I've had several varieties of kettles including my current Performer. Have been looking at buying a Smokey Joe Platinum for portability. I notice that the vents are on the sides of the grill and actually above the level of the charcoal grate. My other kettles have the vents at the bottom which would seem to be more efficient for air flow. Do the lateral vents have an adverse effect ?
I was hoping that someone with more experience than myself would reply - I've seen Smokey Joe Platinums recommended in threads for tailgating and finishing in competition, so I know that more people than just me like the thing....I highly recommend it. I use mine extensively while I'm in a corporate apartment away from home.
My two cents are that the side vents work fine, and I can keep fairly steady temps (measured at the dome through the top vent) for a couple of hours from under 300 degrees to over 500. I have to watch wind direction though, because I can get more heat than I want if it's windy.
The smallish size of the 18 inch kettle means that I've been experimenting with piling the coals all on one side for indirect cooking, so that I can get the meat further away from the radiating coals when I want to (and directly over them when I'm cooking steaks). Also, piling the coals all in one pile appears to get longer burns without the heat dropping off - I'm not sure why unless there's a critical mass of fuel that's needed to completely burn the coals beyond a certain point.
Thanks for the response - it was helpful. Think I'll try a SJ Platinum. I agree that you do get a slower burn rate when the charcoal is piled rather than spread. I've assumed it was because each briquette was getting less oxygen and therefore burning slower - whatever, that's the way I cook indirect.
