Finished with questions

[Creedt6]

Just finished this vertical reverse flow cabinet, starting to do tests and with no water it'll hold temp for 12+ hours no problem. Now I'm starting to try adding water to pan which holds 8 gallons. Even with a guru it will not go above 210 whatsoever. Do I have any choices use no water or hardly any.

[Big T]

When I first started smoking I always used a water pan and I always fought temperature issues. I finally quit using water and I didn't notice any difference in the moisture of my cook and my temperature problems went away. You could try using less water but I believe it will just boil off and you'll end up with a big temp swing, add more water and the temp drops and so forth so on. I've only saw a couple of commercially built water smokers and they both had a pretty good size firebox, I believe that's what it takes to be able to use a lot of water and not fight the temp swings. jm2cw

[Creedt6]

Yeah that's what happened earlier, drained alittle water off it was 215 came back couple hours later it was 305 with no water. Ain't easy to get an insulated smoker back down after its that high. Gonna have to play with it some more.

[Pete Mazz]

If you're using the water pan as a diffuser you can fill it with sand and cover with some foil to catch the drippings. It'll retain heat and get as hot as you want. Water boils at ~212F and remains at that temp until boiled off. 8 gallons is quite a bit for that sized smoker.

[Rodcrafter]

Yeah what they said. I would just use it as a baffle plate


Making memories!

[Creedt6]

Yeah I think that's what's going on my lower 2 racks run at 210-215 with water and top 2 racks time at 255 where heat comes in. When running no water all 4 racks are within 5 of each other.