How to manage heat in side smoker

Jerry, here's some answers for a fellow that's fairly new to SFB smokers also....

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206820

There's a right good easy to follow video there too......check thru those posts & then ask more ?'s too !!!


it takes a bit to get the hang of it, but there will be always someone who's had the same problems, figured out novel solutions, or will explain things in just the right way that makes sense to you......lots of experience here......

Possible the ribs might have been a little close to the firebox end?


I get a little dark or char sometimes too (different kind of cooker) and to combat that, set it on some foil 1/2 way thru the cook.......just open so they still get nice color, but the bottom probably won't char.....

In that post & also the video, too much, not enough, the right kind, and how to get there, etc. are all disscussed....

What smoker do you have? Are you using any tuning plates? And how were you determining your temperatures? Were you going by the thermometer that came with the smoker?

The cheaper offset cookers vary wildly in temps from one side to the other. What said 225 in the middle of the grill, up off the grate, was probably 275 - 350 next to the firebox. Setting up a baffle and some tuning plates could help you even out your temps a lot

Also, what was your fuel source? Were you using charcoal or wood splits? These grills thrive on hardwood. They will gobble charcoal all day and vary more in temp than if you just feed it one nice sized log every 45 minutes or so.

As to your clean fire question, you'll want to build some sort of grate to keep your fire elevated off the bottom of the firebox by at least 2-3 inches so it can breath better. Your desired end result is thin to invisible blue smoke. Thick white smoke makes for gross BBQ.

You want to smell the smoke not see it or see very little. You only need a small hot fire, start with a bed of hot Lump charcoal and1-2 splits to start out then add a split that you preheated on the fire box to maintain that small hot fire as you temp drops. Don't worry about trying to maintain a specific temp cook in a zone +/- 25 deg and add your split when the temp drops to the bottom of the zone. Keep the exhaust damper wide open and control the temp with the intake damper. Offsets need to breath to draft well cool air in and hot air out. The scorching of your ribs my guess is there is a hot spot you need a baffle at the FB/ Oven opening and your if cooking a little close to the fire box with out it.