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Thermostatic controllers and fuel types...

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    Thermostatic controllers and fuel types...

    For about the last year I've been cooking almost exclusively with Kingsford Professional because Costco carried it at a pretty good price consistently. However, the "season" is over and it's not available anymore. (Remind me to load up on bags about this time next year.)

    With that said, most of the love briquettes get make sense when you're tending the fire: they burn consistently, evenly, and predictably. This is all very nice and when I have to leave the house for an hour or two, I can probably get away with it.

    With a thermostatic controller (I got a Flame Boss 300 last week) does it matter though? It seems to me that since I have a robot sitting there making reactive adjustments as needed, just about any fuel will due. The consistency just doesn't seem nearly as important.

    Am I way off on this, or if I start tossing in some lump instead of briquettes is everything going to go pretty much the same?

    #2
    I use my Flame Boss 300 regularly, I think I mentioned that on your original post on the subject.

    You want consistent, even and reliable fuel even with the fan because you need to know how the fuel is going to react to various adjustments such as adding fuel, opening the lid or having the fan kick in. One thing to keep in mind is that the Flameboss can only help you when the temp is too low, but when it gets too high it takes a very long time to come down and you end up with a smoldering fire starved of oxygen.

    I've had situations where I was cooking at 225 for hours and then I opened the lid for one reason or another and then left the house and when I next checked the Flame Boss the temp was at 350 and the fan had been at 0% for 30-45 minutes. If you know how your fuel is going to react 10-15 minutes after opening the lid for example its a lot easier to anticipate and plan.

    Comment


    • binarypaladin
      binarypaladin commented
      Editing a comment
      What was that problematic? I can definitely say I've never had that issue with briquettes!

    • adamjs83
      adamjs83 commented
      Editing a comment
      It's actually happened to me only with the competition briquettes.

    #3
    I'd just go to Lowe's or Home Depot over the Labor Day Weekend and stock up on KBB while it's on sale. The price is usually better than Costco's Kingsford sales. With a controller, it shouldn't make a bit of difference.

    Comment


    • binarypaladin
      binarypaladin commented
      Editing a comment
      Solid idea.

    #4
    I think you will have a better chance of the fire burning long and slow with lump. I am not saying you can't get long, low and slow cooks with KBB, you certainly can. However, with lump, you have much less ash after the fuel is done burning. This will lower the chances of you having an issue with ash plugging the air intakes on the kettle during a long cook. If it were me, and I was doing a long, unattended cook, I would use a premium lump. Again, there is nothing wrong with KBB, this is just what I would do.

    Comment


      #5
      Spinaker

      ​​​​​​​Thanks. I'd read "less ash" all over the place. Any big name brand you suggest? (I'm asking for big name only as a matter of finding it easily.) Is Royal Oak any good?

      Comment


      • EdF
        EdF commented
        Editing a comment
        http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm Bwah-ha-ha!

      • binarypaladin
        binarypaladin commented
        Editing a comment
        We live in such a weird age. Haha. Looks like plain Jane Royal Oak (it's the only sort I've seen at big box places around here) is pretty good stuff. I have about 40 lbs of briquettes at the moment, but when I burn through a bunch of that I think it's time to add some lump into the mix.

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