Trouble regulating temperature in high winds

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BuffaloBBQ

Cook
Joined
Sep 2, 2013
Messages
62
Location
Buffalo, NY
Not sure what I did wrong...

I was cooking up a rack of baby backs yesterday, and was having alot of trouble keeping a constant temperature in high wind conditions. Kept adding coals, thought I plugged all leaks, closed vents mostly...

Any advice?
 
Need more info on that. What kind of cooker and what kind of temp problems? high, low, both?
 
You don't often hear of temps too low on a kettle grill. Having the vents closed wouldn't help you, though. With plenty of fuel, a good running grill or smoker should run hotter with the vents open, especially on a windy day. That fire needs oxygen. If you had to keep adding coals, maybe to didn't have enough to get your temp to begin with? Either that or the coals were burning too slow for lack of air, if you sealed your grill too much from the wind. I'm just guessing here though. There's some smarter guys here can probably give you better advice.
 
Thanks, guys! When the coals burn off in my grill, there's no way for me to clean the ashes while cooking. I believe this too can affect the temperature by choking off the air to the coals.
Anything you guys can suggest?
 
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Just the other day I watched a video on this forum from the wolfe pit, he did an 11 hour cook (pork butt) on a kettle grill with one batch of coals. ran 325 the whole time.
 
Eggxactly on the dead ashes. Its a heat killer. Got to keep em cleaned out so the fire can get some air. Lump can help to give less ash to deal with..but even lump has to have the dead soldiers cleared out. That is a good first thing to check when the heat drops. Is usually the culprit.
 
Eggxactly on the dead ashes. Its a heat killer. Got to keep em cleaned out so the fire can get some air. Lump can help to give less ash to deal with..but even lump has to have the dead soldiers cleared out. That is a good first thing to check when the heat drops. Is usually the culprit.

There's my question: how do I clear out the ashes? My grill doesn't have a mechanism to do that. Any suggestions?
 
Eggxactly on the dead ashes. Its a heat killer. Got to keep em cleaned out so the fire can get some air. Lump can help to give less ash to deal with..but even lump has to have the dead soldiers cleared out. That is a good first thing to check when the heat drops. Is usually the culprit.
That, plus, can you set up the grill downwind/in the shelter of SOMETHING? On the downwind side of the house, downwind of the car or truck? Set up some sort of a wind screen, etc?
 
Well ok its either losing heat to the wind..which I cant imagine on a kettle..or its something else. I cant quite decide..hmmm. Now high wind can sure knock R2D2 water smokers right in the head on the heat production. Cant imagine the same problem on a kettle..but then I aint never had the pleasure to own one..though I do have a lid which fits one.
 
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