On my WSM I leave the top vent open and use the bottom vents to control the top. I don't use my kettle often, but do you use the vents on a kettle in the same manner? Is there ever a reason to do the opposite; close the top and leave the bottom open?

I use the kettle vents the same as WSM vents.
You can close the top to control flare-ups, but I leave it open for the most part.

I also always leave the top vent open on the kettle and control the heat with the bottom vents. I'm definately no expert but I think it would be easier to do it that way as the bottom vents are closer to the coals and since the smoke is rising it has a place to escape?

Clark

I only close the top vent to snuff out the coals, I use the bottom exclusevly to control temps. I find that you need to close the "OneTouch" vent more than you might think to get the heat down sometimes.

Absolutely use the bottom vents to control heat the same as a WSM. If you have a one touch mechanism, it helps to grab a sharpie and mark the opening positions on the outside of the ash catcher. When you are cooking indirect, you'll want to use foil or a foil pan under your meat to keep the kettle clean, and when you do so, it makes it hard to see the openings. Plus, you don't want to remove the lid any more than necessary when cooking indirect.

Tom, et al

Yes you can control the heat by adjusting the bottom vent settings. David's suggestion of marking the ash catcher on the OT Gold is valid. It takes experience to be able to successfully adjust the temps without extinguishing the fire. Playing with both the top and bottom vents in in-experienced hands will generally create heated discussions with the significant other half and end in near divorce.

When I demonstrate the kettle I tell the prospective purchasers (punters) that they should always leave both top and bottom vents completely open and change the amount of heat beads they use to change the temperature. I tell them that if they play with the vents the fire will go out.
The most common complaint/comment that I get is that the fire goes out. My first question is were the heat beads all ashed over before you put the lid on and were both vents completely open. 99% of the time it was the vents.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the minimum bottom vent opening should exceed 5/16" but I can't confirm that. Maybe Joe knows.

Bottom line is be cognisent of the fact that lack of oxygen equates to no fire.

Regards

Thanks, everyone. The tip about marking the1-touch positions is a good one. I am not sure why Weber designed it so the lever doesn't stop at the wide-open point.

i use the lower vents for heat adjusting
especially on long cooks.
flare ups or high temps can be controlled
by the top vent for a quick change but should be mostly left open. i use a mirror to check the lower vents and this works great especially
with the three lower vents. you can also see if the vents are getting plugged by ashes.
what gets me is that both weber and other cook books do state to use the top vent for control and leave the lower ones open. then you read another book and it says the opposite.
so maybe see what works for you.
i choose to use the lower vents for control.

I always leave top vent 100% open. If I'm cooking over high heat I leave the bottom vents 100% open, if cooking indirect I close bottoms to 50%. I too used a Sharpie to mark 0% or closed, 25% open, 50% open, 75% open and 100% open.

And I just realized I forgot to use a foil pan for my indirect cook last night. I hate it when I do that!

quote:

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the minimum bottom vent opening should exceed 5/16" but I can't confirm that.

That isn't the case for me. I can run my kettle with just a sliver opening, less than 1/8". In fact, once charcoal is well lit, I can shut the bottom vent completely and have the fire continue to burn slowly. I don't know if the heat beads you use are different than the charcoal we have in the US, but charcoal going out has never been an issue for me. I have to completely close all top and bottom vents to snuff out a fire.

quote:

That isn't the case for me. I can run my kettle with just a sliver opening, less than 1/8". In fact, once charcoal is well lit, I can shut the bottom vent completely and have the fire continue to burn slowly. I don't know if the heat beads you use are different than the charcoal we have in the US, but charcoal going out has never been an issue for me. I have to completely close all top and bottom vents to snuff out a fire.

Same with mine

quote:

I don't know if the heat beads you use are different than the charcoal we have in the US, but charcoal going out has never been an issue for me. I have to completely close all top and bottom vents to snuff out a fire.

What we use mainlyt is the HeatBead brand of briquettes. Fantastic product - great even burn temperature no smell or toxic binders and clean ash. They have a consistant size so you can always use the same amount and get the same temps.
They have no association with Weber but I recommend them to anyone who purchases a kettle.

I am in the middle of cooking Char Sui pork on the performer now so I will try closing the bottom vent after I finish and see what happens.

Regards

I always control heat with the lower vent and leave the top vent open, unless I already have the lower vent completely closed and still need less heat (eg on long slow cooks).

There seems to be enough air leakage around the vanes due to ash buildup that the fire still burns fine with lower vent closed.

Closing the top vent and the lower vent puts the fire out.

Maybe the idea of closing the top vent is to "keep the smoke in" but I find there's more than enough smoke even with the top vent open.

quote:

I am in the middle of cooking Char Sui pork on the performer now so I will try closing the bottom vent after I finish and see what happens.

Well I closed the bottom vents completely and the temps dropped down and continued to drop the heat beads did eventialy go out without burning completely. If there was a small gap I beleive that they would have been OK with a 1/8 - 1/4" gap.
I guess I will have to play some more.
Thanks for the info.

Regards