Fire goes out

[teesquare]

I wrote an Email to Amber describing my problem. She replied I am letting the coals burn for too long when I start the PBC. Will try to let the coals burn shorter before I dump them in the charcoal basket next time. At sea level (I am at 72 ft) you can easily send the coals over the peak during ignition phase which will make them die sooner during the cook.

jani - I find that when using a Weber charcoal chimney that only 15 minutes after I light the newspaper under the chimney - I am ready to place the charcoals in the PBC basket. This is when I can just begin to see the charcoals getting red edges when I look down into the charcoal chimney. This - plus tuning the intake vent has kept my PBC burning hot enough to cook for 5-6 hours.
Hope this helps!

[jani80k]

I'm curious how long you were letting the initial burn go for, and how short you've been advised.

When I used the lighter fluid method to light the charcoals, I let them burn for 20 minutes. I have not found any contradicting advice to use a shorter time for this method. Even at sea level. Please correct me if I am wrong. The coals did not go out on this cook, they were just very low in temp after 2 hours.

When I used the chimney method I mixed the leftover briquettes from the first cook with fresh ones. The ratio was 1:2. Maybe this was a mistake as well because some of the leftover coals had peaked already. I waited a little longer than 15 minutes before I dumped the coals because the top ones hadn't ashed over, yet.

Amber advised me to stick to exactly 15 minutes and not used leftover coals from a previous cook.

[jani80k]

But it does run cool and seems to prefer burning through the briquettes nearest the vent first, even with the vent set all the way "closed"..

Same here. My coals burn from closest to vent, then towards back.

It would be great if it could be achieved to get the coals to burn evenly but I am not sure whether it is possible and how.

[jani80k]

jani - I find that when using a Weber charcoal chimney that only 15 minutes after I light the newspaper under the chimney - I am ready to place the charcoals in the PBC basket. This is when I can just begin to see the charcoals getting red edges when I look down into the charcoal chimney. This - plus tuning the intake vent has kept my PBC burning hot enough to cook for 5-6 hours.
Hope this helps!

Thanks, indeed, this helps. I will try to dump the coals next time when the edges are red and not try to wait until ashed over.

[spuds]

Thanks for posting Jani,look forward to the answer,Im a newbie.... one cook on my PBC,have to say stick with it,man can it make a chicken.

I'll have to see how it goes,Im thinking I might put a vent in the lid for temp control.I see a cool brass valve.

[Hub]

PBC's don't deal well with high dollar charcoal.  Kingsford is the design target and widely available.  Another thing to watch out for is overstuffing with critter parts.  You've got 8 hangers but if they are all full, you're affecting temperature and air flow.  The design contemplates a "standard" of interior volume that works well for most cooks but you have to remember this is a very simple cooker designed to work using time as the only variable in the cook's control. 

Hub

[Sandman]

You can stuff the PBC full and get a good cook! Ya just gotta be able to tell when your food is done. Just by going by someone else's times is not the way to cook IMHO. http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=6183.msg78325#msg78325

[1Bigg_ER]

Another step to consider is that second burn after dumping the lit charcoal in the PBC. Are you putting the lid on immediately or letting it catch up with lid off? After you dump the charcoal in the PBC, leave it uncovered for about 10 minutes
My PBC vent is barely open and it still cooks rock solid around 250-275. I start my fire with only 8 lit briquettes unless I'm cooking chicken chicken.




My apologies if you already mentioned this.

[teesquare]

Thanks for posting Jani,look forward to the answer,Im a newbie.... one cook on my PBC,have to say stick with it,man can it make a chicken.

I'll have to see how it goes,Im thinking I might put a vent in the lid for temp control.I see a cool brass valve.

You bring up an interesting point for discussion Spuds. But- I would recommend that you look at the INTAKE vent adjustment for the answers to most needs for temp. adjustment. Why? ...Well, the fire is controlled by how much air it can get - i.e. oxygen for combustion. So, the intake should be adjusted for the optimum control there, as the annulus remaining where the rebar is placed in the holes for them - is calculated as the right amount of space for exhaust for the PBC.

Having said all of that - I am curious of the results that you may achieve by adding the ball valve on the lid....I believe that will allow higher temps with the lid on. As long as you adjust the intake shutter too. But - it make take a lot of experimenting to get the feel for "what does what".....
Which gets me back to the point of the PBC...it is a purpose driven design, from the factory that in 9 out of 10 cases - works perfectly straight out of the box. 

We all face the variables of:
charcoal choice ( even tho Kingsford Blue is THE recommended choice - I know folks like to experiment... )
charcoal lighting techniques - and WHEN the charcoal is added, etc...
wind and temperature effects - no matter what we cook on/with this is something to consider
elevation - yes it affects cooking temps and the shutter intake adjustment

[muebe]

Removing the rebar increases temps. Removing the lid also increases temps so I imagine a brass ball valve in the lid would do the same.