The Texas BBQ Forum

k.a.m. wrote:If you are running an offset with an over sized exhaust then trimming your temps with the exhaust damper is a preferred method. Most offsets do not run over sized exhausts and I have never seen a store bought smoker that has one usually they are undersized in my opinion. These cookers should always be run with the exhaust wide open and control your temps with the intake for a cleaner burning fire.

Agree with KAM here, it depends on the size of the stack and true most (but not all) have a chimney too small so wide open is correct but there a lot of ways to cook, I do run charcoal, either lump or briquets with wood chunks in my offset with a basket. Mine runs with the intake about 1/8 of an inch open now to about 1/4 in open on chimney and will run around 6 to 7 hours @ 250-300 on 15lbs of charcoal plus a couple good size lumps or one small stick. It doesnt even smoke (that i can see) after the first hour yet it always produces a very nice natural smoke ring on my briskets.
Strafer, should really try your best to plug the leaks, it will work much better and less fuel, keep trying and you will eventually get it dialed in and be successful.

Well I guess there are some offsets cookers out there with oversized exhaust stacks. I personally aint never seen one but have seen stranger things on bbq pits! As others have correctly said, always keep the exhaust wide open on offset cookers and most others too IMHO. The exhaust creates the draw. You choke down the draw and the fire cant burn clean. That makes creosote which is that black shiny tarry stuff that buils up on the inside of a cooker. It like puttin tar pitch on yer barbeque...not good eats.

Now one thing here that aint been discussed and we cant really tell from the pic & that is where is the exhaust stack on the INSIDE of the pit. It should be offset with the cookin rack for optimum performance. Meaning the rack level should split the exhaust exit. if the exhaust is higher than the cookin racks then heat flow is elavated in the pit and will require more fuel to cook. This dont apply to reverse flow cookers as there are different dynamics involved in the heat flow. But for cookers like that in the pic, the above exhaust location should be used. Sometimes you can extend the exhaust intake lower by using a heater vent pipe for an extension and get the exhaust intake down to the grate level. Lowes, Home depot or most any hardware store will carry em.

I have built a few cookers as well as refurbished my fare share to know that if a cooker is well built with proper intake, firebox to cooking chamber opening, and exhaust size along with good sealed doors anywhere from grate height to the top of the chamber works just fine. Now if your cooker leaks like a seive then a lower exhaust helps with performance.
These are just my thoughts.

K.A.M., I could use your expertise for precisely that firebox to cooking chamber part of the equation.

Is the Feldons BBQ calculator the standard I should use?

DUDE WHAT PART OF MICH. are you from like the man said run your pit with the damp. wide open the idea is to kiss the meat with smoke so you don`t smother the taste of the meat

Strafer wrote:Well dang it Red how can you have smoky taste without no dang smoke?

You'll get plenty of smoke from the draft across the meat... Choking the damper down will give you "stale smoke", which basically means it's not flowing, you're just accumulating a back log of it in the chamber. Thats a good way to end up with over smoked and bitter food.