Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: jani80k on June 18, 2014, 03:36:20 PM
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Hi,
I received my PBC last week and made some ribs and some chicken so far.
On both cooks, the temp went down continously and the fire eventually went out.
I am at sea level so the bottom vent is set to 1/4 open. Should I try opening the bottom vent some more?
Not using Kingsford but the best available charcoal briquets around that excelled in all expert reviews.
To light the PBC I used the lighter fluid method on my first cook, the second time I used the chimney starter method. No difference here.
What I also observed is that the coals close to the bottom vent are almost completely burned to ashes whereas the coals furthest away from the vent are almost not burned at all.
The ribs were really good and it did not really affect the quality that the temp went down but my chickens did not reach 165 °F so I had to finish them in the oven in the kitchen and this led to a not so crispy anymore skin.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
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Wish l could help you out but I don't own a PBC, but sounds like you need to open the vent more for sure. I do know they preach Kingsford charcoal a lot so there may be something to that as well.
Muebe or one of the other PBC owners will be along soon to help you out
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Was the charcoal your using lump? What kind of charcoal is it?
Sounds like it's the charcoal to me. You may need to open the air shutter more. The charcoal going out is probably due to lack of air.
Also give the charcoal more time to get hot before putting the lid on.
Remember that all of Noah's cooking times are with Kingsford. Even Kingsford comp version gives different temp results. It has to do with its shape and burn rate.
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Was the charcoal your using lump? What kind of charcoal is it?
Sounds like it's the charcoal to me. You may need to open the air shutter more. The charcoal going out is probably due to lack of air.
Also give the charcoal more time to get hot before putting the lid on.
Remember that all of Noah's cooking times are with Kingsford. Even Kingsford comp version gives different temp results. It has to do with its shape and burn rate.
I agree w/ muebe.
It might seem crazy - charcoal is charcoal, right? Wrong... I tried some "high falutin" charcoal in my PBC - it worked, but the times and results I was used to were not there. I am sure I could do many, many cooks and establish the times, etc. for the "new" charcoal. But, then I thought - why bother? Kingsford works, every time. Noah's instructions work, and the food is delicious, my family and friends think I am a star... why mess with it.
I'd drop PBC folks a note - I bet they have a solution for you right away.
Good luck!
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Sounds like its not ready when you close it up. Try letting it go longer. Closer to 20min. Make sure almost all the tops are red or close. I have had the coals burn hotter by the vent. it happens sometimes. When your running cold crack the lid for 10 ten minutes then check it. As far as charcoal, one time I didnt buy kingsford.
That was the only time in 20years I didnt.
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Another thing to consider when using a chimney starter is how much charcoal goes in the chimney versus how much goes in the basket. According to their YouTube video, you only put a single layer of unlit coals in the basket and the remainder in the chimney starter. By my estimation, that's about 2/3 of the charcoal being prelit in the chimney, but this contrary to the advice the Glanvilles will give you. You really only need about 1/4 to 1/3 of the total charcoal starting out in the chimney while all the rest waits in the basket. Basically, you only need a single layer of lit coals covering the top of the unlit coals in the basket, the opposite of what is conveyed in the video. Once I started doing this, I began getting much better results with sustained heat over a longer period of time.
I too began using a charcoal other than Kingsford Original, but since I adjusted the charcoal lighting process at the same time I switched to Kingsford, it's hard to say how much of a difference the different brand of charcoal actually made. At some point, I'll try using my old charcoal brand again to see how much difference it really makes.
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If you pay close attention to my location, you can see that I am not from the US and unfortunately, here in Europe Kingsford does not sell their products.
There are numerous types of charcoal and I picked the one that is considered the best chracoal briquett. It is made in Germany from beech wood. The quality is very consistent over different batches and even over years. It puts out a medium heat level very steadily over many hours without peaks or drops. Ambitous BBQ people around here all use it in their WSMs, UDSs etc.. It would be ideal for me if I could get the PBC to work with this.
Maybe next time, I will open the bottom vent completely and if the fire dies on me again, I will switch to a different briquett charcoal or try mixing it with lump. I wonder if it is enough to open up the bottom vent or if I should crack the lid a bit, too. Cracking the lid would not be an option for long cooks, I guess.
But for now, I won't give up, it might even be something completely different like the tin foil under the charcoal basket blocking the airflow etc.
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Contact the PBC people,they will be able to tell you an alternative that will work
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I have to crack the lid from time to time. Its only to raise the temp of the barrel. Try it next time, it really helps getting the coals going again. The bottom vent adjustment doesn't change it much. Cracking the lid about a 1/4 inch (6.5mm) is the best way to get the coals kicked up. You can also add a few lit coals to the basket.
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jani80k,
Sorry, I didn't notice your location and consider the different charcoal that might be available. It sounds like you made a logical choice to try. You mentioned the aluminum foil to cover the bottom of the PBC. I have to tell on myself - I thought I was going to be real clever and lined the basket with foil - would make clean up very easy. Well it WAS easy as I could never keep the coals lit - no airflow... :-[ So I went back to lining the bottom of the barrel and ensuring that it did not block the vent or restrict airflow.
I would suggest sending an email to Noah & Amber detailing the problem and what you have tried. I am sure they will do their best to help you succeed.
Good luck!
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Thank you all for your input. It is highly appreciated. I wrote an email to Amber, let's see what she replies. I will just keep on trying until it works out. The taste the PBC produces is just too good.
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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.
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I'm curious how long you were letting the initial burn go for, and how short you've been advised.
My PBC never goes out - it eventually all burns. 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". But I haven't tried an initial burn shorter than 15 minutes yet (or longer than 25).
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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.
This is the same advice they gave me when I was having difficulties getting the internal meat temperatures steadily rising. So far it seems to be making a positive difference.
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I'm curious how long you were letting the initial burn go for, and how short you've been advised.
My PBC never goes out - it eventually all burns. 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". But I haven't tried an initial burn shorter than 15 minutes yet (or longer than 25).
Same here. My coals burn from closest to vent, then towards back. Next time I will try dumping lit coals (8-10) in back to see how that goes.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r636/emtawali/IMG_20140607_084332_zps2d67kbmy.jpg) (http://s1175.photobucket.com/user/emtawali/media/IMG_20140607_084332_zps2d67kbmy.jpg.html)
My apologies if you already mentioned this.
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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. ;D
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
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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.