So, you start smoking or grilling, but then you’re unsure what to do with the vents. The vents help control the temperature and airflow in your smoker, so yeah….they’re pretty important.
Open the vents when you want more air to go inside the smoker and raise the temperature. An open-intake vent will heat up the smoker and improve ventilation. Alternatively, you should close the vents when you want to trap smoke to make the meat more flavorful.
In this guide, I’ll tell you when to open the vents and how they work for the tastiest food so you don’t risk creosote buildup!
Pitmasters recommend that you leave the exhaust vent only partially open. But you occasionally adjust the bottom vent while smoking.
Also, it depends on how much smokiness you like on the meat. So you can adjust the dampers accordingly.
I’ll go through each type of smoker and talk about opening and closing the vents and dampers.
In this post we'll cover:
What does opening the vents on a smoker do?
Opening and closing the vents on a smoker or grill is a normal part of cooking. You don’t open the grill lid unless you’re adding or removing meat and other foods. Most of the temperature control is done through the vents.
When you open the intake vent, the air flows inside, and when you open the exhaust vent, you let air and smoke flow out. So opening the bottom vent raises the temperature, and closing it lowers it.
Here’s a basic rule to follow:
Use the intake vent to regulate the temperature because it’s easy to control.
When the temperature in the smoker is too low, open the intake vent. If, however, the temperature is becoming too high (which is usually the case), slightly close the bottom vent, but not completely.
Make sure your exhaust vent at the top is always open when the smoker is in use. A small exception is when you want to trap smoke to make the food tastier.
Basically, there are 2 reasons why smokers have vents.
Reason 1: To control the temperature
To start smoking, your smoker needs oxygen. The intake damper at the bottom lets air inside so it can start heating up.
After the smoker reaches the desired cooking temperature, you can close the vent about halfway or more. Then, once it gets really hot, you must open the top vent to let the air flow out.
Reason 2: To infuse the food with smokiness
To make the meat smoky and delicious when you want that Southern BBQ flavor, you have to trap smoke. You can do this by controlling the smoke.
With electric or gas smokers, you need to turn up the heat from the controls. But for charcoal smokers, it’s harder.
Most smokers have 2 vents
Okay, it depends on the model and type of smoker, but I’ll describe the 2 most important vents for the sake of a simple explanation.
Charcoal smokers have these:
- The bottom vent (called the intake vent) is usually under or near the firebox, and this is where the air flows into the smoker.
- The top vent (called the exhaust vent) is placed at the top of the smoker, and this is where air and smoke go out of the unit.
The airflow cycle is quite simple: the air comes in through the bottom vent, heats up the firebox as it rises, and then it leaves the smoker through the top vent.
But pellet smokers can have 2-5 vents on the back of the unit and a chimney (exhaust pipe) at the top of the smoker.
Does the smoker get hotter when the vents open?
Yes, the smoker gets hotter when vents are open because there’s increased airflow. And when hot air rises in the grill, it gets hot.
So if the exhaust damper is fully open, it draws in lots more air, and the internal temperature rises.
Can you cool it down?
Sure, if you close the intake damper, then you starve the fire of oxygen, and it stops burning. So by doing this for a short while, you can really calm down the intensity of the fire or lower the heat in the smoker or grill.
Work with the vents, not the grill lid.
Never close the intake and exhaust vents at the same time for longer than 30 minutes.
Smoking vents guidance chart
Here are some recommendations on when to open the intake and exhaust vents.
This is a general guide for smoker and grill vents. But it all depends on the type of smoker. Electric, gas, pellet, and charcoal smokers all work a bit differently, so keep that in mind.
| Smoking temperature | Top vent (exhaust) | Bottom vent (intake) |
| Preheat 68-225 F | Partially open or fully closed | Open fully |
| Mid-smoke 145-250 F + | Partially open or half-open | Closed partially |
| Nearly finished 155 – 300 F + | Half-open | Closed fully |
Before I talk about each type of smoker or grill, I just want to mention that dampers and vents refer to the same thing in this case.
Note: the intake vent is also called an intake damper, and the exhaust vent is also called the exhaust damper.
How do I know when to open the vent?
First, you need to check the temperature gauge or your meat probe thermometer.
If the temp is higher than the recommended 224-300 F, then you should close the vent a bit to stop air from going in. But keep the vents wide open if the temp is too low.
If there’s tons of smoke billowing, then the temp is too high. You should close the vents partly for a bit.
Opening the vents when preheating the smoker
Some of the confusion about opening vents lies in the fact that people have a hard time preheating and getting the smoker up to the desired temperatures.
The basic principle is that you need some extra airflow when you’re setting up the smoker.
So it’s best to keep the top and bottom vents open when you light or turn on the smoker and as it preheats. The same thing goes for smoker and grill combos too.
Vents on a charcoal smoker
Running a charcoal grill and smoker for long hours is challenging. You have to maintain the temperature between 225-250 F for between 4 to 18 hours.
This style of smoking is called low and slow.
The secret to successful smoking is to control the temperature and keep it steady. With the charcoal grill, it’s done via air vents.
When do you open the vent?
So you’re probably wondering if you should open the vents. Well, you open the bottom vent (intake) when you want to raise the internal temperature in the smoker. That way, you’re letting more air go in.
Once you let the air in, watch out for how quickly the temperature rises. If the temperature rises too much, you need to use the top vents to let some out. So open the exhaust vent.
But then, it’s all about controlling the temperature through the whole cooking process. Since you’re use charcoal and wood, you’ll have to adjust the vents.
If you want a slow temperature rise, adjust your bottom vents so they’re nearly closed but not quite. If the vent is only open slightly, only a small amount of oxygen flows, and the temps won’t rise too fast.
Using vents to make the meat smokier
Surely you’ve added charcoal and wood for flavor, but if you’re still not 100% satisfied with the smokiness, you can boost it with the vents.
During the cooking process, it’s best to use the intake damper on your charcoal grill to help draw the smoke from the burning coals and the wood towards the food.
As your meat cooks on the grates, the smoke will swirl around and infuse it with an additional smoky aroma. The exhaust damper must be open too so there’s no stale smoke and it can go out properly at the top.
In case the temperature gets a bit too hot, close the exhaust damper 3/4 of the way. It should almost be closed, but not quite.
Keep this in mind: good ventilation provides clean smoke.
How to trap smoke with vents
When you want very smoky food, you need to trap the smoke. Close both the top and bottom vent completely or leave a 1/2 inch open.
Do this for a short while because the smoke will get trapped and cover and infuse the meat.
But be careful, there’s a catch! When the intake damper and the exhaust damper are completely closed, the temps decrease gradually until the meat stops cooking properly.
So you need to observe the temperatures closely. Once the temp drops too much, open the top vent partially, then close the bottom one slightly.
What happens when you forget to open or close vents?
This is a common issue, especially for beginners. When you operate your charcoal grills and smokers, you must be careful not to forget!
One thing that can happen is that the charcoal burns too fast and can completely burn before the meat is done cooking. Another problem is that the heat can become too high, so your food will get burned.
Vents on an electric smoker
Running your electric smoker requires a bit of know-how because you have to keep track of the vents. You’re probably wondering: should the vent be open or closed?
The electric smoker isn’t like a charcoal or gas unit, especially when it comes to preheating and heating up the smoker. So to run the unit optimally, you need to know when to leave the vent open and when to close it.
The top vent is essential. Keep it open when smoking and keep it closed when the smoker isn’t running. The best thing is to leave the vent open as you apply smoke to your meats or cheese.
When only 1 vent is open, you can’t have proper airflow. So you need to have an exhaust where the stale smoke can escape and then another vent where fresh air can create the airflow required for smoking meat.
One rule of thumb to follow is that it’s best to leave the vent completely open while you apply smoke to the meat. The open vent prevents creosote from building up on the food.
Tips for using electric smoker vents
There’s not as much adjusting involved with electric smokers since there are pretty much no heat leaks.
Here are some tips for adjustments when you cook barbecue meat and poultry:
- If you smoke BBQ meat like beef and pork at temps between 225-275 F for 4-12 hours, you should keep the intake dampers/vents open 1/3 of the way.
- When smoking chicken and other birds, at 250-300 F for 3-4 hours, keep the top vent wide open and the bottom 1/3 way open.
Propane & gas smoker vents
The propane smoker usually has a top and bottom vent too, like the charcoal unit.
The principles are the same: when you want to heat up the smoker to 225 F, keep the top and bottom vents wide open so the air can flow in.
Once the temp reaches 225F, you can close both the intake and exhaust vent about halfway. This position prevents the smoker from heating up more but doesn’t extinguish the flame.
Tips for opening and closing vents
It all depends on the type and model of the smoker, but I’m sharing some basic guidelines on when to open vents for pork, beef, and poultry:
- When smoking beef and pork at 225-275 F for between 4-12 hours, leave the top vent 1/2 to 1/4 way open and the bottom vent almost closed.
- For smoking poultry at 250-300 F, for up to 4 hours, keep the exhaust vent open completely and the intake vent only 1/3 open.
Work your BBQ vents like a pro
The bottom line is that when you want the best smoky meat without creosote buildup and a funky taste, you must keep the exhaust vent at the top partially open. Of course, when you want to trap smoke to add more flavor, then you can close it for a short while.
But generally, you open the vents when you want the smoker to heat up. Opening the intake vent lets more oxygen flow in and raises the temperature.
The exhaust vent should be open to let heat and smoke escape. If you close all dampers, the smoker loses heat and won’t cook the food properly.
The good news is that most smokers have 2 vents or dampers, and they follow the same principles. Using them shouldn’t give you any major headaches.
Now, it’s time to start smoking some tasty ribs or brisket!
Read next: Will adding fire bricks to my smoker help it to maintain a consistent temperature?
