Once you achieve the ideal temperature for cooking your meat, try closing this vent slightly to keep the temperature from rising too much and burning the food. Remember that closing this vent too much or too quickly can drop the temperature and even kill the flames.
Regardless of which vent you're messing with, remember that open vents mean hotter and faster-burning charcoal. Closed vents mean less oxygen, which in turn means less heat and slower-burning charcoal. Now that you know about vents, the world—or at least your grill and the small area surrounding it—is yours.
Never fully close your top or bottom vents while cooking. It will smother your coals and leave a foul flavor on your food. Only fully close all vents when shutting down your grill.
To reduce the temperature: Close the vents on your grill to reduce the flow of oxygen. To increase the temperature: Open up the vents fully to allow more oxygen in to increase the flames.
Intake Vent: It has one job – bring in oxygen to control the heat of the fire. If you need to raise the temperature of your unit, open the intake vent. Too much heat, close the intake vent which starves the fire for oxygen.
If the temperature of the smoker is getting too low during the cooking process you will then adjust the air intake damper more open to allow for more air flow to enter the smoking chamber flowing through the charcoal basket helping to fuel the fire and raise the temperature.
This chimney allows for proper ventilation of your smoker during the cook BUT it also plays a major role in temperature consistency. Having your smokestack open at all times allows the stale smoke to leave the smoker, rather than clinging to your meat, which causes that sour taste we all despise.
When you close the lid to the grill, you're creating a convection. That is, the hot air coming from the heat source (gas or charcoal), trapped by the lid and unable to escape, moves around in the chamber you've created. Thus, the closed lid helps the interior of the meat cook through, much like an oven does.
You want to wait until at least 2/3rds of the charcoal lump has turned white and the charcoal has stopped smoking. You can use a charcoal grill tool to move the charcoal around so that it is evenly dispersed throughout the basin for even heating.
Charcoal burns hot and fast with oxygen but you lose more heat with the lid off. Close the lid and open the vents and you'll have plenty of oxygen and then the power of indirect heat.
Most grills require a closed-lid startup.
Key information. Generally the rule of thumb on any smoker is 1/3 to 2/3 of the vent opening of what you'd use for manual control. The top vent acts like a brake on the system. Without the Smartfire forcing air through the top vent will prevent enough air from top feeding the smoker and slow down the fire.
The open vents will draw smoke from the charcoal and wood below so that it swirls over your food and out the top properly, giving you the best ventilation and the cleanest smoke. If the fire gets too hot, close the top vent almost all the way.
The idea is, oxygen helps burning. When the air comes to your charcoal, it brings more oxygen which helps burning. In contrary, when you close the vent, the oxygen supply is cut down, and the heat is, as well, cut down. Therefore, when your grill becomes too hot, close the vent; if you want more heat, open the vent.
If the coals are still black or grey with the flames, they won't be hot enough. Once they glow white hot with a red centre, however, you can use them for direct heat. When they are ash-white – but still very hot – you can use them for cooking in the coals or for indirect heat.
Ignite the kindling and allow the charcoal to ignite. After 15 to 20 minutes, the charcoal should have become an ashy white and started glowing, use heat-resistant gloves to lift the chimney and pour the coals into the basket.
So the main difference between the two is that coal is a mineral and charcoal is the ultimate form of burnt wood.
Open vents allow a greater flow of oxygen, feeding the fire and promoting hotter temperatures. The increased airflow helps the coals burn more vigorously, generating intense heat. This method is particularly effective for achieving a deep, caramelized crust on your grilled food.
Brush your cooking grates clean and adjust your grill for direct, high heat. The best temperature for steaks is 450°F to 500°F. 4. Put your steaks on the grill, close the lid, and set your timer for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your steak.
With the lid open, you get precise control over the heat hitting one surface of your food; with the lid closed, you still have the heat acting on the bottom of the food, but it also picks up heat from the air surrounding it, which can lead to mixed results.
During the cook, just use the flue damper to increase or decrease the airflow through the smoker. If you find the smoker is getting too hot, just close the damper further. If you find the smoker is cooling down too much open the damper up and consider putting more wood in the firebox.
Smokestack Size
In our experience, a stack that is 40 - 50 in. tall will work best for most horizontal offset smokers and the inner diameter of the pipe can be sized proportionally to the draft requirements of the pit.