Unpopular opinion: I stopped chasing the 225 mark on my stick burner after a buddy from Lockhart watched me cook
Two summers back I was running my offset at 225 on the dot the whole cook. Drove myself nuts. Every 15 minutes I was messing with the intake, adding a split, checking the dial. My buddy from Lockhart, who has been cooking brisket longer than I have been alive, stood there watching me for about 20 minutes and finally said "you are fighting the fire, let it run where it wants." I let it settle around 275 to 290 and the bark came out way better than anything I was getting at 225. Been doing it that way for about a year now. Anyone else ditch the low and slow number once somebody told them to quit fiddling?
How many splits did you burn through during those 20 minute panic sessions? I ran the same drill for years, poking coals and chasing that needle like it owed me money, and my best briskets now come off a fire that swings between 260 and 300 depending on the wind. Turns out the meat does not care about your dial as much as your bark does. Your Lockhart buddy saved you a lot of grief.