Mine runs cooler than most from what I’ve seen. It’ll get as low as the 220s during a cook and usually top out in the 270s unless I intervene to spike the temp.
This is about consistent with what I see. It'll go to about 300's right after the initial light-up. Go back to about 270 after 45min. It'll hold at about 270 for next hour and then slowly creep down to about 220s after 3~3.5 hours.
It's pretty frustrating to see mid 200's just as I'm hitting the stall. I always end up with coals that is NOT burnt, especially away from the bottom vent.
I've been experimenting with few things including:
-Turning the charcoal holder 180 degrees about 2 hours in. (I got a temp spike from 220 to 300 when I did this last time. )
-lighting only 2/3 rd of the charcoal away from the vent with my lighter fluid .
-Using a lightin chimney and putting lit coals away from the vent.
I can't seem to get consistent results. Interestead to know if anyone else has a reliable routine.