Need Excel 20 help

One of the clips for holding the waterpan is upside down.

We have found putting the wood chunks in 1st then the charcoal gives us a long smolder of flavor filled smoke

Dr_KY wrote:One of the clips for holding the waterpan is upside down.

D'OH...missed that one. Doesn't it turn pretty easily?

Tohm- I added a few more chunks of lump after she started to catch on. I'll try a chunk or two on the bottom and with that idea you can see I placed one standing too. I


The clip will unbolt with no problem and I'm considering changing all of them to stainless.

Bill, not sure what the problem is, after reading through all the posts... one thing I did want to ask is, is the water pan centraly located in the unit (even gap all the way round), and if it is can you take some pics of the smoker in action, so we can all see if there's anything we can notice.

Ian

Thanks, Ian.
The pan seems centered. Last two cooks have been without water in the pan.
I had an idea of what I might be doing wrong, or what might help. When I assemble the unit over the lit coals in the bottom portion, I have the water pan in the unit already. Maybe I should assemble it without the pan and see if the unit heats up higher, the put the pan in.
I will try and post pics next time, though I never have used a photo uploading site before. I guess this is as good as time as any to jump in.
Bill
P.S. The ribs I did this weekend came out fantastic, would of been happy turning in at any comp.

Evening Bill,

I may have missed it in a previous post, but I tend to fill my water pan with Hotwater to help it get up to temp quicker.

I use a watering can I bought cheap from one our pound shops and fill it from the hot tap (Fosset).

Beerz

Adie

All Weather Griller wrote:Evening Bill,

I may have missed it in a previous post, but I tend to fill my water pan with Hotwater to help it get up to temp quicker.

I use a watering can I bought cheap from one our pound shops and fill it from the hot tap (Fosset).

Beerz

Adie

Thanks, Adie.
Yes, I have used hot water, but still have the issue, only gets to 200-240 with all vents wide open.
After first adding the hot coals to the basket, do you assemble the unit with the water pan in place, or let it heat up and then put the pan in?

Hi Bill,

Essentially I light the coals using the Minion Method but leave a couple of chunks of wood at the very bottom of the grate just for good measure.

I tend to fill the water pan first whilst it is in position inside the bottom stacker, this makes it easier to assemble for me (Fat fingers) won't allow me to fit the pan after, plus the handles on the side of the stacker make it easier to manouvre.

Once I have spread the hot coals in the grate I then carefully locate Stacker 1, then add the 2nd stacker and cooking grate and mavericks heat probes, I usually wait until it's around 226 to add the food.

I can honestly say I have never had it above 240, I usuallu have to close the two of the bottom vents (At the back) to around 3/4 and I can get it to hold steady at 226 - 230 all night.

My top vent is usually always open I only close it marginally if I need to cool it down. When tested against my Maverick the lid probe is only 5 degrees out (Downwards).

Not sure I have told you anything new here though, I think the guys previous responses are pretty much the same. Just one question and to be honest I'm not sure of its relevance but.... How above sea level are you?

I tend to do the same as above.

One thing I have noticed is you need to let the charcoal start burning well before you close it all up. After applying the menion method I let the cooker sit without any stackers for a short ( 5/10 minuets) time then add the waterpan and fill with hot water. I then add the stackers and the meat. The temp is a bit high to start with BUT it soon comes back down into range.

I find this is the key behind keeping temps right the 20.

Well, this is exactly what I do as well. Yet I never see the temps come up enough where I can control it by closing down one or two of the lower vents. I thought using foil only instead of water in the pan would help, it has not. I used Wicked Good lump this weekend, nothing changed. I am at a loss.
Thanks for the info.
Bill

I do have problems with using Lump alone, I have to use biquettes to get the longevity and stability but aside from that I'm stumped. I would have thought that Lump would get you at reasonable temperature range for a few hours at least.



In addition to my question about altitude - http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5086097161/m/391102413

WARNING! This has the potential to become very boring and not relevant.

Bill, I was under the impression that the whole purpose of water in the pan, was to regulate the cooking temps at between 200 - 250 deg F, it would be hard to acheive higher temps with water (the WSM does, because of the large gap between the side and pan, thus alot of hot air goes up around the sides. I still can't figure otu why you still can't get temps higher without water in the pan, but will do a few tests myself.

Ian

Good point, surely with no water pan and all the vents open you are grilling over direct heat.

Is this not so?

I didn't mean without the water pan in place, but it is another option if you have 3 stackers, I know Roxy and DM sometimes do this.