normstar Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Hi All, I still can't get my low temp cooking to work. Last night I put on a 7lb pork butt and wanted to cook it overnight and I woke up this morning with the fire out! Here's what I did, I would GREATLY appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on how to get my KK stable in Low and Slow mode. Basket full of Mesquite, all sized chunks. Lit a Softball sized spot on one side; pulled open lower draft door and opened top vent 2+ turns. When temp hit 300 (from the direct heat hitting the dome thermometer, I realize this is probably overstated), I closed the top vent to 1/2 turn and moved the bottom vent so that it was open about 1/4". Waited 15 minutes and then reduced the bottom vent to "Open the size of a 2 Quarters!" (I am beginning to hate this proverbial quarters). 30 minutes later the temp was 200 at the Dome and 246 at the top grate level. I reduced the lower vent to Open One Quarter size.; I also closed the top vent an inch or two, so now it is Open 1/3-1/4 turn. Temp dropped to about 240 over the next 20-30 minutes and seemed pretty stable, so I went to bed. Woke up this morning and the fire was out! I'm wondering, did I close the Top Vent too much? Or was the bottom vent not open enough? I'm frustrated and would appreciate all help and suggestions. Happy New Year!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 My first reaction is to ask, why are you letting your fire get so hot just to put it out? Have you cleaned out your ash recently? Light your fire as stated, but set the bottom vent at the one quarter size opening, the top vent no more than 1/2 turn. Let the fire come up slowly, when the temp gets about where you want it, close the top to about 1/4 turn. Make fine adjustments with the top vent. Be patient!! Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Thanks Robert, I'm definitely not patient. I've tried that before and the fire always seems to go out - meaning 45 minutes later the dome thermometer has not budged and it appears to be out. Maybe I need to wait longer, I'll try that technique again. Lastly, I vacuum out the ashes with a shopvac every cook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I light my fire in the middle, and maybe light a bit more coal? Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I'll try lighting in the middle. I'm cooking a Prime Rib tonight and am planning to do it at 275, so I will try this same technique to start the fire. Thank you Robert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Light your fire this afternoon, give yourself PLENTY of time to stablize, that way you're not chasing a specific temp all over the place. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Whenever analyzing temperature I was go back to the basics, combustion is fuel and oxygen. Charcoal is hygroscopic meaning it will absorbs moisture easily even from the humidity in the air. If charcoal is wet, it is easily noticeable because the cook stalls when it hits just over 200° as the moisture turns to vapor. This vapor can also easily be felt by your hands above the damper top and often seen condensing around the collar. Because the problems with charcoal are few and easy to troubleshoot, problems are almost always airflow. The most common airflow problem is created by very small pieces of charcoal and powder being poured from the bag into the charcoal basket. These smalls in a large basket will absolutely cut off your airflow and make a low volume airflow/ low temperature cook impossible. The problem with lump charcoal is that the small branches are over carbonized become very brittle and crumble, filling the bottom of the bag with smalls and powder that will absolutely kill your airflow. I recommend never pouring these into the charcoal basket. In fact for a high temperature cook, I fill the middle of the basket with my largest pieces, and place all the medium pieces around the outside. If I decide I need to use the smalls, I only pour them against refractory cement at the very outside of the basket, never near/in the middle. Another culprit can be ash from previous burns/cooks, it's important to always grab the charcoal basket's handles and give it a good shake before every cook. Not only does the good shake removed ash but it also settles the charcoal so more surfaces are touching this helps when one piece needs to burn into the next. I always put my hands around the edge of the damper top to make sure I can feel some heat/airflow. If you can feel hot air leaving the grill, your charcoal will not go out.. so please always remember that temperature is airflow. My favorite toy for airflow is of course a cheap hairdryer.. As as long as you have shaken the ash out of your charcoal you can blow air down the handles to get things going on a slow burn..even with the heat deflector, drip pan on the lower grill installed .. Nothing is better than a hairdryer, if you want to get things going and raise your temperature.. It can take you from zero to high temp grilling in minutes. The extruded coconut shell charcoal is very dense and needs a lot of heat for ignition. If you lite a small piece of lump charcoal, the size of a walnut and then hit it with a hairdryer, it will glow madly give off enough heat to easily ignite/lite the dense coconut shell charcoal. When you're having problems please always feel free to give me a call... Four two Four 270-1948. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Uhh, what he said!! Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 My solution for stable temperature control on long, low & slow cooks - http://www.thebbqguru.com/index.html Owned mine for well over 6 years. Just like buying the KK, never looked back or regretted spending the money. Used it just last night to cook a 7.5lb bone-in, pork butt. Set up the grill/guru @ 3:30pm, butt went on @ 5pm, went to bed @ 10:30pm, KK was rock steady @ 250F, woke up this morning @ 7am, grill still dead on @ 250F and had hit my target meat temperature of 195F. Had a yummy pulled pork omelet for breakfast!! As the English say - "Easy, Peasy!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I would second the guru or stoker for long or overnite especially....I dont always use it....except overnight..... Also, I light at least two spots for a low and slow, both to ensure I stay lit, and to give me two spots for smoking wood.... I let my fire go pretty open up to temp to make sure I am lit, but not beyond, then I dial back to my settings of barely cracked top and bottom.... don't rush the lighting of a low and slow...give yourself at least an hour to ensure stability...preferably two hours..... HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I do love my cyber q wifi. While it's not necessary, it takes the guesswork out of lighting, and maintaining a fire. Plus I love the tech aspect of it. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwalters Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I would second the guru or stoker for long or overnite especially....I dont always use it....except overnight..... Also' date=' I light at least two spots for a low and slow, both to ensure I stay lit, and to give me two spots for smoking wood.... I let my fire go pretty open up to temp to make sure I am lit, but not beyond, then I dial back to my settings of barely cracked top and bottom.... don't rush the lighting of a low and slow...give yourself at least an hour to ensure stability...preferably two hours..... HTH[/quote']from my experiences, I strongly agree with lighting in two spots...taking your kamado close to your desired temp and shutting vents down to allow it to slowly creep up to desired temp. Once there...let it sit there for awhile until you are nice and heat soaked. You should have a very nice and stable fire going at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan8v Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I do love my cyber q wifi. While it's not necessary' date=' it takes the guesswork out of lighting, and maintaining a fire. Plus I love the tech aspect of it. Robert[/quote'] Robert, Out of curiosity:: What size KK do you have? What size BBQ Guru blower are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I have a 23", and use the 10 cfm pit viper. This will probably work with all kk's, unless you're getting a 32", then maybe a 25 cfm, but that may be a question for Dennis, or the guru people, or maybe a current 32" owner already using a guru. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan8v Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 That's good to know. BBQ guru recommends the 10 CFM blower for the 32" as well. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 I've got a 32 and use the Pit Viper 10 CFM in conjunction with the CyberQ WiFi. Works great. Easy peasy temp control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
