Lori Hunt wrote:

> Q: Did I pre-burn and get the fire glowing red first?
> A: No. In retrospect, that would probably help out with the
> temperature eveness issue. It's a lot easier to keep a large fire
> burning than it is to maintain a small one. Right now the smokers are
> setting on the deck, which doesn't encourage fire pits. I may try
> setting up the wood smoker out in the back yard with a fire pit next
> to it so all I have to do is shovel coals in from the fire pit.

Even small chunks of wood will generate a fair bit of heat until
they burn down, so this alone could be what was driving you crazy
with temperature variation. Be warned - I'm still learning and
my technique may turn out to be terrible, or I may change it. But
this is what I do right now...

My technique with lump is to get a 'proper' fire started, this is
usually a chimney-full, get the pit stabilized around the temperature
I want with the firebox damper around 2/3 open. The first time or two
you do this, you might want to not fill the chimney all the way,
maybe just half-way, so you don't have a fire that's too big to
start with. If the fire is way too big, you'll go nuts trying to
damp it down with the firebox damper, then opening the damper
and watching the temperature start shooting up again. Worse yet,
you can end up with a smoldering fire. Suppose I'm shooting for a
200-225 temperature, I aim for a fire with the damper mostly open
that might be as high as 240-250 and drops gradually.

So, when the fire is little too low, say, when it starts to
get down to 200, I'll add a lump or two to the fire and wait
a while to see where the temperature ends up at. I don't stand
there and watch it, I usually set a timer for 10 minutes or so.
I like to see the fire run back up around the high point, say
240-250 and then I leave it alone until it drops to the low end
of the range.

Once I get accustomed to about how much lump I need to
add periodically, I probably have to tend the fire every
hour or a little longer. Don't drive yourself nuts watching
the temperature gauge; if I'm aiming at 225, then 200-250 is
a fair range. I don't mess with the firebox damper at all,
just let the fire cycle up and down over time.

My personal suggestion for a fire that's getting away,
say more than 50F above the 'median' temperature and won't
come under control with the damper is to simply remove some
fuel from it (use your chimney maybe or a little weber-style
grill to hold the burning lump/wood).


SE TN is beautiful!

Cheers,
Dana