A friend of mine bought a PBC on my recommendation and is having temp issues. Once the lid is on and the unit settles out, he is running in the 205-230 range. He did two pork butts over the weekend and after 7 hours he was finally at 160 and finished them in the oven. He also has major moisture issues that I don't have on mine. We've compared notes on cook time, charcoal type, vent setting and everything he is doing seems O.K. His cook times are higher and settle temps seem lower that mine. He showed me a picture of what looked like mainly water collecting on the bottom of the unit next to the vent. I've never seen this on mine. When he cracks the lid temps come up immediately but as soon as he tightens the lid the temps drop quickly. It seems like an air flow issue, but we haven't been able to find any differences between his and mine. Mine works great and my cook times are always close to what Noah estimates in his videos. Any idea's PBC Nation?
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Has he tried adjusting the vent at the bottom? Small movements in that vent have changed my temps. It took several cooks for me to find my sweet spot. -
In my experience it always seems to be the bottom vent that does this. Opening pretty wide doesn't do a whole lot, but there seems to be a point to where it won't work right if not passed. Have him open it quite a bit, let it run for a while and close a little if needed.
I had mine to the exact settings and for the first 2 months it never settled above 230, finally I got mad and opened it all the way and it worked great.Comment
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Have the exact same scenario. Friend bought one after tasting my food and his is running cool too. I don't live close enough to him to get a first hand look over, but I've notice several folks talking about low temps on the newer PBC's. Mine is the older powder coat model and his has the newer paint version.
Same with you? I wonder if it's a fluke. Maybe should measure the rebar diameter and the mounting holes to see if there were changes to those that could effect air flow. Might just be experience?Comment
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I recently bought a PBC and have the opposite problem. I have my vent to the least open setting, which still leaves some room, and I still end up running on the high side. I guess each on is different. I have fiddled with mine and pretty much have it figured out.Comment
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Thanks folks - He plans on sending the info from his last few cooks to Noah to see what he has to say. My friend has the powder coated model - probably about the last of that version. He's had it for some time and it's always run cool.Comment
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Haha... so much for my amazingly insightful and intellectual reasoning!Comment
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Just some random thoughts on the temp issue, bobs bbq :- Lighting ... make sure he's being very consistent. The method documented by Kathryn ( fzxdoc ) in the PBC sub-forum is a very good place to start.
- Noah and Amy are pretty emphatic that the side vent is not designed for temp control. Sure, it will influence temps for a short while ... then the wheels come off after a couple of hours. Read Max's PBC review in the Ratings & Reviews section for an explanation of why it's best to set for altitude then leave it alone.
- Charcoal ... The PBC is designed around the use of Kingsford Original (blue) briquettes. Some folks find other fuels to be good for special applications, but your friend should be careful to master KBB first before getting creative.
- I can't remember where I saw it the other day, but Amy replied to someone's question about how long to let the charcoal burn before putting on the PBC lid. As I recall, she said that if you let the coals go too long ... and therefore get too hot ... the PBC temp will stabilize well below it's design range of 270 - 300 degrees. If I find it again, I'll post a link.
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Bob's BBQ Tried to comment but I guess I am a little too long-winded!
A lot depends on the weather, but I can count on 10 hours every time no matter. I plan on pork butts coming off 12 hours after lighting the chimney, it almost always comes off sooner, but I have only had to put in extra coals a few times, and those were pretty extreme weather and/or cooking conditions.Comment
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All good notes here by everyone. I fought temps my first handful of cooks too. I have had mostly consistent cooks since I implemented a couple of adjustments.
1. I used a version of fzxdoc 's lighting method coupled with Noahs recommendation of reduced chimney light timing. I am at about sea level and I do the chimney light for 12 min. Once I pour the chimney into the basket I leave the lid off for 8-10 min while I prep and set the meat and temp probes. I drop the lid down and that's it.
2. Doing some troubleshooting with _John_, he recommended opening up the bottom vent beyond PBC's recommendation. This was the last tweek I needed and my temps have been stable every since. I currently have my bottom vent open close about 1/2, which is substantially more "open" than recommended for sea level.Comment
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