Newbie questions!

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Newbie questions!

Postby thestraycat » 22 May 2015, 17:45

Hi there everyone, apologies for the long post but i've got a lot of questions! I've been researching over the last 6 months or so but theres a lot of contradicting information out there.. SO thought i'd throw out to anyone with experience of offset's and similar. I've recently acquired an older Cactus Jack offset and have been thoroughly enjoying using it. However getting info in the UK about these things is virtually impossible... even the suppliers havn't responded to me. :)

1. Do people favour a small or large fire in their offset? i've tried both, i find the smaller fires ( 3 parts coal, 1 part wood) run inconsistently with large fluctuations in temp and need more attention. The larger fires a few briquettes deep (1 kettle unlit, half lit on top) run hot and are hard to hold with the dampner and firebox air intake alone. Im entertaining the minion method, in a coal basket, but am a little wary due due to the science involved. Surely if you light the end of the wick and it burns around like a snake, after an hour or so you'll simply have half the box alight as the first coals are still alight.. therefore the temp should increase over time?

2. Has anyone had any luck sourcing coal baskets for their fireboxes? any good contacts? im looking at going down the expanded steel route and a pair of pliers... :)

3. Do a lot of people swear by adding wood to until 145f internal? a lot of references on the web encourage running offsets mainly on wood on top of a coal base. Surely this would over smoke? and if not why not?

4. Do people on the site favour adding a water bowl i understand a lot of the forum member use WSM and similar which have the water bowl? do you use it religiously or just for larger cuts? wondering whether to start or not!

5. Are people fazed by what direction to have their smoker, in regards to wind direction when getting enough air intake into the firebox?

6. Any body modded their offset with a gasket to help with the inevitable smoke leakage around the doors? any good links or leads on gasket tapes kits in the UK (preferably 650f+ tape) im looking at building a slightly better seal to aid temp control. Theres not much leakage but im attributing it to not helping hold solid temps.

7. I've recently been using a cut down apple tree as my wood supply, ive been pretty happy with the results, it's 12 month seasoned and i generally run it in the chimney for 10 minutes before moving to the firebox to burn off any excess moisture and bark, anyone else try this? Chunks can run pretty expensive in an offset...

8. Anyone using a metal diffuser board in the food chamber of there smoker to balance heat in the chamber? im looking into it but was wondering if anyone had any tips that they've used to do it cheaply without having to go to a fabricators to build something up? any tips?

9. Anyone running a blower system on their offset? any views on it? i've been tempted purely for temp control?

10. If any forum members have any posts or photos to link to how they treat the firebox (coal amounts, wood amounts, minion method? etc. ) on the forum that would be awesome!

Cheers for any help you can shed guys. I'm loving the forum so far. It's a great hangout.
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Re: Newbie questions!

Postby jez2775 » 23 May 2015, 07:35

Buy Aaron Franklins book, covers pretty much everything you need to know for cooking on an offset, so should answer most if not all of your questions.
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Re: Newbie questions!

Postby wade » 23 May 2015, 09:00

thestraycat wrote:Hi there everyone, apologies for the long post but i've got a lot of questions! I've been researching over the last 6 months or so but theres a lot of contradicting information out there.. SO thought i'd throw out to anyone with experience of offset's and similar. I've recently acquired an older Cactus Jack offset and have been thoroughly enjoying using it. However getting info in the UK about these things is virtually impossible... even the suppliers havn't responded to me. :)


You need to remember that, although there are wrong ways of smoking, there is no single right way. We all develop our own techniques and find the ways that work for us. Often it is a case of having to try several different suggestions until you find the one that works for you.

thestraycat wrote:1. Do people favour a small or large fire in their offset? i've tried both, i find the smaller fires ( 3 parts coal, 1 part wood) run inconsistently with large fluctuations in temp and need more attention. The larger fires a few briquettes deep (1 kettle unlit, half lit on top) run hot and are hard to hold with the dampner and firebox air intake alone. Im entertaining the minion method, in a coal basket, but am a little wary due due to the science involved. Surely if you light the end of the wick and it burns around like a snake, after an hour or so you'll simply have half the box alight as the first coals are still alight.. therefore the temp should increase over time?


It is not really about small or large fires but more about the best way of controlling the temperature of your cooking chamber. I usually find on my offsets that just lighting a straight fire gives way too much heat. I use one of two methods - both of which are really minion. The first is to place a fire basket in the firebox (similar to the ones in a UDS) and fill it with cold briquettes and wood chunks. Then introduce some lit coals on top or at one end. The other way is to lay a thick snake of briquettes in the firebox and place a few lighted coals at one end. The basket method works best in larger offsets and the snake in smaller.
What you are trying to do is slowly bring up the temperature in your smoking chamber until it reaches temperature and then hold it there for the duration of the smoke. It is easier to raise the temperature in the smoker than it is to lower it again once it has overshot.

thestraycat wrote:2. Has anyone had any luck sourcing coal baskets for their fireboxes? any good contacts? im looking at going down the expanded steel route and a pair of pliers... :)


ebay is probably your best bet. Just search for "Expanded Metal". Make sure that you do not get galvanised though. Stainless steel is great.

thestraycat wrote:3. Do a lot of people swear by adding wood to until 145f internal? a lot of references on the web encourage running offsets mainly on wood on top of a coal base. Surely this would over smoke? and if not why not?


I always use a base of briquettes with pellet or wood laid on the top. I only use Heat Beads now as I find they give no flavour themselves but burn slow and consistently. The flavout is provided by the wood/pellets.

thestraycat wrote:4. Do people on the site favour adding a water bowl i understand a lot of the forum member use WSM and similar which have the water bowl? do you use it religiously or just for larger cuts? wondering whether to start or not!


Water is a matter of personal choice. Before I started to use temperature control systems they did help to regulate the internal temperature of the smoker. For larger joints you may find the water bath beneficial of you smoke the entire time unwrapped. If you foil after the first 3-4 hours then there is not a great deal to be gained from one.

thestraycat wrote:5. Are people fazed by what direction to have their smoker, in regards to wind direction when getting enough air intake into the firebox?


Wind and rain are both your enemies when trying to finely manage your internal temperature. I know that it is not always possible but try to site your smoker out of both the wind and rain. The wind not only affects the heat of the fire but it also is very effective at cooling the cooking chamber. If you cannot avoid the wind then at least try to create baffles by the air intake of your firebox and I find covering the cooking chamber with a welding blanket helps too.

thestraycat wrote:6. Any body modded their offset with a gasket to help with the inevitable smoke leakage around the doors? any good links or leads on gasket tapes kits in the UK (preferably 650f+ tape) im looking at building a slightly better seal to aid temp control. Theres not much leakage but im attributing it to not helping hold solid temps.


Sealing the gaps with stove tape is always a good idea. It is inexpensive and will really help with temperature control. Do this both on the lid of your firebox and also the cooking chamber. http://shop.vitcas.com/stove-thermal-tape-black-15mm-self-adhesive-435-p.asp

thestraycat wrote:7. I've recently been using a cut down apple tree as my wood supply, ive been pretty happy with the results, it's 12 month seasoned and i generally run it in the chimney for 10 minutes before moving to the firebox to burn off any excess moisture and bark, anyone else try this? Chunks can run pretty expensive in an offset...


Some people say that bark can give off flavours however I have never found this to be a problem. I will usually take off any thick bark though but I leave on any thin bark.

thestraycat wrote:8. Anyone using a metal diffuser board in the food chamber of there smoker to balance heat in the chamber? im looking into it but was wondering if anyone had any tips that they've used to do it cheaply without having to go to a fabricators to build something up? any tips?


It is good to have a diffuser immediately inside the heat vents into the cooking chamber. I simply bought a small piece of stainless steel sheet and bent and cut it to loosely fit at an angle in the bottom of the smoking chamber.

thestraycat wrote:9. Anyone running a blower system on their offset? any views on it? i've been tempted purely for temp control?


I use them on several of my kettle smokers and I have tried one recently on my offset. Once you start to use one you will wonder how you ever did without one. When you use them as part of a pellet smoker then you really understand just how controllable smokers can be.

I hope this helps
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Re: Newbie questions!

Postby Kiska95 » 23 May 2015, 09:38

what wade said :D
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