Alright… I’ve grilled for years and I still don’t understand this. Please help
What does this thing actually do beside choke my flame? Should I preheat the grill with this open or closed? And what does wide open mean vs closed’ish??
by Kindofdisappointed
18 Comments
muerte626
Think of the bottom vents as your gas. And the top vents as your brakes.
Middle_Pineapple_898
Wide open unless you want to lower the temp or smoke
xxartbqxx
I keep it fully open when grilling and close it completely when I’m done. I don’t smoke in my kettle, but it I did, I might consider using it to control low and slow cooking.
Simms623
It’s the exhaust, I always keep it open all the way until I’m done. If I need to control the temperature then I use the ash sweep on the bottom of the kettle.
gorbrickon
I cook wide open most of the time unless im trying to throttle the heat down. ie: smoking a pork butt, in that case im monitoring temp and closing off the top vent somewhat…not all the way
SnakeBlitzkin
Assuming this isn’t a troll post:
1. Typically you get your coals going at the level you want before you close the lid. Don’t start your coals with the lid closed. Ensure the bottom vent is full open.
2. Once your coals are started, close the lid and use the top and bottom vent to regulate air flow. The more open it is, the more air flow, the hotter your grill will be. I usually keep my top vent full open and adjust the bottom vent first. When its time to really nail the temperature, I tweak the top vent.
3. You can achieve almost any temperature you want in a Weber using the vents + amount of fuel. Low and slow, you use less fuel and keep the vents almost closed. You want high heat, use more fuel and open both vents fully.
Remember, It’s all about air flow. Fire needs oxygen to burn, so the more oxygen you allow, the hotter your grill will become.
If this is a troll post, cheers.
STRYED0R
Top is fine tuning of the bottom.
Often I have the bottom set for a cook, and if it’s a longer cook, I may close the top more than usual, and as fire loses heat, I increasingly open it.
BuddyEbsenSalt
I don’t think I’ve ever closed the top vent unless I was trying to extinguish the fire.
Steiney1
Get a simple $5.99 oven thermometer and set it in the middle and experiment. You’ll find it’s just easy to control the temp exactly how you want with little effort.
Heimdallr109
TLDR: bottom vent is your primary control for airflow and therefore temp. Top vent is secondary, used for fine tuning. Can also close top vent a bit to let smoke accumulate inside when used as a smoker. I never close more than halfway.
THE DEETS: Air comes in the bottom first, so that’s your primary control to feed the charcoal some air.
Hot air rises, so it goes up through your coals, heats up, and needs to go somewhere – that would be your lid.
When you leave the too vent open, it can flow out freely. In doing so, it “pulls” more air up from the bottom, creating more continuous air flow and stoking a hotter fire.
Alternatively you can start to close the top vent a little at a time to create a bit of back pressure. This can create a small bump in heat but it will probably drop soon after because you’re not allowing air to move freely. As you mentioned, it chokes your fire a bit. However, it’s great for fine-tuning the temperature and I use it a lot specifically when smoking, so the smoke can accumulate and linger more before blowing out.
Always leave top vent at least partially open; i never really close more than halfway.
Hope that helps stranger!
aqwn
Top vent fully open. Control airflow with the bottom. Close both vents fully when you want to extinguish it. Same goes for the Weber Smokey Mountain
Thanks for all the advice yall! What a great community
borneol
It’s like your oven. Bottom vent is the glowing heat element. More open the hotter. Top vent is like your oven door. If you open it heat escapes. More closed the hotter inside upper layers. When I’m doing a snake with lower vents wide open, I raise the heat by closing (not completely because my thermometer hangs in it) the upper vent.
Chaz28o
Think of it as fine tuning. You have to figure out when closing down the top makes sense instead decreasing the bottom. It’s important to make sure enough air comes from the bottom so you don’t fade away (burnout) if your top vent is halfway or more closed, open it back up and close the bottom more
18 Comments
Think of the bottom vents as your gas. And the top vents as your brakes.
Wide open unless you want to lower the temp or smoke
I keep it fully open when grilling and close it completely when I’m done. I don’t smoke in my kettle, but it I did, I might consider using it to control low and slow cooking.
It’s the exhaust, I always keep it open all the way until I’m done. If I need to control the temperature then I use the ash sweep on the bottom of the kettle.
I cook wide open most of the time unless im trying to throttle the heat down. ie: smoking a pork butt, in that case im monitoring temp and closing off the top vent somewhat…not all the way
Assuming this isn’t a troll post:
1. Typically you get your coals going at the level you want before you close the lid. Don’t start your coals with the lid closed. Ensure the bottom vent is full open.
2. Once your coals are started, close the lid and use the top and bottom vent to regulate air flow. The more open it is, the more air flow, the hotter your grill will be. I usually keep my top vent full open and adjust the bottom vent first. When its time to really nail the temperature, I tweak the top vent.
3. You can achieve almost any temperature you want in a Weber using the vents + amount of fuel. Low and slow, you use less fuel and keep the vents almost closed. You want high heat, use more fuel and open both vents fully.
Remember, It’s all about air flow. Fire needs oxygen to burn, so the more oxygen you allow, the hotter your grill will become.
If this is a troll post, cheers.
Top is fine tuning of the bottom.
Often I have the bottom set for a cook, and if it’s a longer cook, I may close the top more than usual, and as fire loses heat, I increasingly open it.
I don’t think I’ve ever closed the top vent unless I was trying to extinguish the fire.
Get a simple $5.99 oven thermometer and set it in the middle and experiment. You’ll find it’s just easy to control the temp exactly how you want with little effort.
TLDR: bottom vent is your primary control for airflow and therefore temp. Top vent is secondary, used for fine tuning. Can also close top vent a bit to let smoke accumulate inside when used as a smoker. I never close more than halfway.
THE DEETS:
Air comes in the bottom first, so that’s your primary control to feed the charcoal some air.
Hot air rises, so it goes up through your coals, heats up, and needs to go somewhere – that would be your lid.
When you leave the too vent open, it can flow out freely. In doing so, it “pulls” more air up from the bottom, creating more continuous air flow and stoking a hotter fire.
Alternatively you can start to close the top vent a little at a time to create a bit of back pressure. This can create a small bump in heat but it will probably drop soon after because you’re not allowing air to move freely. As you mentioned, it chokes your fire a bit. However, it’s great for fine-tuning the temperature and I use it a lot specifically when smoking, so the smoke can accumulate and linger more before blowing out.
Always leave top vent at least partially open; i never really close more than halfway.
Hope that helps stranger!
Top vent fully open. Control airflow with the bottom. Close both vents fully when you want to extinguish it. Same goes for the Weber Smokey Mountain
https://preview.redd.it/s4723q4sfuvg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0617b91a2260bccb14f2b9a4158db79320f8c38
Thanks for all the advice yall! What a great community
It’s like your oven. Bottom vent is the glowing heat element. More open the hotter. Top vent is like your oven door. If you open it heat escapes. More closed the hotter inside upper layers. When I’m doing a snake with lower vents wide open, I raise the heat by closing (not completely because my thermometer hangs in it) the upper vent.
Think of it as fine tuning. You have to figure out when closing down the top makes sense instead decreasing the bottom. It’s important to make sure enough air comes from the bottom so you don’t fade away (burnout) if your top vent is halfway or more closed, open it back up and close the bottom more
[https://youtu.be/8r8yePOtoEU](https://youtu.be/8r8yePOtoEU)
Air flow. Open, closed.
Snake method for the charcoal, bottom vent wide open and top vent 1/4 open…225 maintained for 8-10 hours
I leave my bottom vents wide open, use the top to control the temp. A little tap makes a huge difference, just have to learn how much to move it.