How long should SnS XL last?

[trasmc]

Hi everyone - thanks in advance for your help!

I'm currently using a Weber 26" with a new SnS XL, and I'm having a terrible time trying to get it to last like I think it's supposed to. I've tried 2 cooks in the last week, 1 with 2 racks of SLC ribs and a 2nd with a 7lb pork butt.

In both cases I lit the SnS like I was supposed to (12 coals with a starter cube, then filled the rest of the charcoal bin with KBB after the 12 starters were lit). However, in both cases I've had to add additional charcoal anywhere from 4 - 5 hours in. The ribs were running around 235 - 250 and the pork between 215 and 235. I'm using a digital remote thermometer (ThermPro) that I've checked with both boiling and ice water - it's clipped a few inches from the side of the kettle, middle of the indirect side.

So...what am I doing wrong, or should my expectations of the SnS XL be different from the regular SnS? How long should a full-bin slow-cook last? Also, the water in the SnS (for the pork today) is completely gone after 3 hours - how long should it last? Do I need to arrange the coals a certain OCD way to maximize the number, or do I just dump them in until full?

Thanks in advance for your help - and if you need more information please let me know!


Scott

[Gooner-que]

I'm curious to find out the answer to this. I know that there is quite a bit more area to heat and I'm not sure how much charcoal fits in the SnS XL. I can OCD load 6.5lbs into the SnS. I'm sure David Parrish or fuzzydaddy will answer soon.

[Breadhead]

It seems like you've done everything just right. When I do everything you've described I get at least 8 hours of cooking without refilling. I do rake the briquets with my wiggle stick at about the 4 hour mark and then cook on. I have the original SnS that I use in my 26" kettle though. Maybe someone else has the new version that knows of any difference in how it burns your briquets differently.

[trasmc]

I usually stir the coals around 3 or 3.5 hours as well.

[Breadhead]

Hmmm... I'm stumped. If you are cooking at 250° or less and you're only getting 5 hours cooking I can't figure it out. Logic tells me your cooking temperature is hotter than you think it is.

[Mosca]

I get the same as trasmc , with my 22". My water does last about the same as the coals, though. I did 2 racks of ribs at about 240, and I had to add coals at about the 4.5 hour mark when the temp started dropping below 215.

Still a good item, but it does have its workarounds. Still cheaper than a dedicated smoker.

[Thunder77]

My question would be: is your probe far enough away from the meat? There is a 2" bubble of colder air around your meat. Make sure the probe is at least 2" from the meat. If you are reading too close to the meat, you may actually be cooking at a higher temperature than you think. That will burn the coals up more quickly.

[DWCowles]

David Parrish or Huskee

[fuzzydaddy]

On my 26" with the SnS XL (warm weather) I'm getting around 7.5 to 8 hours after putting on the cold meat, which is about 40-50 minutes after starting 12 briquettes (KBB) and bringing the temp up to ~200, with the cook being in the 225-250 range. After refilling, I'll get about 10 hours. I'm using ThermoWorks probes and the air probe is always at least 2" from the meat.

[HouseHomey]

That was just like mine until a week ago.

[HouseHomey]

Ok, I was trying to add my previous post and deleted the post I put here today.

recap: I'm hgetting 5 or so hours out of my KBB. I USE 26Kettle with SnS in not sure which one. I used to get 7 not long ago. I posted in this thread last week about the same issue.

I have two racks on now since 145pmand I'm cooking hot today and I don't know why. Been in at 260-270. I'm using 5 clips now.

[Huskee]

You should never have to add more coals at the 4-5 mark, but what you SHOULD do at the 4-5 hrs mark is stir the coals well and 'tunk' them to drop the ash off of them, then sweep the ash out with the handle. This will help your temps rise back up.

Only in the dead of winter, or when cooking MUCH hotter than 225, should you have to add more coals before 8hrs or so.

[HouseHomey]

Huskee I agree but what gives lately? I'm at the 3hr mark now on theses and have just under a 1/2 of SnS

[Huskee]

It could be how you loaded the SnS. If you casually poor the coals in and call it good they're not condensed well really. really pack her full you get more longevity, and it could also be your probe is too close to the meat so you're cooking hotter perhaps?

[David Parrish]

I think one of two things are likely here. 1) The SnS isn't really full of charcoal or 2) You're opening the lid a lot and letting a lot of your heat vent away. The SnS XL will easily go 8 hours on a load of charcoal at 225 F.

Keep us posted on your next cook!

[HouseHomey]

It's all good. I love my SnS.

[trasmc]

Thanks everyone for your advice - I appreciate it. I decided to figure out what I was doing wrong - thought that I probably had the probe too close to the hunk of cold meat, as suggested by Thunder77.

So this morning I went totally OCD on the SnS XL, just to make sure, as David Parrish and Huskee suggested, I had enough fuel in the charcoal bin. I carefully stacked 111 KBB briquettes - maybe could have gotten a few more but I thought it looked good enough. I left about a 3 inch gap between the preloaded section of the bin and the 12 starter briqs. After they were good and going I filled in the gap with more fuel (total of 111). Waited a bit, got some water boiling, and when the ambient probe said about 215 I added the water.

Whenever my kids have to troubleshoot something - anything - I've always told them to check the obvious stuff first. Are all the cables plugged in? Did you peel the tape off the ink cartridge? Have you tried to restart it? Is the chain still on? You get the idea. I'm sure Occam's Razor could be brought into the discussion at this point.

So yes, I had made sure the ambient probe was calibrated. When I bought it. Last December. Hmmmm. I put some water back on the burner to boil, and grabbed the ambient probe. Boiling water. 134 degrees. Water doesn't boil at that temp at the top of Everest. I grabbed my instant read and good old 212 popped onto the display. I grabbed the food probe that goes with the ambient, plugged it into the food probe port, and it too read 212. Ambient still read about 134. I quickly clipped both of them onto the grate within about an inch of each other, and managed my vents to the tune of the food probe, not the ambient.

The long and the short of it (ok - maybe this is the long of it), is that when I've been using the ambient probe I've been cooking anywhere from 80 - 110 too hot. I'm now over 8 hours into the OCD SnS XL and I'm still going strong. Stirred the coals three times (once at 4, then 6, and then 8 hours) and it looks like I've got several hours left worth of fuel. And there's just a touch of water left in the reservoir (which was totally dry at the 4 hour mark before - should have been my first clue).

Anyway - even if you've checked it before, make sure your thermometer is still calibrated!

Thanks again!

[kmhfive]

Great lesson for all of us! Thanks for the details.

[Thunder77]

Glad you got it worked out!

[Mudkat]

Excellent troubleshooting! Classic "go figure" resolution.
I'm sure we'll all run into this at some point. Thanks for sharing this with us!

[Huskee]

Thanks everyone for your advice - I appreciate it. I decided to figure out what I was doing wrong - thought that I probably had the probe too close to the hunk of cold meat, as suggested by Thunder77.

So this morning I went totally OCD on the SnS XL, just to make sure, as David Parrish and Huskee suggested, I had enough fuel in the charcoal bin. I carefully stacked 111 KBB briquettes - maybe could have gotten a few more but I thought it looked good enough. I left about a 3 inch gap between the preloaded section of the bin and the 12 starter briqs. After they were good and going I filled in the gap with more fuel (total of 111). Waited a bit, got some water boiling, and when the ambient probe said about 215 I added the water.

Whenever my kids have to troubleshoot something - anything - I've always told them to check the obvious stuff first. Are all the cables plugged in? Did you peel the tape off the ink cartridge? Have you tried to restart it? Is the chain still on? You get the idea. I'm sure Occam's Razor could be brought into the discussion at this point.

So yes, I had made sure the ambient probe was calibrated. When I bought it. Last December. Hmmmm. I put some water back on the burner to boil, and grabbed the ambient probe. Boiling water. 134 degrees. Water doesn't boil at that temp at the top of Everest. I grabbed my instant read and good old 212 popped onto the display. I grabbed the food probe that goes with the ambient, plugged it into the food probe port, and it too read 212. Ambient still read about 134. I quickly clipped both of them onto the grate within about an inch of each other, and managed my vents to the tune of the food probe, not the ambient.

The long and the short of it (ok - maybe this is the long of it), is that when I've been using the ambient probe I've been cooking anywhere from 80 - 110 too hot. I'm now over 8 hours into the OCD SnS XL and I'm still going strong. Stirred the coals three times (once at 4, then 6, and then 8 hours) and it looks like I've got several hours left worth of fuel. And there's just a touch of water left in the reservoir (which was totally dry at the 4 hour mark before - should have been my first clue).

Anyway - even if you've checked it before, make sure your thermometer is still calibrated!

Thanks again!

Perfect! 100% of stories that start out this way end up this way or close to it- there's always one little thing that explains it!

[Huskee]

Another tip, should something similar ever happen to your probe in the future....the lid thermometer when placed directly over top the SnS will read about 75 deg hotter than the actual grate temp when cooking at 225. So if your grate temp is 225 the lid thermometer, if directly over top of the charcoal (and if it's working correctly), will read approx 300. This is good backup info to remember should a probe ever fail at the start of a cook or mid-cook.