SnS Troubleshooting

[nnifnairb]

I'm currently doing my first test run with my SnS in the Weber kettle, and about half way through the first load of charcoal (KBB), it started losing heat. When I opened up the lid, I could see that the coals were lit fairly evenly across the the SnS and that ash was building up and preventing oxygen from reaching the coals. I stirred them around to let the ash fall through and that seems to have worked. Is there anything I can do to keep this from happening? I wonder if it's being caused by the fact that some (less than half) of the unlit coals I added are being reused from a previous burn.

[FishTalesNC]

In my experience KBB produces significantly more ash than Weber briquettes. The Weber briquettes also burn longer. They’re always my choice for long cooks in my SNS. My KBB I typically use just for hot & fast stuff.

[adamjs83]

Where do you get th Weber briquettes? Hard to beat the massive holiday sales on KBB. Is it that much better?

[FishTalesNC]

adamjs83 For about a year Lowe’s carried them for $12/bag but the ones around here don’t anymore. List price is $20/bag which is a little pricey. I found them at Ace Hardware here for $15/bag. To me it is a significant difference for long smokes in my SNS so I do keep Weber around just for that. They burn a lot longer too, ~33% longer in my unscientific tests.

[nnifnairb]

Thanks! I just finished my bag of KBB, so I'll try Weber this time around.

[BIG_BLACK_COFFEE]

Yeah, sometimes using previously lit charcoal can kinda clog up the airflow. If I'm doing a long cook, I usually only add whole, fresh briquettes. I reuse leftovers when searing and cooking hot. .

[mnavarre]

The reused coals could be the culprit as they tend to pack together tighter and not get as good of airflow. With fresh KBB i've gotten around 9 hours before I needed to knock the ash out and add more briquets. I've also needed to clear ash & refuel around 6 hours on a cold night. I generally save used coals for fuel for doing hot & fast cooks or direct grilling.

[Bruce R]

This has been my experience as well.

[adamjs83]

Second this as well. Only new coals for a long cook.

[Danjohnston949]

Typically I Find I Need To Sweep The Ashes Down Every 1-1/2 Hrs Or So To Keep This Temp Drop From
Occuring‼️ This Is On My 22-1/2" Weber, With S ' N S, Drip & Griddle, With DigiQ DX-2 Temp Contol and
Pit Viper Fan❗️ Fire Needs Air❗️❓❗️ Dan

[HawkerXP]

+1 Need to knock down ash at the latest 4 hours into cook.

[RonB]

If you are using a fan to help control temps, make sure you turn it off before clearing the ash. Otherwise the fan will blow ash on whatever you are cooking.

[HouseHomey]

I only ever EVER use KBB. On long cooks 1 ash sweep keeps me rolling, no biggie.

I never use unfinished coals. I only use new ones. One of the benefits of using KBB is the consistency of the product/cook. It does not make sense to me to use a compromised product.

I burn mine through every time. I generally count my coals and have just enough through the end of the cook.

after listening to FishTalesNC I may need to give Weber a shot.

[FishTalesNC]

HouseHomey I typically don’t have to think about ash removal until ~7 hours into a cook, roughly halfway thru. I think I’ve had to refuel the SNS XL once when using Weber briquettes. They do take a little more energy to get started it seems.

[OSB]

Which SnS version are using? @nnifnairb

[nnifnairb]

2.0.

[Mosca]

I usually have to re-up my KBB at about 5 hours, grate temp about 240.

[JeffJ]

Our local Lowe's no longer carries Weber briquettes. Our local Wal Mart is selling them for a little under $15 for a 20 pound bag, which is a bit pricey. I'll only be using Weber for low/slow going forward unless it can once again be had for $12 per bag.

[RAGBBQ]

After each use, I stir the used coals so that the ash falls into the bottom of the kettle. That way, you are good to go for the next cook when you add fresh hot coals.

[nnifnairb]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try again this weekend with all fresh briquettes. My hope is to be able to use this for an overnight cook, and tend it only once or twice.

[jfmorris]

That should easily be doable if you use all fresh briquettes. I've done overnight smokes with my SNS, just need to set my alarm to get up within 7-8 hours of last reloading the charcoal. I've started turning off my Smoke's alarm overnight, so that I don't get waked up for what I now know are trivial high/low alarms.

[nnifnairb]

Awsome! I'm going to do another dry run during the day on Saturday, then hopefully cook a pork butt starting Sunday evening. I'll probably set my alarms fairly wide just to alert me to any potential problems. I think I'll shoot for 250* and set alarms at 275* and 225*.