Can't seem to get temps up

[josh18t]

Hi guys, I've recently finished building a drum smoker with a firebox underneath. I wanted to do a quick test today to see if I can get it to the right temps but Im having some problems.

I filled a charcoal starter almost to the top and emptied the coals when white into the firebox and the temp went to 165f. Shortly after the temps started going down so i added a couple of unlit coals and stoked it a bit. It then crept up to 181f but then dropped again.

Its pretty windy so i put a large piece of carpet loosely over the cooking chamber, added a few more unlit coals, stoked again and left it but now its just sitting at 149f and has been for a while.

I have the air inlet on the firebox fully open and the exhaust from the cooking chamber is mostly covered. Im probably missing something obvious but Im a newbie so have no idea.

Any help would be great.

[josh18t]

Thanks for that I added another starter full of hot coals, a chunk of wood and opened the exhaust fully and it shot up. I closed the air inlet to 1/4 closed when it got to 225f but it's up to 264f now.

Do you have any tips for lowering temps and keeping them stable?

[mowse73]

Right now with those temps it would be a perfect time to start seasoning your cooker. Spray the inside of the cooking chamber with Pam or any cheap aerosol cooking oil and cover everything with it. get the temps up then let the cooker slowly cool down then respray and bring the heat up again. I think the timing is perfect as you are working out how to control the temps anyway. You could also just rub the chambers interior down with lard.
Doc

Hi Doc thx for that tip, i did not know about that. Do you you need to do this with a bullet smoker?

Sory for Hijacking your post Josh.

[mowse73]

Hi Doc thx for that tip, i did not know about that. Do you you need to do this with a bullet smoker?

Sory for Hijacking your post Josh.

Not usually, seasoning is mostly used for pits that are raw steel to keep them from rusting but if your bullet leaks then it's a great way of sealing it up.

Doc

Thx Doc