ProQ BBQ Smokers - BBQ Basics - Waterpan Theory - Video Manual - Part 12

Full Manual Here:
proqsmokers.co.uk/blogs/tips-...
The water pan is the real secret to stable temperatures in your BBQ smoker, you can get several hours of consistent cooking time with the waterpan in & the vents set right.
Water - 220-250°F /104-120°C
Water in the pan will act as a temperature limiter, if your fire is set up well, and you have water in the pan, your smoker won’t run over 110°C/225°F. This is a nice easy setup if you don’t want to fiddle with the vents too much and you have the time to sit back and let the smoker do its thing.
Tips
- Start with hot water - around 4L, this will speed the smoker warm up time significantly.
- Check your smoker every 3-4 hours, you may need to top up the water from time to time, if the pan goes dry, your temperature will rise quite quickly.
- Improve fuel efficiency by starting with all 4 vents open and just closing off one of the bottom vents once you’ve reached your desired temperature.
- Put the water pan in the first stacker before filling to avoid spilling water into the fire.
Dry Baffles - 220-400°F /104-200°C
Dry deflector methods are simple to set up but might require a little more attention as it’s possible for the temperature to overshoot. With a dry baffle, the temperature is controlled using the vents to regulate airflow to the fire.
One of the main upsides of these methods is you can achieve a greater range of temperatures - they can be used for both hot’n fast or low’n slow. You also don’t have to worry about the water evaporating from the pan.
There are a variety of options for what to put into the water pan (if anything), and it really comes down to personal preference, so try a couple out and see what works for you.
Note: Using dry baffles may reduce the lifetime of the waterpan due to the increased temperatures it is exposed to.
Foiled Empty Pan
Take an empty, dry, clean water pan and cover over with heavy duty aluminium foil - this helps a lot with clean up and stops drips from burning onto the pan.
A dry deflector without a heat sink allows you to change the temperature of your cook rapidly, as there is no heat sink to cool down/warm up, however this does mean that the temperature can fluctuate quickly, and you’ll need to keep a close eye on it.
Heating Bricks/Terracotta
Take 1-2 heating bricks or a terracotta plant pot base that fits just inside the rim, and cover in foil. Put them into the base of your water pan, cover the top of the pan with some more foil and you’re good to go.
Note - Be careful when sourcing heating bricks like the ones in night storage heaters - if they were manufactured/sold before 1974, they may contain asbestos.
Sand
Line your pan on the inside with strong aluminium foil and fill half way with clean sand, ideally use play sand but a washed builders sand will also work, foil over the top of the sand to help with clean up.
Tips
- Spritz your meat with water or fruit juice to introduce moisture to the meat cook chamber, this can be done as often as every half hour.
- Adjust your vents slowly, a little tweak can have a big effect. Once you set your vents wait 10 minutes to see a true adjusted temperature.
- Use extra wide turkey foil - this is usually a bit thicker and will cover the pan in one sheet.
- Soak up fat left on top of the foil after each cook, burning fat doesn’t smell great and if it builds up this can cause a fat fire.

[@brettlarks4067]

Same here how about letting us know the best method

[@ianmckend5009]

There's no "best method" they all have pros and cons, so try them all and stick with the one that works best for you.

[@soups1982]

So waterpan method will keep it at a lower temperature, but how are we to control the temperatures using the other methods?

[@ProQSmokers]

The temperature is controlled using the air vents located in the base. Open up for higher heat... close to lower the temp.

[@soups1982]

Thanks for the reply. Is there an expected temperature you can likely achieve with one, or two or all vents open in each of these methods?

[@ProQSmokers]

There are quite a few variables, such as ambient temperature, type of fuel used, so it is difficult to stat an expected temp for different vent settings.

[@sndnmytrnks]

I am so fucking confused....

[@bt-xv1fy]

that was useless

[@tl924]

This video was truly horrendous, it explains nothing, even with the description it just doesnt make sense.