Vent wheel question

[Bearded]

I know you all have told me before that my vent wheel shouldn't stick too much.....but...it does and it is pretty bad at times.

If I get the grill up to 450-500 it moves like butter. Lol.

But when it's cold or cooking at 225-275 it can really stick hard. As you can see in the photos I need to whack it a bit with my spatula to get it moving again to adjust.

I notice most pics of others "cookers" their vent wheel is nowhere near as discolored as mine either. You can also see the hard smoke deposits under the vent holes.

My question. Is this common? I have tried to spray cleaner and wipe it when I had it roaring hot but not much success. What can I do?

It was mentioned to use a fishline under it but the deposits are hard enough that it doesn't do much.

I am thinking of drilling out the rivet and replacing it with a screw and wing nut. This will allow me to blade scrap it clean every so often.

Thoughts? Have others done this? Regrets? Issues with a lesser seal?

Why does mine get so sticky and discolored?

Thanks for any tips and advice or insights you can provide.

Also this is all after only 5 cooks in the 225-275 range and one short cook at 450-500. I bought the grill brand new.

[HoosierKettle]

Interesting. Mine don’t look like that after years of use so I’m not sure what the difference is


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[sonofabutcher]

How many  wood chunks do you normally use per cook ?


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[Kneab]

How are you controlling your smoking temps with the top or bottom vent?
How much wood are you using when you are smoking?

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[bamakettles]

Take it out in the yard with a garden hose and an SOS pad.  Most of that should come off.  Turn the vent slowly while scrubbing so you get the junk on the actual lid between the holes.  I actually did this yesterday- see my “Inspirational Kettle” post.  It cleaned up nicely, vent goop included.  And I agree with others, that’s a lot of goop for 5 cooks.  Might want to keep it open and control temps with the lower intake vents.


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[Bearded]

So I typically keep the top vent at about 1/3 and the bottom at 1/4. I try and do almost all of my adjustments from the bottom vent. If temps start to bottom out or spike I may adjust the top vent a small amount but I tap the bottom first to try and reign it in.

As far as amount of wood. I use the SnS on the opposite side of the vent loaded and lit their recommended way. I then add about 5 chunks across the top of the SnS, one on the lit part and the rest spread out across the unlit coals. For a 4 hour smoke before wrapping, I may add another chunck or two around hour 2.

[Bearded]

I'll give this a try tomorrow. Do you scrub the underside of the wheel as well I assume.

I'll let you know how this goes. This may just leave  between the porcelain and behind the wheel that isn't accessible. Hopefully it's not super gunked up too.

Take it out in the yard with a garden hose and an SOS pad.  Most of that should come off.  Turn the vent slowly while scrubbing so you get the junk on the actual lid between the holes.  I actually did this yesterday- see my “Inspirational Kettle” post.  It cleaned up nicely, vent goop included.  And I agree with others, that’s a lot of goop for 5 cooks.  Might want to keep it open and control temps with the lower intake vents.


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[Kneab]

Try top vent wide open and control your smoking temps with the bottom vent. If you don't run the top vent fully open you will have smoke that contains a lot of creosote. Also 4 chunks of wood should be plenty of smoke.


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[sonofabutcher]

So I typically keep the top vent at about 1/3 and the bottom at 1/4. I try and do almost all of my adjustments from the bottom vent. If temps start to bottom out or spike I may adjust the top vent a small amount but I tap the bottom first to try and reign it in.

As far as amount of wood. I use the SnS on the opposite side of the vent loaded and lit their recommended way. I then add about 5 chunks across the top of the SnS, one on the lit part and the rest spread out across the unlit coals. For a 4 hour smoke before wrapping, I may add another chunck or two around hour 2.

  5-6 chunks is what is causing the build up. 3-4 chunks is all you need . Most of the time I’ll use 2-3 and get plenty of smoke flavor.


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[HoosierKettle]

Hell I can still see porcelain on my 26 with the top vent closed. Maybe some of those vents fit tighter. Either way I have seen discolored vents on here frequently and you would think I would have done it accidentally at some point through the years but mine never get that heavy discoloration. Just used it tonight for thighs.




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[Bearded]

Good to know on the wood chunk need. These 5 cooks have been my first with smoking and charcoal so it was a lot of guessing. [emoji854]

I will lower my chunks to 3 or 4 spread out.

@kneab I will also try to run top fully open next smoke. Is it fair to say most of the temp control is from the intake?

(Also is my tagging people working? It doesn't make their name a hyperlink on my side.)

[sonofabutcher]

Wood goes along way depending on what you’re cooking. Chicken and fish take smoke really well , so I’ll use one chunk of fruit wood . Bigger meats I’ll use 2-3 chunks . It’s all trial and error and part of the fun. Scale it back and experiment. Most will tell you to use smoke as a slight flavor enhancer with the meat and rub. Balance of flavor is key.


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[michaelmilitello]

If you use water in your slow and sear for lns cooks, it’s not hard to get bad smoke stains on the vents.  The water makes the smoke stick.   Wind blows it off onto the vent. 


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[Bearded]

I do keep the water reservoir full for the cook.

If you use water in your slow and sear for lns cooks, it’s not hard to get bad smoke stains on the vents.  The water makes the smoke stick.   Wind blows it off onto the vent. 


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[Filibuster]

   How much sauce are you using and when do you apply it? When I use a sauce I apply it for the last ten/fifteen minutes of the cook.

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