no heat

[stevemiller]

I am very frustrated. I have tried charcoal,wood and briquet's and I am not able to get my temp above 150 in my bbq pro. I have to be doing something wrong. I have opened the chimney and closed the chimney. I Raised the grate and made a basket. I have opened the air and closed it and no change. If someone could help it would be appreciated. the temp. is at the grate, i changed that also.

[JamesB]

Have you calibrated your thermometer? There is no reason I can imagine to prevent you from getting that pit up to temp. Normally in those type of pits, there problem is the exact opposite. Can you get a cheap oven thermometer and place it right on the grate to double check your other thermometer?

[Gator]

I think I would start with chimney open and intake open and go from there. Unless you have a leak or you are not building a large enough fire you should easily get it up to temperature. Close intake down from there to regulate temp down and burn slower.

Also, don't peek too much.

Whats a BBQ PRo? Do you have any pictures, that might help.

[DATsBBQ]

Is this your smoker? http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 921x00003a" target="_blank

Some offset type pits have a baffle that needs to be open (EG Kingfisher) when not using as a grill. Also, if it is brand new, make sure there isn't some kind of packing material between the firebox and the main chamber. And the note on calibration is a must. Remove the thermometer and stick the probe end in a pot of boiling water. If you're at sea level it should read close to 212°, if your living where I do its closer to 198°.

[stevemiller]

This is a side by side with no damper in between the chambers. using the air and chimney baffle at what adjustments would i get the most heat inside

[DATsBBQ]

Don't know what you mean by a side-by-side. Is it the offset in your Avatar? Most heat, in any smoker is when there is there is the most combustion air (draft) meaning all vents wide open.

Check you exhaust stack for blockage -friend of mine once has a hornets nest in one. Clogged it up good.

A small hot fire is better than a big smoldering one.

[stevemiller]

Thank you for your help. when i tried the wood fire it worked best,This was before I lowered the thermometer and I got up to 200. We do not have much smoking wood herein MT. We do have cottonwood, what do ya think of that for heat then use other wood for flavor

[DATsBBQ]

Try some Lump Charcoal. Cottonwood, good for clogging up creeks and air filters depending on which part of it obeying the law of gravity. You should be able to score some hardwood scraps from firewood dealers. Oak is my favorite, hickory will work too.

Getting back to the thermometer. It should have a little nut on the back of it next to the display assemble. That is the adjustment nut. If you haven't calibrated it, do so. If it doesn't have a nut, throw it out and buy one that does. I check mine 4 times a year.

[stevemiller]

I have raised the grate in the fire box to get more air. Will that help. When I got this it was put together and I put it on my little trailer to go home. When I got home the fire side door was gone. I ordered one but it will be three weeks. I made one for now.How big should the air inlet be on this? I have A 2inx 2in hole that I can cut down to about 3/4x1in hole

[DATsBBQ]

I have raised the grate in the fire box to get more air. Will that help. When I got this it was put together and I put it on my little trailer to go home. When I got home the fire side door was gone. I ordered one but it will be three weeks. I made one for now.How big should the air inlet be on this? I have A 2inx 2in hole that I can cut down to about 3/4x1in hole

Beyond the scope of my expertise. Hopefully one of the pit builders can add to this discussion.

[JamesB]

On that size pit, assuming it's the one in your avatar, the 2 x 2 intake should be enough if your burning briquettes or lump charcoal... If in doubt, you should be able to crack the firebox door open just a bit for added intake air. Back in my Brinkman Smoke n Pit days (about the size of your BBQ Pro), I always used briquettes for my heat source and chunks of wood for smoke.

As mentioned, intake wide open (crack the door open if necc.), exhaust stack wide open etc... If this is not working for you, even after you have verified the accuracy of your thermometer, please take numerous pics of your pit. Inside, outside, where the firebox/cook chamber mate... Use something like a dollar bill that we can use as a size reference in the pics. Maybe we help figure out your issues if we can actually see what your cooking on.

[Toontroller]

Steve if the pit in question is indeed the one in your picture the first thing I noticed is the smoke stack looks awfully short to get a good draw going through the pit too move heat and keep the firebox running hot. A quick trip to a local muffler shop could get a 2 or 3 foot piece to slip over the existing stack and get things moving the way they need to. Second question is how far into the cooking chamber does the current stack hang down?

[stevemiller]

THANKS COWBOY. THE STACK STOPS AT THE TOP I WAS WONDERING IF A LONGER PIPE WOULD HELP IT DRAW BETTER.I WAS WONDERING ALSO ABOUT GOING TO 4IN , AND GOING FROM THE SIDE(I FOUND THIS ON THIS SIGHT) I AM TRYING TO USE WOOD THAT IS AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA FOR HEATING THE THING.HAVE TRIED ALDER AND FOUND IT STRONG TASTING. I HAVE READ IT IS MILD,COULD THIS BE NOT ENOUGH CIRCULATION WHAT ABOUT COTTONWOOD? HAVE I TUCKERED YOU OUT YET? THANK YOU

[Toontroller]

Here is what I would try first;

Extend the stack, for a test whatever you have handy thats close to the same outside diameter as what on the pit now that could be slipped over for an extension. may take a foot maybe 2 or 3 it's hard to tell until you look at the temps with it running.

Inside the pit find something to extend the stack close to cooking level. This will force the heat down, to fill up the cooking chamber before exiting. I would not start cutting and welding or enlarging the stack just yet, first see if a longer stack will fix it.

[BluDawg]

Steve I think that the temp. problem that you are experiencing has a lot to do with the air supply to your fire. I'm not familiar with your pit so I will give you some general guidelines that may help. 1)make sure that your fuel hasn't drawn any dampness.2) Build yourself a charcoal basket to raise your fire to the middle of the air stream so there is sufficient circulation around and through the fire. 3)Up there in the "Big Sky Country" you are at a much higher elevation and the air is thinner: thinner air is consumed faster and may not be supporting combustion at the slower burn rate That would explain why the Alder wood had strong flavors. If the smoke is thick and billowy then you haven't got enough air. there are a couple of things that you can try to speed up the air flow, extend your stack("size matters") the longer the tube the more draw you will have, also add a little more air at the intake side especially when starting your fire' open the air intake intake WFO then throttle it back as your temps raise. Hope this Helps. Good Luck.