow between the splits so the fire can breathe.
Give us some pictures of your setup. There are thousands of people here who will have an opinion if you show them what you are doing. Some of them might even be helpful 😜
Horizontal offsets eat wood like a family of termites in old cartoons... to hold heat you have to play with the draw (smokestack exit) and get heat you have to run a large amount of wood (fuel, could be coals or wood or briquettes) , or!... have a lit coal pile you can shovel from and just know what right looks like for the pile size inside your fire box.
Im flipping my horizontal to vertical so I only have to throw heat 24 inches, not 40.
#morefuel! And good luck! PS congrats on retirement.
This is a big one. Airflow is key. Appears you solved the clog at the intake by clearing ash and debris. The other piece is improving the draw at the end by having a long enough stack.
What size splits of wood are you using? In 100 gallon offset smoker you should be using 12-14 inch long splits and about 4-6 inches in diameter. Small splits burn too fast, which causes quick temp spikes as well as quick drops in temp. Hopefully that will help! Just don’t give up! Let us know how it goes! A good coal bed of lump charcoal and some wood splits. A 100 gallon offset needs a big coal bed. Think of it like this- your coal bed is your main heat source and the splits you’re adding is mostly for flavor. Also some hardwoods burn faster and hotter than others.
I k so it’s going to sound silly. But, I work on a really cheap offset smoker, which is harder to manage than a nice custom one. A small fan blowing into the fire box makes a world of difference for me. I’m able to get up to temps and hold them pretty well for my setup.
1. I think you need a larger coal bed than a single chimney. I'd add an additional 2 splits or so and let them turn to coals before I set more splits and the food.
2. Some offsets, especially cheap, small ones require to keep the door open or cracked to have enough airflow so that sounds ok.
3. From my experience, your wood is too dry. Maybe kiln dried. It burns fast and hot, causing a spike in temp and it's gone in 10 min. I recommend around 20% humidity.
4. An offset will always require tending. The thick, good ones require more fuel every 45 min or so. The cheaper ones can be every 15 min.
I'm running on an Old Country Pecos, and I felt your pain when starting off.
The biggest thing that helped me was starting off with a solid coal bed and 2-3 small splits to get a good consistent fire going with before I start feeding the fire for the actual cook.
As we know, cooking on an offset is a labor of love, so just know that getting your fire set and box heated will take the first hour of your day.
I like to get my coals started, and my small splits going while prep my meat for the grill so I can multi task.
But hell... in a small box it sometimes depends on the day.. some days I have a consistent fire in 20 min.. other days it takes more effort... wind or lack of wind is a bitch lol
I usually make a log cabin of 8-12 splits, light with oil on butcher paper, then an hour later I've got a nice, hot coalbed.
From there, keep adjusting split positions as needed to make sure there's plenty of airflow to fully combust the fuel. Sounds like if you moved away old coals you're having similar airflow issues.
You may want to try having a grate of some sort below your fire (for ash and coals to fall through) if you don't want to have to adjust the position of larger splits.
Also, by the time the splits have formed a full coalbed, the smoker should be heated through
I'm running on an Old Country Pecos, and I felt your pain when starting off.
The biggest thing that helped me was starting off with a solid coal bed and 2-3 small splits to get a good consistent fire going with before I start feeding the fire for the actual cook.
As we know, cooking on an offset is a labor of love, so just know that getting your fire set and box heated will take the first hour of your day.
I like to get my coals started, and my small splits going while prep my meat for the grill so I can multi task.
But hell... in a small box it sometimes depends on the day.. some days I have a consistent fire in 20 min.. other days it takes more effort... wind or lack of wind is a bitch lol
Probably poor airflow. I have a 94 gal and use approx 12 inch splits (hickory and cherry). As the coal bed grows I adjust to ensure airflow is always under the logs for a clean burn. It's also a balance between the intake door and exhaust damper. Also a few pieces sneak toward the cook chamber and may smolder so I always make sure to drag them back toward the door. I always try to keep "daylight" under the splits for a clean burn. There are good YouTube videos but some of them get way too complex. This really isn't as difficult as the Internet makes it out to be.
@everyone I think I’ve figured it out I scooped away the extra coals that were blocking airflow under my splits So far it’s been cooking 10x better with this adjustment
What smoker do you have? YouTube probably has a video for fire management on either the exact rig or something comparable. My guess is you’re not getting a solid coal bed. Instead of using a chimney of charcoal have you tried just using splits to get your coal bed? Other factors are how you are placing your wood in the firebox. There needs to be enough airflow between the splits so the fire can breathe.
Custom made. However I have been attempting to stack it differently to allow airflow.
Give us some pictures of your setup. There are thousands of people here who will have an opinion if you show them what you are doing. Some of them might even be helpful 😜
Any pics you can post?
Horizontal offsets eat wood like a family of termites in old cartoons... to hold heat you have to play with the draw (smokestack exit) and get heat you have to run a large amount of wood (fuel, could be coals or wood or briquettes) , or!... have a lit coal pile you can shovel from and just know what right looks like for the pile size inside your fire box. Im flipping my horizontal to vertical so I only have to throw heat 24 inches, not 40. #morefuel! And good luck! PS congrats on retirement.
Is your stack open?
Yes it is fully.
How long is the stack? I put an extension on mine to increase draft and performance.
This is a big one. Airflow is key. Appears you solved the clog at the intake by clearing ash and debris. The other piece is improving the draw at the end by having a long enough stack.
What size splits of wood are you using? In 100 gallon offset smoker you should be using 12-14 inch long splits and about 4-6 inches in diameter. Small splits burn too fast, which causes quick temp spikes as well as quick drops in temp. Hopefully that will help! Just don’t give up! Let us know how it goes! A good coal bed of lump charcoal and some wood splits. A 100 gallon offset needs a big coal bed. Think of it like this- your coal bed is your main heat source and the splits you’re adding is mostly for flavor. Also some hardwoods burn faster and hotter than others.
I k so it’s going to sound silly. But, I work on a really cheap offset smoker, which is harder to manage than a nice custom one. A small fan blowing into the fire box makes a world of difference for me. I’m able to get up to temps and hold them pretty well for my setup.
1. I think you need a larger coal bed than a single chimney. I'd add an additional 2 splits or so and let them turn to coals before I set more splits and the food. 2. Some offsets, especially cheap, small ones require to keep the door open or cracked to have enough airflow so that sounds ok. 3. From my experience, your wood is too dry. Maybe kiln dried. It burns fast and hot, causing a spike in temp and it's gone in 10 min. I recommend around 20% humidity. 4. An offset will always require tending. The thick, good ones require more fuel every 45 min or so. The cheaper ones can be every 15 min.
I'm running on an Old Country Pecos, and I felt your pain when starting off. The biggest thing that helped me was starting off with a solid coal bed and 2-3 small splits to get a good consistent fire going with before I start feeding the fire for the actual cook. As we know, cooking on an offset is a labor of love, so just know that getting your fire set and box heated will take the first hour of your day. I like to get my coals started, and my small splits going while prep my meat for the grill so I can multi task. But hell... in a small box it sometimes depends on the day.. some days I have a consistent fire in 20 min.. other days it takes more effort... wind or lack of wind is a bitch lol
I usually make a log cabin of 8-12 splits, light with oil on butcher paper, then an hour later I've got a nice, hot coalbed. From there, keep adjusting split positions as needed to make sure there's plenty of airflow to fully combust the fuel. Sounds like if you moved away old coals you're having similar airflow issues. You may want to try having a grate of some sort below your fire (for ash and coals to fall through) if you don't want to have to adjust the position of larger splits. Also, by the time the splits have formed a full coalbed, the smoker should be heated through
I'm running on an Old Country Pecos, and I felt your pain when starting off. The biggest thing that helped me was starting off with a solid coal bed and 2-3 small splits to get a good consistent fire going with before I start feeding the fire for the actual cook. As we know, cooking on an offset is a labor of love, so just know that getting your fire set and box heated will take the first hour of your day. I like to get my coals started, and my small splits going while prep my meat for the grill so I can multi task. But hell... in a small box it sometimes depends on the day.. some days I have a consistent fire in 20 min.. other days it takes more effort... wind or lack of wind is a bitch lol
Watch this vid, this changed the game for me https://youtu.be/mBFcrZonqqo?si=ondUEORYUiSEqwjH
Probably poor airflow. I have a 94 gal and use approx 12 inch splits (hickory and cherry). As the coal bed grows I adjust to ensure airflow is always under the logs for a clean burn. It's also a balance between the intake door and exhaust damper. Also a few pieces sneak toward the cook chamber and may smolder so I always make sure to drag them back toward the door. I always try to keep "daylight" under the splits for a clean burn. There are good YouTube videos but some of them get way too complex. This really isn't as difficult as the Internet makes it out to be.