by All Weather Griller » 23 Jan 2011, 16:58
Hi Pete,
There is a good chance that you have a few leaks especially around the doors on those things. I got a good tip from the BBQ Legend that is Johnny Trigg and he suggested that you need to seal the doors on these offsets.
The plan is:
1. Use heavy duty axle grease around the outside of the grill chamber access door.
2. Use high heat silicon sealant and apply a generous bead to the body of the smoker around the opening for the main cooking chamber.
3. Close the lid tight and leave for over 24 hours, the grease will prevent the lid sticking to the body but provide you with a perfect seal.
Another thing to check is the quality of your fuel. There are a number of people on here that use Offsets both R/F and Straight Through so you should be able to expect some responses soon.
Can you outline what you did step by step, so they can compare notes. Just detail which fuel you used, how you lit, what the quantities were and also what the weather was like and where the smoker is located i.e sheltered in wind etc.
You also need to be aware that the thermometers on those things are seldom accurate. In fact even on top models you can find they are out by 30-40*f my weber probe is consistently out by 40*f, if you can try to check it and if possible calibrate it.
Welcome to the forum, I hope we can help.
Cheers
Adie