Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: Paul Hart on March 10, 2015, 02:06:20 PM
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Having a bad time with them. Not sure what I'm going to do here. Had a hard time getting it to stay above 240 ish the entire time. About 4 hours in it was at 196 so I pulled the food and stirred it around. Half the basket was completely gone and left behind a ton of ash. I think it's choking the rest out its so much. It seems to be trying to relight. I have one rebar out and it's just now at 207 with a very very slow climb. I think I might light a chimney of Stubbs and drop it in there. I need at least two more hours of 240, preferably 3 at 265.
Suggestions?
I do not recommended this charcoal.
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Another 8 minutes goes by and im at 217 with one rebar out. Very slow climb but it might be trying. I'm ok with 225 but I don't want to be pulling this thing at 10pm.
I think I'm going to dump half chimney of Stubbs in and see what happens.
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Not sure why you are having an issue, but I do not buy that it's just because of this brand.
First they are not made by Wal-mart, they're made by Royal Oak, and they are fine briquettes. In fact I prefer them over Kingsford any day of the week (I like the flavor better).
It's possible you got a bad bag, or one that had gotten wet at some point.
Just my 2ยข
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I've only EVER used KB for my lifelong grilling or smoking (new) so I can't really give experience on the Walmart brand, but if it's anything like the other Walmart brand stuff, stay away! If cost is an issue, make sure to check your local Home Depot or Lowe's twice per year (Memorial Day and Labor Day). Both of those retailers usually have 2x16lb or 2x20lb bag packs for in between $7-9.99. I make sure to stock up on at least 250lbs during each sale. That way you'll never run out and get the best price at the same time!
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LET'S BE CLEAR ON THIS:
This is a Royal Oak Product, NOT a Wal-mart product!
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Stubbs tastes and performs better than KBB, and makes less ash and mess. Smells better, cleaner.
I'm up to 222 now. Not horrible but not a typical healthy PBC temp. I have 22 stubbs lit in the chimney now. Going to dump those in shortly.
tenthunter are the jumbo ones made by Royal oak as well? Says they are like 50% larger than regular briquettes.
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tenthunter are the jumbo ones made by Royal oak as well? Says they are like 50% larger than regular briquettes.
Yes, they are made by Royal Oak.
So are the Grillmarks (sold at Ace Hardware), and a variety of other so-called store brands.
These are even listed as "Royal Oak Back Yard Grill Briquettes" on Wal-Mart's website.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Royal-Oak-Backyard-Grill-3.5-lb-Charcoal-Briquets/23597640
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Dumped in the Stubbs. Already up to 268 and climbing with both rebar in. Hope this works!
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Well I'm not real happy with them at this point. Stubbs does me lot better. Wish they were the same price. :(
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The one side burned up super fast and the other didn't light right. Very odd. And the amount of ash is surprising. I was giving it a fair shake, I want it to be good. But for whatever reason it's not working out for me. Maybe for grilling but for a long cook might not be ideal.
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LET'S BE CLEAR ON THIS:
This is a Royal Oak Product, NOT a Wal-mart product!
Manufacturers with excess manufacturing capability have two choices when rebadging their product to meet a retailers desired cost.
(1) Change something about the rebranded item to lower their cost and meet the price point.
(2) Put a new label on their product which places an exactly equal product in the marketplace to compete with their original brand at a lower price.
Which do you think Royal Oak has done?
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The one side burned up super fast and the other didn't light right. Very odd. And the amount of ash is surprising. I was giving it a fair shake, I want it to be good. But for whatever reason it's not working out for me. Maybe for grilling but for a long cook might not be ideal.
I could be wrong, but it sounds more likely that one side didn't get enough lighter fluid or something else happened. Otherwise why would only one side of the basket not light properly?
No matter what brand of charcoal, if one side didn't light properly (for whatever reason) then I would expect that side to burn up quicker, and I would expect the overall temp would be lower and would slowly climb as the unlit side slowly lit. It just makes sense (at least in my head - which isn't saying much).
I'd give these another try before ruling them out as a bad brand.
As far as the ash level, if you are comparing almost any brand to stubbs, I can imagine the ash level must seem very high. Stubbs is a premium briquette with no fillers, and therefore very low ash. Kingsford Competition will also be lower ash, but I don't know how they compare in price to Stubbs.
One more note on the particular briquettes you got. I have noticed the 50% larger ones seem to take a little longer to get going full on. There is less surface area per lb of charcoal than regular sized briquettes. THAT right there may make them unsuitable for the PBC with it's controlled air intake.
If you wanted to try a regular sized Royal Oak briquette, grab a small bag of the GrillMark brand from Ace Hardware. But I guarantee you will still have more ash than stubbs.
The bottom line is use what you think works best. If you like Stubbs, you may want to stick with them.
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Thanks for the info. I do like the Stubbs but Unless its on sale I don't like paying for it. Walmart has decent price on Stubbs though. I'm hoping to grab some on sale this Spring. I'll buy whatever's cheap though. When KBB goes on sale $10 for 40 lbs, well, I'd be stupid not to stock up. I've used so much already this year.
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Kingsford Competition will also be lower ash, but I don't know how they compare in price to Stubbs.
Costco had the big 18 lb. bags in two-pack bundles of Kingsford Competition this last weekend for less than $20. I almost bought some to try it out for my PBC chicken cooks.
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I use Royal Oak Natural Hardwood briquettes and they are just as good as my beloved Kingsford. Sounds like Tent nailed it with the previously got wet theory...I have had that happen before and it sounds to me like what happened.
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Thanks for the info. I do like the Stubbs but Unless its on sale I don't like paying for it. Walmart has decent price on Stubbs though. I'm hoping to grab some on sale this Spring. I'll buy whatever's cheap though. When KBB goes on sale $10 for 40 lbs, well, I'd be stupid not to stock up. I've used so much already this year.
Ahem.... :)
"Cheap" - can be quite expensive...The cost difference between filling the basket in your PBC with a cheap unknown variable charcoal - vs - what you know works is not much for cook or two. But, it is always a good idea to experiment, and find a product that meets your criteria for price/performance. So, why not try 1 bag - and do a dry run burn of a basket load? You are not risking much money - and no meat....just a little time to take notes AND...I do recommend keeping a journal to note the burn properties of each charcoal you test.
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I'm not touching this one, as I'm a moron
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That's too bad you got a bad bag.
I have used this brand before and it worked great for me. For smoking and grilling.
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I meant whatever is good that's on sale. Not CHEAP exactly. I wanted to try this stuff because I've heard it was ok and because it's cheap. To its credit, the second half of the basket seemed to do better once I got it lit with the Stubbs. Not sure what the original problem was.
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Just thinking about 3 possible reasons for the uneven burn:
1. prevailing wind: was the intake vent facing the direction of ANY breeze? That could cause the side closer to the vent to catch much faster than the other
2. Uneven lighter fluid distribution: If for any reason your application of lighter fluid favored one side of the basket....it would ignite and possibly raise the heat enough to cause an evaporation of the fluid on the side that did not get as much.
3. size of briquettes: The PBC was designed around using KBB. KBB is available every where, and pretty consistent in performance. ( I am not promoting it as the high performance choice, or any choice. I am merely pointing out that the PBC was designed using it :) ) When you use a larger sized briquette - I wonder what impact that can have on the airflow/temps in the basket? Just a question.....
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I wondered the same thing about size. Those have an indentation on the briquette itself to allow airflow between them. Like I said, second half worked fine. Maybe needed a little longer to light? The side that lit was evenly to the right side of the intake. Side that didn't was On the left. Both sides had about equal amounts of lit charcoal poured in. The basket was full so it not working its way around from the lit side was also strange. It was almost dead split down the middle.
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You will not get the same results in your PBC with various types of charcoal. Even Kingsford regular and competition have different temps. Different charcoal will be processed differently and burn differently in the PBC basket. With a regular Weber kettle you can adjust the upper and lower air shutters to compensate for this. Although the PBC has a adjustment on the lower opening this does not do a bunch without upper adjustment. Keep this in mind when changing fuel brands/types.
I like to go with what I know works for me and gives me the same results everytime when using the PBC.
It is possible that bag was subjected to higher humidity or perhaps exposed to rain.
There is already a certain moisture content to charcoal or it would not stay together.
Your lighting procedure might have been the reason.
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I'm not touching this one, as I'm a moron
I completely disagree with that comment Pappy :) :)
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I'm not touching this one, as I'm a moron
Count me in ! ! !
BD
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I'm not touching this one, as I'm a moron
I may not be bright, but I am smart enough to be a chicken!
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I'm giving it a second chance. Going to allow a bit longer to light before I close it up. I hope I don't regret this. With the briquettes being larger, I have to adjust the amount going into the chimney. I think 40 will clear the whole basket out. Wish me luck! I shall MAKE it happen!