Greetings from Florida

[akruckus]

Welcome from the Philly Burbs.

[N. Ontario Smoker]

Welcome from N. Ontario Canada.

[s10ny]

Welcome from Columbus, OH.


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[Bart57266]

Thank you for all of your welcomes!

Back to the lighter fluid lighting method, I tried it again tonight.  The charcoal pan was filled and wet with lighter fluid, placed in the Pit Barrel, then lit. After 25 minutes, most of the coals had ashed over, but those near the vent side were still black.  They accounted for about one fourth of the pan.

When it was first burning, I noticed the flames never made it to that area, so I'm suspecting this is the problem. The incoming air is keeping that portion of the coals from igniting.

To get around this, I moved those coals on top of the lit coals, and waited until they were ashed over. So, what am I doing wrong? Do most of you do the initial charcoal burn inside the PBC?

[Chief Mac]

Bart
A couple of questions regarding the charcoal not lighting around the PBC air vent. #1. What were planning on cooking? #2. Where is your PBC located? Away from other objects? #3 Why did you perceive a problem with the what you had lit in the coal basket to start your cook?
I am not trying to say you have a issue or not, but I probably would not know that I had an issue until at least an hour or so into the cook. I always have my thermometer  in the PBC to monitor the food and the PBC barrel temp. I have a log of each cooking event usually hour by hour to see how the cook is progressing, this was a carry over thing from when I had only my gas smoker and I kept a log to learn and replicate different cooks and smokes.
I really do not open my lid unless I want to add or remove food, so my Maverick is the only way to know if I am cooking something.
CM

[Bart57266]

I was preparing to cook fish filets with the PBC in an open area, away from other objects and with no wind. I perceived it to be a problem because last time I used lighter fluid, I ignored the fact that some coals hadn't ashed over, and our chicken picked up a lighter fluid taste - I'm presuming from the unburned coals as the fluid in them evaporated out during the cook.

This time I was making sure all of the coals lit and were mostly ashed before adding the filets. It worked, because they tasted great. It just seems like something isn't right if not all of the coals ignite during the initial burning stage.

I'm near sea level (35') in Florida. Any ideas you may have will be appreciated.

[Bart57266]

Here's what the charcoal looked like at several stages during its initial burn (after flames died out, but before adding fish filets). Note: I do have foil in the bottom to catch ashes, but it's kept low, away from the bottom venting of the charcoal pan, and away from the side vent so it won't change air flow. Also, my charcoal burned the same way the last time I started it with lighter fluid, and no foil was present.

15 minutes after lighting:


25 minutes after lighting. Notice the unlit charcoal - probably still containing lighter fluid:


Unlit coals stacked on lit coals, to get them started:


After just a few more minutes, all coals were ashed, so I spread them out and began cooking:


Again, I'll appreciate anyone's input as to why the whole pan doesn't flame when lit, and subsequently ash over.

[Chief Mac]

Brad
I just saw your other post about the Talapia . Now let me get this straight did you have a full charcoal basket of Kingsford Original Charcoal and use Kingsford  Oderless Charcoal lighter?
I have  cooked  beef, chicken ( split and  whole chickens) pork, venison, and fish fillets in the PBC and used Lighter fluid more for consistency then anything else, and have yet to taste the lighter fluid. I am almost at the same altitude as you so we are somewhat similar there. I have not tried running a half a basket of charcoal yet so I cant talk to those issues. But, what I do know is  if you have  lighter fluid ( the brands they recommend) not being burned off in 25 minutes or so I would call call Noah and Amber at PBC and let them know your problem. I  re watched the PBC start up video on the website cause I thought that you were concerned about not enough charcoal ignited at the start. Which would mean low temps in the cooker and the food which is placed in it to cook would cool it even more. I had that problem on my fist cook which I used a chimney instead of lighter fluid. It took a long time for that chicken to cook.
So that is my recommendation call PBC and maybe even Kingsford if problems still persists.      
CM

[drholly]

At the risk of exposing my non-expertness the first thought I had was - is there any chance this was older charcoal, possibly picked up some moisture over time or storage?

2nd thought - I have found it is good to just get enough lighter fluid on the charcoal to get an even lighting, but not saturate it.

Finally, as Noah suggests, a full basket of charcoal is what makes this a power cooker. I realize we all like to save some money, but I look at the cost of the charcoal vs. the cost of the meat or whatever I am cooking, the sides, the family's expectations, etc, and figure the charcoal is pretty cheap.

[sparky]

Welcome from northern Cali.   

[IR2dum]

Welcome from Houston...the capital of Mexico.

[muebe]

You need a nice even coverage of the charcoal with the fluid. Makes sure to apply it to as much surface area as possible.

DO NOT LET IT SOAK IN

After applying a quality lighter fluid like kingsford immediately move the bed of coals to the PBC and light the entire bed.

After 20 minutes the coals should all be white hot and completely ashed over.

[Hub]

Here's another NC welcome 

Hub

[Big Dawg]

Yet another NC Welcome ! ! !

What part of Fla.?  I've got a daughter & SIL in St. Aug. and a niece in Tampa.




BD

[Bart57266]

Near Orlando, Big Dawg.