So yesterday morning I finished putting my Bronco together, and thanks to the urging of Brian_M I also used Lava Lock silicone sealant around the barrel seam and intake stack seam as well as around the bolts. After letting that cure at room temp for 24 hours it was time to season my new baby...
I plan on trying various lighting methods offered up by OK Joe as I learn this cooker, with fzxdoc ‘s PBC method as my ace in the hole if needed. First I sprayed the inside, including the pieces, with canola oil. Then I filled up the basket with KBB, and since I wanted higher temps I used their suggestion of two fire starters in a full basket.
I just lit them and buried them a bit then let it go for 30 min with the lid open and the diffuser plate out. This is how it looked after that 30 min:
That looked well lit so I added the diffuser plate and grate. I put one ambient probe front center and another back center at grate level, opened both stacks fully, and closed the lid.
Didn’t touch it, just let it go for 2 hours. Did not observe any leaks. Here are the FireBoard readings:
After the 2 hours I wanted to check the charcoal basket out of curiosity (and partly cuz I’m cooking chicken in a couple of hours). Looked like a nice even burn to me.
So far so good! I choked down the vents (to a "1" on the dial they provide) hoping it’ll burn slowly enough I can just add a chimney of KBB later and let it fire itself back up and cook some chicken.
I plan on trying various lighting methods offered up by OK Joe as I learn this cooker, with fzxdoc ‘s PBC method as my ace in the hole if needed. First I sprayed the inside, including the pieces, with canola oil. Then I filled up the basket with KBB, and since I wanted higher temps I used their suggestion of two fire starters in a full basket.
I just lit them and buried them a bit then let it go for 30 min with the lid open and the diffuser plate out. This is how it looked after that 30 min:
That looked well lit so I added the diffuser plate and grate. I put one ambient probe front center and another back center at grate level, opened both stacks fully, and closed the lid.
Didn’t touch it, just let it go for 2 hours. Did not observe any leaks. Here are the FireBoard readings:
After the 2 hours I wanted to check the charcoal basket out of curiosity (and partly cuz I’m cooking chicken in a couple of hours). Looked like a nice even burn to me.
So far so good! I choked down the vents (to a "1" on the dial they provide) hoping it’ll burn slowly enough I can just add a chimney of KBB later and let it fire itself back up and cook some chicken.
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